Closed Paths, Open Futures | Nerd Fitness

I am a huge Stephen King fan.

I have read the entire series Dark Tower, It, The Shining, Doctor Sleep and my favorite movie is ever based on his novel, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank’s redemption.

So, by order of many friends who told me it is their favorite book, after all ​I began to read 11/22/63​.

Here is the prerequisite for the head:

On November 22, 1963, three shots hit Dallas, President Kennedy died and people changed.

What if you could change it back?

Stephen King’s new dramatic novel is for a man who travels back in time to prevent the murder of JFK-a thousand tour de force.

Like any good Nerd, I have dedicated a very spiritual power to the hypothetical journey, butterfly and the change of the past. You certainly have.

Time-Travel is such a tempting idea, because our brains can only think “the road less traveled” and “what happened if I had done X instead of y?”

This brings me to the current issue of the newsletter.

The acceptance that some paths are closed is incredibly free.

Some trails are closed

My friend Tim Urban ​Waitbutwhy.com​ Put this graph for the life choices we have made to date, and the branching paths open to us tomorrow:

It is really easy for our brains to over -they are overwhelming in all black lines in our past: the trails have closed for us, the decisions we did not make, the decisions we made, and how our lives often feel “determined” at the moment.

“Because of how I did this in the past. That’s exactly how things are.”

“It’s a shame I never did xyz, now it’s too late. I have so much regret!”

“I don’t deserve to be happy because of this mistake I made”

We often forget that it is only possible to connect the dots of our lives by looking back, in which we made every decision with the best information we had then.

(If you are looking for a steady reading, Matt Haig’s ​The Library of midnight​ It is a fantastic story that causes thought of alternative life paths and acceptance. Haig draws from a past ​decision to almost take his own life​.)

Let’s talk a little bit about these black lines and green capabilities.

Maybe some trails are closed!

I bring all these things to do two points.

The writer Chris Guillbeau, who inspired my love for travel and influenced how I built Nerd Fitness, recently put an essay put on an essay ​Celebrating closed doors​.

We have all heard stories about people who start some careers later in life.

One example would be, “It’s never too late! Samuel L. Jackson did not take his role in “Pulp Fiction” until the age of 46.

And Chris points out that sometimes … it’s too late:

While these stories are inspired, the lesson “is not too late” is not universal. Sometimes it’s too late! Believing differently is to believe in a fantasy.

Some things in life have real deadlines – not all, but some.

In other words, sometimes we often keep something we know that we will eventually do “someday”, and maybe we refuse to accept the reality that … yes, it’s too late.

Maybe we continue to keep hope that we will eventually run a marathon … even if we hate running.

We may continue to keep hope that we will write this cookbook … even though we no longer like cooking.

Maybe we can decide that some trails are closed to us. We can accept it.

The future has not been put on stone

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how ​The past has not been put on stone​Because our perception of history changes.

It is okay to accept that maybe a dream we had when we were in the ’20s is okay to die.

However, it is just as tragic to assume that it is “too late” to make any changes in our future and that it is already determined.

Betrand Russel once said “you are not obliged to be who you were five minutes ago.”

As Chris says:

“It’s not too late” for many things, and that’s great. But sometimes it is, and that’s ok.

It’s not too late to find out something new. It’s not too late to try new things.

But it can be too late for specific trails, and this is absolutely good.

In fact, it’s worth celebrating.

Telling certain paths or accepting that some paths may close for us can clean the space to make a different decision on the life it is going on.

You can decide it later today for:

• Start Powerlifting
• Get an online class for a new career.
• Try a new hobby.
• Talk to your doctor about ​Weight loss​.

We cannot travel back in time to stop Kennedy’s murder.

Some of the paths of life are now closed to us.

This may be okay!

Instead of spending more brains that are sorry for our closed black paths, we can work to decide which green path we will follow.

-Steve

PS: Do you need guidance and accountability to achieve your goals? Nerd Fitness has helped 10,000+ people over the last 8 years with 1-1 online exercise training. ​Click here for more details​.