This weekend we traveled to Rock Springs WY to visit family. Saturday night we decided to take a small trip down Jacob memory lane. We drove over to “my side” of town and went through my old neighborhood. As to my house (where I spent the first 18 years of my life) I’m glad to report that they have a huge garden… other than that they seem slightly trashy to me. 
We drove all around the area and generally I would say the condition of things has improved. We stopped quickly at a small little park not far from the Civik Center where we would often play as kids. This was the only park within bike distance that didn’t require crossing a major road and thus we were there a lot playing in the bushes and trees more than the playground equipment which has been replaced since. Just for good measure Ami and I hid a geocache at the park. We entered it online Saturday night around 11pm and by 12:04am someone who goes by Dr.Tom had already found it 
Here is the link to the geocache.
Old Stomping Grounds
Harry Potter on Personal Development:: Decision Making
“Sometimes making a decision is more important than making the best decision.”
Harry Potter is a very decisive person. When confronted with decisions he certainly doesn’t always make the best one but I would argue that by making one right away vs weighing it out in his mind for too long he tends to come out on top. One might say that Harry is a boy of action not reflection.
One such example comes in book 4 “The Goblet of Fire” when inside the maze he runs through a mist that turns the world upside down. It feels to him that if he lifts his foot off the ground he will surely fall into infinite nothingness, but deciding that his other option is to just do nothing until presented with a different solution he acts pulling one foot hard off the ground. The world is corrected and he proceeds into the maze.
I’m not suggesting that thinking before acting is foolish. JK Rowling does a great job of taking us through Harry’s decision making processes in which he almost always thinks out the problem. What I am suggesting is that once you have thought something out in the first moments determining your options it becomes wiser to act than to wait continuously hoping for different options or for one such option to become perfectly more clear.
So Harry Potter teaches us that analyzing a situation and making a quick decision can be done hand in hand to come to a good end. We avoid acting without thinking it through but also avoid endless and pointless debate as to the best decision.
Worry, hurry, and fear prevent us from following Harry’s example. Practice with your everyday simple problems and trials. Think through the logical options and then make a quick decision even when you are not able to determine which one is the best option!
Coyote Gulch Backpacking Trip
I had my doubts about the need to travel 7 hours just to have a good backpacking trip with the young men in the ward. All my doubts disappeared once we got there. As you can see from the pictures… GORGIOUS!
Too get into the gulch we had to drop our packs over a ledge with rope and then squeeze through a narrow crack down into the valley. I’d show you a picture but we did it in the dark!
On our first night I upset a swarm of bees or hornets (once again it was too dark to be sure) but otherwise we came out of it without any real hiccups. The hike is mostly through a stream of water with occassional sand trails on the bank. We saw 4 different arches and some indian ruins. A once in a lifetime experience that I’m hoping to duplicate with my family.
Harry Potter on Personal Development:: Choices Define Us
“It is our choices Harry, that define who we are; not our abilities.” -Albus Dumbledore
Our society is a place of constant victomhood where people blame their failures on their own circumstances. If I had been born in a different place or to a wealthy family then my life would be different. If I was good at x-thing or had been born with x-skill then I would have more opportunity.
Harry Potter learns very quickly in the book “The Chamber of Secrets,” that he and his nemesis have a lot of similarities. They both were raised by muggles, they both speak parcel-mouth, and they both cherished school as their true home.
Harry Potter is concerned that he might be too similar to the evil Tom Riddle but Dumbledore explains that it is our choices and not our abilities that define who we are. We must all remember that we are defined by how we react to life and not by how life acts on us.
Everyone is born to a different circumstance with different skills but the things that most greatly judges who you are the choices you make. Focus on the things in your life that you have some influence over and work toward improving those things while moving past the un-controlable factors in your environment. Ultimatly the greatest factor in your success is you!
1/2 Marathon. Goal Completed!
