The "You" Show - Live in Focused Energy

The videos shot in the last week of May addressed how you cast yourself in your life. They addressed how proactive you are in your life and the way you play your role. How do you cast your life?

An analogy I’ve come up with for how we deal with our lives is how we deal with our body parts when they get weak. Casts support your body when you break a bone. Orthotics are devices that support your body when, for this discussion, you get a weak joint. When is that support enough and when is it too much? The attitudes we develop and maintain in our lives may be like the casts and orthotics; when are they enough and when are they too much?

Observing discussions on the Camino forums I see that everyone has a different idea about what the right footwear is and whether walking poles (or sticks) are important to use or not. People are as passionate about what’s right on their feet. And they often think that’s what right for them is right for everyone. Those beliefs most likely roll over onto how they live their lives, too.

I’m no different, I guess. I believe in being as support-free as I can be. I cherish my independence. I take pride in my strength. I also am learning to ask for help when the situation is bigger than I am, to get support. One question I have for myself is Do I ignore support when I should accept or seek it? Hhhmmmm……

Do you seek support when things are rough or you’re feeling weak, or do you seek to build the “weak muscles” so you don’t need support? That’s not to say all support is bad or unnecessary, it’s the way you approach it and use it that makes it healthy or a crutch.

For me, I walk without arch supports, high top boots for ankle support, and walking poles. It’s my belief that by going barefoot and without arch orthotics I have strong arches and don’t need support. In fact, I feel that if I were to wear an arch orthotic my arches would weaken and I’d start to need the support. I’m independent and don’t want to “need” anything. My attitude about ankle support to my attitude about my arches is similar, not to mention my ankles don’t like rigid things to rub against and get raw or blistered. Walking poles they are foreign to me. I’ve walked long distance for years without poles so they seem a burden. I can see that on steep inclines they might be nice for extra support, or after a really long day of walking when you are getting tired poles might be nice for extra stability. But, other than that, they seem like something to inhibit my natural arm swing one more thing to keep track of.

For those who have rarely run barefoot and have long worn arch supports, going without is painful. That’s probably the same with their ankle support and use of poles too; the more support the better. Would their physiology be better in the long run if they strengthened their muscles, ligaments and tendons? In my opinionated and biased perspective I think they would be better off with a stronger body. There are some reasons beyond being weak from lack of use that demand support. But even then, if you don’t use it you lose it.

That’s true of our emotions and psychology too. We can use supports to get through situations or we can build those “muscles” and learn to manage on our own.

The kind of support I see people rely on emotionally include anger or hate, alcohol or drugs, laughter, tears, walls, resistance, pity-parties, and sarcasm. There are lots of ways people handle emotional situations that may help them get through the situation, but those approaches may not serve the people in the long run. Those approaches don’t help people build their “emotional muscles”.

Here are the last five videos of my 40-day Facebook Live Stream challenge that discuss some of the ways you might support or hinder growth.

How do you cast yourself in The “You Show”? [An afterthought to the idea of how we use crutches — or casts — to protect ourselves, to hide from ourselves. I see it in everyone, and I’m seeing it in slightly different ways within the ADD community. ADD Crutches]

The Bumps and Dips Along Your Path:
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