Let’s take a journey down the intellectual pathways of well being, otherwise known as mental health. The following realization is something that came to me which had such a dramatic cerebral affect, that I felt that it would be important enough that everyone could benefit from it.
Keep in mind this is essentially one BIG analogy, but one that is VERY important in relation to how we cope with the environment around us.
So as we EXAMINE this philosophy allow it sink in as it will be part one of yet another two part blog newsletter.
When we attended kindergarten, grade school, junior high, high school and college, trade school or any type of institution of learning. it’s the same way we now attend a live hands on real world class, post college, or any institution.
I’m speaking in general terms because there are always exceptions to this.
In kindergarten we had the same teacher for all of our subjects (again generally) after the 6th grade when I was growing up I had a different teacher for every subject starting in the 7th grade like most I assume.
You all remember, the first place you attend is home room (this is all barring anyone that’s home schooled of course) then first period on through 5th or 6th period.
Every period or class you attend is a different subject, and there are lessons to learn and study.
Everyone is taking the foundational courses, some are taking advanced courses most are where they’re suppose to be for their level.
But not everyone is taking all the same courses, at the same times. Some have opted in electives, such as Reserve officer training corps (ROTC for short) finance, photography, electronics, art, carpentry, home economics, speech/journalism, physical education, sex education, religious or spiritual studies, foreign language, Athletics or many other electives and special courses. Everyone is taking physical education whether they participate fully or not.
Continuing in this reminiscence; we finished high school, maybe college whatever the case may be, and now you take all the same skills and courses you just spent (at least) 12 years being involved in, and then you repeat the EXACT SAME process all over again; except this time you’ve graduated to the real world class laboratory. I use laboratory because in the real world at times it feels like life is one big experiment in so many ways.
Real world-class begins and ends the same way it has for the previous 12-16 years except now, real world-class is the hands on experience level of your development.
This is the time to apply all your basic and foundational learning, to live scenarios that you prepped and prepared for.
What do I mean when I say you repeat the same process over again just hands on?
Well here’s how it goes:
Just like in school, every moment of your day there is a lesson involved and different subjects that are being taught. The difference is now, you get to be the one completely in control of your own discipline, study habits and how fast or slow you learn, and therefore progress and develop.
For example, there’s home room, the easiest part of the day in school. After which you go on to first period, some life-students have the same subject/course, others a different one.
So now you’re in real world-class. Where do u wake up? In your bed at home right? Well that’s literally and figuratively “home room” all over again.
The next part of your day is 1st period, whether that be a job you go to, a business you run, exercise/workout (phys-ed) whatever is next in YOUR day when you leave home that is YOUR 1st period.
Following that is 2nd period or the next phase of your day. Even if you’re at the same job or business for 8-12 hours there are levels in your day that change based on the dynamics of that environment.
More people may show up for work, maybe at different intervals than you, they may operate in a different job role than you, and that changes the dynamic of the work day, maybe you’re catching a flight, maybe you have a meeting, perhaps a medical appointment, whatever it is, you’ve moved on to 2nd period because the day has now changed, and this continues throughout the day.
When you’re off work, (probably the best part of any standard day) some of us go to the gym for their gym period, others go pick up children, others go to yet another job, to the grocery store, the mechanic, or the many other things one does; well that period of ur day is your 3rd period, maybe it’s your 4th but remember we’re all taking classes in our day some at the same time some at different times.
Remember when you use to pass your peers in the hallways at school? Well this time as we pass one another it’s not in the halls it’s on the highways, freeways, grocery stores, even the gym/phys ed classes after work we elect, and just like high school and college, we see familiar faces, we may not know everyone but we tend to recognize certain people, whether that be due to popularity for being an athlete, social status, style, uniqueness, attractiveness or many other high school-type reasons.
There is always something we are suppose to be paying attention to (Learning) during every phase/period of our real world day, which if we study well nough, it will assist us in our day in the same subject tomorrow when all these classes begin again.
There are learning times, times we pass, times we fail.
Plug in, because here’s the part that’s suppose to cause your brain to make sense of your everyday life.
When we were are in a structured environment, class or learning institution, we have teachers, instructors, coaches, and professors that will eventual say the following….
“There’s going to be a test on (this or that), on Friday”.
As you notice, they have even told us the day.
So we the student have been “warned” and therefore know the tests are coming.
Here’s the anatomy of a test.
A “test” is a standardized scale of measurement to determine if we are learning what’s been taught up to a certain point, It’s usually at the end of a chapter, or sometimes between progressive stages of the same subject being taught. Driving this point in more precisely is to say, a test is a means of trial.
When we’re learning a specific subject, we are learning about it, how to apply it, when to apply it. As we continue to use it, we learn even MORE about it, and the various levels of that ONE subject. With multiple subjects it’s the same, and each one has a test surrounding it.
Passing a test ultimately moves us toward the next UPPER level in that same subject, and again I say, we were “warned” of its coming.
Being warned is a key point, because THAT’S a test.