Back in March of this year I publicly declared my goal to run in a 1/2 marathon at the end of the summer. I registered for a race on August 8th and have been training all summer. I had some good stretches of training and some times where I was less faithful.
Every single time I went for a training run I recorded the data on www.buddyrunner.com/jacob and also updated my status on twitter and facebook to keep myself accountable to my online community.
Yesterday was the day of the race and I’m pleased to report that I survived! This is without any question the longest distance I have ever run at 13.1 miles. I am sore everywhere and even a day later my legs still feel like jelly.
We had to meet at the finish line at 4:45am to be shuttled in school buses into Provo canyon up South Fork Road. Being on the first bus up I had to wait in the cold and dark for two hours until the race started at 7am. The whole course was beautiful and peaceful as we would through Provo canyon along the river.
I estimate that there were over 3000 runners and this was a different type of runner than I’m used to seeing in my 5K and even 10K races in the past. These were serious runners. No baggy basketball shorts, a lot of heart monitors, and GPS tracking watches.
My wonderful wife Ami, son Simon, and parents were at the finish line along with my sister Shannon and her family. It was really great to have so much support. They had watermelon, pancakes, and granola bars for the runners at the finish line, but my dad brought me a couple of snickers bars (that or he happen to have a couple on it at the time) and a good thing too because I was weak and famished.
I finished in 1 hour 52 minutes and 33 seconds which is about 25 minutes faster than I had hoped for. This put me in 502nd place overall and 32nd in my age group 25-30.
All around a very satisfying experience!
Harry Potter on Personal Development:: What We Fear
Every year I listen to the Harry Potter books. Something about the epic story really captivates me. As I am moving through the books right now I intend to post a series of posts on personal development lessons we can learn from Harry Potter and his stories. Here is the first installment.
Lesson 1: “Well, well . . . I’m impressed. That suggests what you fear most of all is — fear. Very wise, Harry.” -Professor Lupin
The above quote comes from book 3 in the series and has had me thinking all day. Most people set there fears on specific things such as spiders, heights, water, death, and even commitment.
Harry Potter, as is suggested, fears most of all fear itself. Someone who fears fear is most likely to confront and overcome anything they suspect might scare them. Is this wise?
I am suggesting that our friend Professor Lupin from the story was right, and that this practice/attitude is wise. Why? What is to be gained by confronting and overcoming things that scare you? There are a few simple and logical answers.
1. Overcoming fears will mean that you are scared of less things. This can only be a good thing.
2. The process of confronting fear will only strengthen your character, giving you more power to deal with the conflicts that life gives us.
3. Fearing fear itself gives you a strong understanding of reality and thus gives you more freedom in life to take action and pursue happiness.
People who struggle with fears but are too weak to confront them, face two very large problems. First is that they are bound to live life in constant fear. Second being that their ability to deal with conflicts is generally weakened as they continue to “run” away from the things they fear.
It certainly works for Harry in the story. Although Harry sometimes plunges into dangerous situations unwisely, it is foolishness and not a lack for fear than often puts him in danger. His ability to confront fear instead of dread it however proves to be a helpful trait. It allows him to think logically when under stress, and to do what is frankly necessary regardless what the consequences might be. Harry Potter fans will mistakenly notice this reoccurring pattern throughout the literary saga.
I suggest we all follow Harry’s example and confront our fears head on. By fighting them we increase our own ability to live life to its fullest and function within a true reality of our environment.
Overcoming fear does not mean we need to put ourselves in danger to prove we can handle it. If you are scared of lightning it may not be necessary to stand on top of a hill in a puddle of water during a thunderstorm. It does mean you need to learn the true reality of how lightning works and live in caution but not fear.
I leave you with this final thought; Fear Not. Fear is a tool used to keep you at bay, controllable, and weak. Confront it and overcome its power over you. This will make you both free and strong!
Ask yourself this question… what would your bugart transform into?
Jacob S Paulsen
Follow & Subscribe: