088 – Evolution Of A Man - a podcast by Alf Herigstad

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EVOLUTION OF A MAN…
Today I’m going to talk about kind of an abstract concept, that is, the way individuals evolve  over time…the individual evolution of man.I’m not talking about species or science or anything, I’m talking about you. 
From my observations there is roughly a 5 year gap between one version of yourself and the next.  In other words…what I’m talking about is that 5 years ago, I was a different guy than I am today.I looked basically the same and my personality and sense of humor were basically the same, but there were other things about me that were different than they are today.  If I go back 10 years the differences become more profound.
I would bet money that the same is true of you.  We take it for granted because the changes are subtle and slow over a long period of time…but the changes occur nonetheless. In fact, if we could go back in time and collect a version of you at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago and put you all in a room together…counting you, there would be 5 very different, very distinct individuals present in that room…some of you may not even like each other, even though you are the same person and you look alike.
You might be resisting that notion…but think about it for a minute.  Think about who you were 10 years ago.  While many things will be the same, there are probably some notable differences like where you like to go, what you like to do, who you hang out with, what things really matter to you, what your life goals are, how you are perceived in your social group, even what foods you like to eat could be different.From a scientific point of view it isn’t really that surprising.  We replace all of our skin cells every 27 days.  That means all of your skin is different skin than it was 28 days ago.  So why wouldn’t the stuff on the insides of us change as well…especially given our accumulation of knowledge and experience as we get older.It’s even weird to me, and I’m the one telling you about it.  When we are young men in our 20’s we figure were almost there.  we have almost arrived at the final version of ourselves.  But I can tell you, my Dad is 80, and even he is a slightly different guy today than he was 5 years ago, and a completely different guy than he was 20 years ago.
So you see…it never stops.  we never stop evolving and changing as individuals.  It doesn’t stop until we die.You might be wondering what all this has to do with being a better man, well, I’m about to tell you.
Most of us just live in the moment we are breathing in.  we act and react to things based on what is happening around us, what is going on in the present.  It is not a natural thing to act or react to things with a future version of ourselves in mind.  But…that’s whats happening wether you realize it or not.The things that have the biggest impact on the future versions of ourselves are the actions we take in the present moment we are living in.
Lets think about that for a moment.  Everything you do today, every decision you make, everything you say, the places you go, the people you interact with, all these things will have some bearing on who you are 5 years from now.  Some things weigh more heavily than others naturally, but everything matters.How many times have you heard older men speak with some regret?  Like, if I would have… If I wouldn’t have…I should have…. If only I would have known…  That’s an example of them learning this lesson too late in life.  Don’t be like that guy.
You can probably see where I’m going with this…knowledge is power.  Whenever you become aware of what I’m talking about, whenever you acquire this knowledge that present you is critical to how five years from now you turns out…That is knowledge that you can’t un-know.  Now you have a responsibility to yourself five years in the future, and when you have become that guy you have a responsibility to the guy five years beyond that.  It never

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