My newest toxic trait is ordering books, then returning them. Maybe returning stuff does not sound toxic to you, but I do not make a habit of rejecting books. I love all books. I’ll read a book about terrariums for your pet snake if it’s sitting around.
But lately, even when I go to Barnes and Noble, I look at books and think, “Of course I want to read that. But do I want to own that?”
Nine times out of ten the answer is no.
For example, I was recently reading a book of interviews with comedy writers, and Adam Resnick was talking about Woody Allen’s humor books. I stopped reading and put the book down.
Woody Allen’s humor writing? How could this genre have gotten past me?
So I ordered all three paperbacks from Woody Allen, and when they arrived, I stacked them up on the counter. But as I stared at the stack, I realized I had no sense of satisfaction looking at them. They were in the library, after all, and these little books had no place in my personal bedroom library. Then I leafed through them, and since I got no thrill from the syntax,
back to Amazon they went.
Recently a hardback book arrived in the mail, and I wondered what had happened that would lead me to make such a huge investment like a hardback book. I could fill my gas tank for the price of a hardback book. I could buy a Le Creuset Dutch oven for the price of a hardback book. I could buy myself that big box of assorted chocolates that I love so much in the local candy store, the one that goes for $49.95, for the price of a hardback book.
But I digress.
Although it looked interesting, I decided to return it. But nope. For some reason, it was unreturnable. So to take a break in grading papers the other day, I decided to pick it up and read a little bit of it.
I’m glad I did.
In Span of Control, author and fighter pilot Carey Lohrenz tries to answer the following:
What can you control?
What do you do when you’re under pressure, overwhelmed, and ready to get what you really want?
Taken from Amazon book review:
At our core, we know at some points in our lives that we’ve lost control. We’ve lost our grip on what we really want and who we really want to be. In order to solve the challenges of chaos and make our goals, dreams, and commitments a reality, we have to understand that in order to succeed when the pressure is on and to improve our performance overall, we’ve got to know what we can and cannot control.
This is the partial basis for all of my speaking and writing in the past four years:
What can you control? And what can’t you? How do you continue to move towards your goals, when life seems to want nothing more than to throw unwanted obstacles in your path?
Of course I’m not a Tomcat fighter pilot, silly. But I think anyone could utilize the lessons Lohrenz puts forth in this book. Here are some gems:
Multitasking is a myth.
Fight for purpose.
Stay rooted in reality.
Grow your growth mindset.
Make good decisions.
Focus on what matters most.
Formulate a flight plan for success.
Go beyond possible.
And for God’s sakes, never forget:
Put the damn ladder down. Read the book if you want to know what that means.