As I had written in the very first post, I want to write about why I chose this title for the blog.
It is an obvious homage to the book "THE MAMBA MENTALITY" written by the late great Kobe Bryant. I have no intention of ridiculing him or his book in anyway. There was a time in my life when I was an avid fan of NBA basketball and Kobe was one of the brightest stars then. Because I lived in NYC, I was mostly a fan of the Knicks, but if I lived in LA or anywhere that aired Lakers games a lot more, I would have been a Lakers fan and fan of Kobe. He just seemed like a perfect human being if there ever was one. To be honest, I have not read "THE MAMBA MENTALITY", but my understanding of it is about his work-ethic and dedication and making sacrifices in order to achieve his goal. I am sure it is great reading and one that could inspire those who want to achieve something exceptional. I think it would definitely have inspired a younger me, but at this point in my life, I don't think I could mentally or physically withstand the kind of dedication spoken of in this book.
"THE MUMBLE MENTALITY" I propose is kind of the opposite. It's sort of derived from something I heard on the radio where the host was talking about a book written by a neuroscientist in which she explained the brain's main purpose is to keep the body alive and functioning and other things like emotions and thoughts are just byproducts. The radio host goes on to say that if you applied that knowledge to yourself when you are stressed out by your thoughts and emotions, they are not that important because they are just byproducts. I am taking that idea one step further and say that if you have kept yourself alive and healthy, you get a 100 for the day. It's just a way of thinking. They say you can tell and optimist from a pessimist by if a person says a glass is half full or half empty, but with THE MUMBLE MENTALITY, the glass is always full. Of course, in this complex modern civilization we live in, we need to worry about lots of things in order to survive, but it is comforting knowing that you are doing a perfect job as long as you are alive and not bing unhealthy. You don't have to achieve anything because you already got a perfect score. Anything you do achieve is a bonus. This is not a philosophy, but just sort of a mental trick you can use if you don't feel good about yourself because you aren't living up to your expectations. I think it's safe to say that most of us aren't living up to our own expectations, but that doesn't mean we have to be unhappy. You've already got the perfect score and everything else, even negative emotions are a bonus. Sometimes I think about the dead and how they would kill to be alive even to feel negative emotions because they don't feel anything at all. We must be privileged as humans to have more complex thoughts and emotions compares with other forms of life on earth, but we shouldn't get caught up in them too much as they are just features that help keep us alive and not the other way around (which would be like us being mainly soul with physical body just a bonus). All this is not to say that you should give up on trying to achieve things. This is just one way to keep your mind at peace, so when it comes the time to throw down the gauntlet, you will be ready and able.
At the moment, it's this world that has given us so many things to be sad and worried about, so that even the most stable of us could use tricks like this to cope. I wonder what Kobe would say about all of this if he was still alive. So much has happened since he passed away, that I think a lot of us have forgotten that he's gone. I really still can't believe he is gone. You'd think if this world was a survival game, he'd be the last one standing, but he is gone simply because of an accident. It really makes you think you can work hard to achieve your goal, but it could all be gone in an instant. So, it's not the results that's important, but how you spend your time. I don't know if this would actually be helpful to anyone, but I just wanted to share it as it's the attitude I'm taking. If you think I'm not doing enough, I'm just taking it easy and having fun.
It is an obvious homage to the book "THE MAMBA MENTALITY" written by the late great Kobe Bryant. I have no intention of ridiculing him or his book in anyway. There was a time in my life when I was an avid fan of NBA basketball and Kobe was one of the brightest stars then. Because I lived in NYC, I was mostly a fan of the Knicks, but if I lived in LA or anywhere that aired Lakers games a lot more, I would have been a Lakers fan and fan of Kobe. He just seemed like a perfect human being if there ever was one. To be honest, I have not read "THE MAMBA MENTALITY", but my understanding of it is about his work-ethic and dedication and making sacrifices in order to achieve his goal. I am sure it is great reading and one that could inspire those who want to achieve something exceptional. I think it would definitely have inspired a younger me, but at this point in my life, I don't think I could mentally or physically withstand the kind of dedication spoken of in this book.
"THE MUMBLE MENTALITY" I propose is kind of the opposite. It's sort of derived from something I heard on the radio where the host was talking about a book written by a neuroscientist in which she explained the brain's main purpose is to keep the body alive and functioning and other things like emotions and thoughts are just byproducts. The radio host goes on to say that if you applied that knowledge to yourself when you are stressed out by your thoughts and emotions, they are not that important because they are just byproducts. I am taking that idea one step further and say that if you have kept yourself alive and healthy, you get a 100 for the day. It's just a way of thinking. They say you can tell and optimist from a pessimist by if a person says a glass is half full or half empty, but with THE MUMBLE MENTALITY, the glass is always full. Of course, in this complex modern civilization we live in, we need to worry about lots of things in order to survive, but it is comforting knowing that you are doing a perfect job as long as you are alive and not bing unhealthy. You don't have to achieve anything because you already got a perfect score. Anything you do achieve is a bonus. This is not a philosophy, but just sort of a mental trick you can use if you don't feel good about yourself because you aren't living up to your expectations. I think it's safe to say that most of us aren't living up to our own expectations, but that doesn't mean we have to be unhappy. You've already got the perfect score and everything else, even negative emotions are a bonus. Sometimes I think about the dead and how they would kill to be alive even to feel negative emotions because they don't feel anything at all. We must be privileged as humans to have more complex thoughts and emotions compares with other forms of life on earth, but we shouldn't get caught up in them too much as they are just features that help keep us alive and not the other way around (which would be like us being mainly soul with physical body just a bonus). All this is not to say that you should give up on trying to achieve things. This is just one way to keep your mind at peace, so when it comes the time to throw down the gauntlet, you will be ready and able.
At the moment, it's this world that has given us so many things to be sad and worried about, so that even the most stable of us could use tricks like this to cope. I wonder what Kobe would say about all of this if he was still alive. So much has happened since he passed away, that I think a lot of us have forgotten that he's gone. I really still can't believe he is gone. You'd think if this world was a survival game, he'd be the last one standing, but he is gone simply because of an accident. It really makes you think you can work hard to achieve your goal, but it could all be gone in an instant. So, it's not the results that's important, but how you spend your time. I don't know if this would actually be helpful to anyone, but I just wanted to share it as it's the attitude I'm taking. If you think I'm not doing enough, I'm just taking it easy and having fun.
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