You know your daily routines, and you have prepared for them and practiced them through repetition. You have even been tested from time to time, and come to expect the tests, because through a regular occurrence you have been warned or at least expect Murphy’s law at some point (Anything that can go wrong will go wrong). However, do NOT mistake a TEST as a beacon of something wrong, a test is anything that will assess your current comprehension, but again is inclusive of occurrences that are no ideal to deal with.
Do NOT fret at a test because, even more so there is something MUCH WORSE THAN THAT…
There’s this cruel but necessary, secret tactic called,
These are the bullies that tests hang out with. Teachers and professors keep these in their arsenal for kicks and giggles.
All together, they are like a gang i.e., Teachers, Tests, and Pop Quizzes.
Not really, but really they are a necessary thing, because these “pop quizzes” are so unexpected that it teaches us to not get mentally lazy or complacent about what were suppose to be learning.
Due to having multiple teachers (at times) in school with different subjects, and periods of the day, you might even have 2-3 pop quizzes in a day which is so stressful that you just want to die.
Pop quizzes also keep us on task but they aren’t easy, because they are not the same as tests, they have their own methodology of assessing our aptitude.
They are the surprise you’re NOT suppose to know about ON PURPOSE.
When our guard is down, in comes this torture tactic.
Maybe you find this amusing, and that’s good, but my hopes are that it’s also enlightening.
The anatomy of the POP QUIZ
Pop quizzes do NOT follow exactly what’s been studied. A pop quiz will cause you to take what’s been studied, and pair it with scenarios or topics that were possibly NEVER covered specifically in the primary subject.
Real world-class, has no shortage of them, in fact it seems more, e.g., Flat tires in the morning, afternoon or evening, children sick, you’re sick, accidents on the freeways, car got stolen or broken into, or repossessed, an appliance is broken, broken or fractured bones, deaths in the family or friends, or unexpected pregnancy, you got fired or laid off, maybe even a job offer that seems to turn your whole life on a tilt if you accept it; purse or wallet is lost or stolen, here’s a GOOD one, a world wide virus breaks out and affects EVERYONE. Whether you think it’s real, or a real conspiracy, the point is you didn’t prepare for it, neither did you test for it.
All sorts of scenarios; and these are only examples (but real ones) and a fraction of the many pop quizzes that can occur just like in school multiple times during a real world-class-day.
The pop quiz will force you to take ALL your skills, knowledge, tactics, information; everything you learned in one situation (or subject) along with a psychological balance, to form a calculation of how (yet again) to solve, and therefore pass this complex POP QUIZ at hand. They are like riddles we have to solve.
How you conduct yourself mentally is a BIG part or each pop quiz, and you may have never studied nor tested in psychology.
In many of the jobs, there are in fact performance evaluations, hence you’re being graded; better yet EXAMINED. this measuring scale is different. With this scale if you are “passing” per say, you get compensated for it in the form of a raise (even though most raises are insulting, but that’s a different subject).
But for the most part hands on class with its levels, is left in your hands to responsibly, unbiasedly, grade and evaluate yourself and what you’re learning, how quickly, how you’re developing, how it’s affecting others, etc.
Why is this important to know and grasp? Because in real world-class we also graduate to higher levels, you just have to recognize the periods in your day and what your suppose to be learning, moment by moment day by day, and keeping what you learn in the fore front of your mind. No one is “holding our hand” anymore preventing us from walking out into traffic.
Everything we do during our first 12 years of school is intended to prepare us for college, trade school, jobs or/and ultimately the hands on real world-class and the experiences that follow the structured class version.
Through conditioning and repetition we learn.
Therefore Tests eventually become nothing more than an expected challenge that shows up at least WITH a warning because you have experienced these before.
Pop quizzes (those bullies) may become somewhat less traumatic when they “pop” up but they remain bullies because a pop quiz is something you have never faced until that moment. If you experience it or something like it again, it’s no longer a pop quiz, it’s been downgraded to a test because now you know how to prepare for it until the unforeseen, brand NEW pop quiz in life arrives again.
So here’s a quote to remember and a transitional statement to a more in depth perspective into this subject matter…
“SCHOOL is an analogy of LIFE”.
Most adults 18 or above have some form of job that pays them. This will go even further into our real world-class philosophy, and hopefully this will show you how to gain a better psychological perspective. In turn teach you something in a way possibly not afforded to you before, additional helping you navigate your daily periods and graduate through life a stronger student.
Now you’re in your job, you’re no longer in the safe structured class environment. I use the word “safe” to only describe the mistakes that we can make in a class room, because they can “safely” be identified; therefore learned from, making the necessary adjustments with out that much permanent negative affect.
So here’s a perspective, have you EVER thought of your job like this?
What we do is voluntary-paid training.
Whatever got us here was training up to this current stage we’re in RIGHT NOW, and wherever we go from here (whether that be a lateral move, a promotional step up within the same institution/job you’re in, or these same scenarios outside in a different institution/job) either case, it’s paid training for that level, or that NEXT level.
In other words, the job you chose to apply for and ultimately got hired by, was your elective. You were taught something in a class room for however long and you ultimately chose to apply that towards a job suited around that interest or teaching. The key is YOU “chose” it.
