The Grasshopper visited over the weekend and left this definition:

WEAKNESS: Thinking you can outsmart your vices.

How profound, how universal, and how stupid.

The first sign of weakness being a weakness is denying our vice. We may artfully lump it into the category of “everyone does it,” but we never examine that explanation further. We never assess our degree of involvement. We fail to notice that everyone that does it to the degree we do, suffers.

Reminds me of a story . . .

Frank Layden, former coach of the Utah Jazz was a great motivator of people. He also weighed well over 300lbs. He had heard the speech from his doctor many times that he was endangering himself by carrying all that excess weight, especially in his mid 60’s. The logic never registered with him until . . .

Finally on one visit his doctor said, “Frank, I want you to go look for men over 300lbs that are your age when you leave here today.” Frank couldn’t find any. That became the motivation for him to finally get healthy.

Outsmarting your vices is called kidding yourself, but the jokes on you because no one is laughing.

Here’s a hint that your vice needs to be addressed: When you have a story at the ready to defend it. That indicates you’re neck deep in it.

Here’s another hint: When you say, “it’s none of your business,” especially to a friend or close family member who’s concerned.

My personal favorite is when we shift the onus to the worried person who points out our dilemma. “You have issues too.” The hope is they will go on to defend themselves about their issues so we can get the focus off of us.

There’s a reason Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s not that he didn’t have weaknesses, we all do. He just chose to identify his and go to work on them so he could be the best he could be.

People who decide to go to work on a weakness, don’t make excuses. They realize that only action works.

Our vices are patterns that need to be outgrown, not outsmarted. Every time you think of a creative way to defend what you do, you just add another glob of glue.

Weakness and Smartness is a deadly combination – one that lets stupid people outlive you.

All the best,

John

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF
STOP SMOKING FOREVER
SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT EVERY NIGHT
IMPROVE YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE
RELAX IN 2 MINUTES