Nuance for Novelty

I was listening to the Freakonomics podcast on "grit" and this really struck a chord with me:

"But I will say this: it is human nature to get bored of things and to seek the novel. And I think that one of the skills that one must develop in life, if one cares not to be a dilettante, if it’s a goal of yours to become expert in something, one of the skills is to learn to substitute nuance for novelty."

Strength

Recently a friend of my family lost an 11 year battle with cancer. At the celebration of life service, the bishop spoke of this friend's ability to savor life. He had the strength to fight the cancer and continue to do all the things he loved - support the church, the Pride of the Southland marching band, and the Boy Scouts in addition to being a father, husband, and a lawyer.

We see examples of this sort of strength all the time - including this 12 year old boy who fought cancer almost all of his life. You see the strength in the individual, but also reflected in the actions of those around them like the Marines in the story.

It gives me hope.

Link via Uncle

I was going to brag about my running...

This guy "only" walked 1.5 km... emphasis mine below. Full article here.

"In all, Gutierrez suffered a gunshot wound to the upper shoulder and triceps muscle, left chest and lateral muscle, resulting in two broken ribs, broken scapula, a softball-sized hole in his back, a collapsed lung and multiple blood infections, which required three chest tubes, three blood transfusions and seven surgeries. To top it off, the 'danger-close' 30-mm strafing runs ruptured both of his ear drums.

Despite losing five pints of blood and walking 1 ½ kilometers, Gutierrez stayed on the radio calling for his own medical evacuation and ensuring surveillance coverage for the safe return of the ground force team."

Via Says Uncle