After the “safe” class/school setting, it’s hands on. Now you have entered into PAID TRAINING. There’s always a standard time of training with any new job or position, but do NOT think for one moment that after it’s over, training or school is over, in fact it’s back to school once again.
That institution/corporation is established for one thing, to create revenue, and you are hired to either help add to it, or to protect the assets and interest of those who established that organization.
Here’s a true “real life” short story to drive this point in. I was a bike officer on patrol on the Las Vegas strip while building my health brand and business that you see here, during which time I had already been certified and qualified for ten years with many clients. However I chose to work for someone else, to fund myself so that I may build this business. While working and beginning to build this site in particular, the duties, and operations did not seem to add up to what we were told we were suppose to be about as officers. Through all the organizational challenges, the constant short staffing, being over worked; under paid, nepotism, internal corruption, the racial divide, and plenty more, the following came to mind while trying to make sense of it all EVERYDAY. Here’s the true realization and download that came into my thoughts.
“We (the officers) are only here at this level to protect the interest of the hierarchy, assets, properties and negate any threat that would be a liability. If harm to a person was a liability for the hierarchy, the organization, and ultimately the bottom line, then and only then protecting any said person becomes a priority.”
By intention, believe it or not this was actually true, Sad right?
If you (my inner voice speaking) want to show up for paid training again the following day, u may do so, as long as you learn from the successes AND failures of the present or previous day(s).
This institution has protocols to follow and trainers (FTO’s, sergeants, lieutenants, etc.) to help you learn and know those protocols, so if you are willing to show up the next day, then you may do so, adding to that training and potentially moving on to your next training level at the right stage or time in your life”.
We also had a structured, class room training (an academy) for this job as well, including that laboratory which in this case was defensive tactics, weapons training, hand cuff techniques, etc. After successfully completing that, we were simply now hands on front lines at this level. Every thing we encountered I then considered a continuation of the “lessons or disciplines”.
We all are training to work in a team environment, amongst each other, along with training to deal with real life unscripted scenarios and conflicts, etc. All while focusing on the primary goal i.e., the assets and nothing more.
The download continued in my head like with this…
“If u choose to take your training to a new level then you will apply for that institution or position with THIS (current) training as your gateway of experience. But remember that next stage is voluntary training at its level as well“.
“There will be tests & pop quizzes that are established, the only way to pass is to pay attention to each days training because the quizzes are established with a different purpose in mind than the ones you think you’re being prepared for. The only preparation is today’s training and yesterday (previous days) training. Almost everyday there is a test which are the scenarios we face on a constant or consistent basis”.
“The quizzes (the unexpected) are what life has set up that you’re suppose to be preparing for EVERYDAY which is ANYTHING, anytime unscripted”.
“This daily paid training is preparing you, so simply show up for each days lesson with the mindset to go home safely everyday, so if you choose, you may return to continue to sharpen yourselves for what’s coming“.
”Your pay is commensurate with this level of training“.
”Your trainers (supervisors) can kick you out of training permanently (fire you) if you aren’t adhering to the protocols in place for this paid training. However so can they, they also have protocols they must adhere to and follow, because whether THEY know it, or not, they too are in paid training. Your advantage is that you DO know”.
“There will always be evaluations to measure your competency and what is intended of your training at every level ”.
“Pray for yourself and those around you, because that is the most of what you can do outside of what your suppose to do or not do”.
“Everyone by design is in the position they are meant to be in currently. Everyone has a delegation to support the whole operation to meet its objective”.
We all did our reports, this information is passed on to those who operate this institution to make sure their protocols are being met, in order to keep the money in flow, and the construct in place.
“No one here is able to make or cause change as an individual, that’s not what this level is, if u want to produce change, take your training and skills outside of it, because no matter how much paid training you sign up for WITHIN this construct you’re not going to be paid to change it, but only to keep it operational even at that next level”.
“Everything you’re going through is training for the next things you will go through”.
Once I came to the realization that I/we were only in that position to truly help support the bottom line, and that I chose to be there daily to uphold my current way of life, by choosing to do so I was getting paid, which made it voluntary paid training also known as a job. It truly helped me on a daily basis cope with it all, I no longer internalized it. I just looked at it as training in a real world that I would one day, take with me, and add to what I would do next in life.
Life can be many things, but as it applies to your mental health, simply look at it this way…
Life is a school with tests, pop quizzes, and voluntary paid training. Pay close attention daily, because…
Life is also a teacher.
In closing, we all will face many things, obstacles, challenges, adversities, TESTS, & POP QUIZZES in life.
Through these exams you’re being examined, follow your daily lessons, stay focused because your growth, and development, depends on it, and others will depend on the strength you acquire from it.
Eventually we become the ones that influence, teach and instruct others in what we have learned. You yourself may even be a teacher, or some type of instructor yet even you, being in that position, doesn’t make you exempt from the tests and pop quizzes that life throws your way.
If we’re studying each lesson during each period of our day, when the time is right, you graduate to the next chapter in your real world-class.
If you have any direct questions or comments, feel free to email me direct at contact@exerciseassociation.com
Sleep well, Eat well, Train well
Yours in good health
