Peace in Chaos

(C).1/3 - Peace in Chaos / 7-14-2025

Words of Carroll Shelby, automotive and racing icon, "there's a point, 7000 RPM, where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless, just disappears. All that's left, a body moving through space and time.” 7000 RPM is a representation of chaos; high energy, fast paced driving.

There is peace in the chaos of chasing a goal; building a business, starting a new relationship, signing up for a marathon, working on a new health/fitness routine. All of these things are scary, and all require focus. But, embracing the chaos and finding the upper limit of what can be handled, can result in a weightless, floating from day to day, feeling. Passion keeps it exciting, but the chaos makes these moments feel effortless. The work is being done, but energy isn’t wavering. 

The key to all of this is resilience. Resilience is managed suffering; humans love to do difficult things, “take it up a notch”. But within reason; running 5 miles is hard, and running 5 miles barefoot with a 50lb vest on a gravel road is even harder. So, we choose our hard. “Hard” for person A is going to look different for person B, and even further different for person C. Find what stands out as hard, and work on that “thing”. Improve at that thing, and reach a proficiency level to where that thing is now part of life. It will just become part of a daily/weekly routine, and become a new normal. Then find another “hard” thing to incorporate into daily life. Repeat this process for years and after picking the head up to turn around; progress is so far that life isn’t even recognizable. 

5 years ago, I saw the direction I was going in life and it wasn’t exciting to me. I chose a different direction to go down, and that was the first “hard” step on this journey. I’ve had other hard steps and other challenges along the way, and still continue to have them. But, those “what ifs” from 5 years ago are now checkmarks in a resume full of times where I followed through on my word. So for the next challenge that I encounter, that resume is in hand and I have a list of experiences that I am able to use to work through that challenge. Creating a list of experiences that I am able to reference whenever a challenge arises: personal, relationship, health/fitness; means that I am able to approach these with confidence AND more willing to take on additional challenges.

There’s one key to this; you have to care. If you care, you will make time. If you don’t care, suddenly it becomes increasingly harder to have a reason for working hard at whatever goals you may have. So, find what hard things you care about, find what hard things interest you, and work at them.

Bennett Gunderson