TOP 5 AUTHENTIC STRENGTHS OF THE BATMAN

How about a small, simple definition for strength? Ability. To be strong is to have ability. In life, in the gym, and in relationships. The ability to overcome the physical, emotional, or subjective obstacles that hinder our progress as human beings. That is strength – Todd Hargrove

1. STRENGTH OF THE BODY

“The most effectual means of preventing all the disadvantages and evil consequences of a neglected exercise of body and muscles is methodical physical training” – George Hackenschmidt

Muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, mobility, explosive power, grip strength, reaction timing, a strong back, neck and bones thickened from vigorous physical demands are the way of the Bat.

Strength training (also known as Resistance Training) is a kind of voluntary temporary stress imposed upon the body in order to stimulate growth of the heart and lungs, muscle tissue, tendon, ligaments and bones.

Growth in physical culture and in Life comes from Resistance. No Resistance = No Growth

We endure voluntary stress, in our own way, in order to be more capable.
So that in times of in-voluntary stress, we are physically and mentally more adapted to the unpredictable circumstances of life that challenge us beyond our everyday norms.

Our body is our slave and must listen to our mental commands. A weak mind produces a weak body. Doing nothing is an insurance policy in failure. There are many ways to strengthen ones body, mind and spirit freely available.

The Batman employs as many as he is able to, and why should we not do the same?

For a man to be truly strong, in addition to correct physical training he must also posses something intangible and priceless that can not be taught by even the greatest of teachers – the will to be strong. – George Hackenschmidt

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2. STRENGTH OF THE WILL

The Batman forges his strength of will in the heart of his suffering. His will power, as a self willed man is almost unparalled (notable others being Lex Luthor and Hal Jordan). His mind set, will and determination are key characteristics of his psyche.

From suffering and tragedy comes greatness for The Batman. Not all human beings can turn their most painful experiences into reasons for being and living beyond ordinary conditions. Without pain, struggle and sacrifice, life would be meaningless. Without difficulty, Bruce Wayne would lack the capacity to rise above the conditions of his life.

From resistance comes strength.

Strength of of the body, strength of the mind, strength of the will and psyche.

Properly exercised and exorcised, The Batman’s mind is his greatest weapon in the unrelenting struggle not just for against evil and for survivial, but against the unrelenting chaos of an unfair universe and existence itself.

Bruce Wayne has develeoped supreme determination, forbearance and concentration.  From hells heart he stabs at thee.

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3. STRENGTH OF VULNERABILITY

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing- it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness – it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

“People who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real badasses.” – Brene Brown

Being vulnerable means being open to life. It means growing up and showing up, daring to act rather than hide away and attempt nothing. Life can and will kick you in the balls (or uterus), and any time you dare to achieve anything, you are going to be vulnerable to your own doubts and insecurities, as well as those looking to take you down a peg in the arena of life. As Brene Brown said in Rising Strong “We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time”.

Being vulnerable means not running from our own emotions and daily challenges in life, but facing them and knowing that we will likely fail more often than we succeed.

Being vulnerable is not limited to suffering, we find vulnerability in joy, vulnerability in  confidence and all aspects of life. To live is be vulnerable. To pretend otherwise is ignorance.

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4. STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

“We can always better understand and appreciate a man’s real character by the manner in which he conducts himself towards those who are the most nearly related to him, and by his transaction of the seemingly commonplace details of daily duty, than by his public exhibition of himself” – Samuel Smiles

“No man is bound to be rich or great – nor to be wise; but every man is bound to be honest” – Sir Benjamin Rudyard

Aside from Batman’s well known physical attiributes and strength of will, one of his greatest strengths is his personal character. Known to superheroes and villains alike for his honesty, integrity and willingness to sacrifice himself or save a life for a principle. The Batman’s character is beyond reproach. Even his enemies know this to be so.

But what is CHARACTER? Character is the overall qualities or atttributes of an object or thing. Applied to living human beings such as Batman however, it is a combination of all his qualities and things that make him distinct and unique.

Attributes such as Honesty, Integrity, Reliability – in addition to the Batman’s virtues and vices. The Batman’s reputation is well established in the DC Universe, and few would doubt his word or true motivations, such is his character. His personality, his motivations and most of all his actions add up to his personal character.

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5. STRENGTH OF COMPASSION

The purpose of developing Compassion is not to avoid difficulties – it is quite the opposite. Compassion is about having the courage and the strength to turn towards pain and difficulty within ourselves or for others, because this is what is needed. – Dr Andreas Comninos,  Clinical Psychologist

The Batman perhaps more than anyone is motivated by a desire for people not to suffer.

His own experiences mean when he encounters someone suffering whom he can help he acts from a place of choiceless awareness. Without compassion The Batman would be an unfeeling unsympthetic monster, or a remorseless killing machine.

Compassion distinguishes The Batman from other vigilantes and creatures of the night, making him a unique force for good while operating in the shadows and underbellies of society.

Compassion is seen by the weak and selfish as a weakness, but for those such as Bruce Wayne who have and develop their compassion for their fellow human beings, it is truly a Strength among Strengths.

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CREDITS

Todd Hargrove Quote on Strength:

https://www.bettermovement.org/blog/2011/what-is-strength

https://toddhargrove.substack.com/about

Samuel Smiles quote from “Character”, page #15

George Hackenschmidt quotes from “The Way to Live in Health and Physical Fitness”

Compassion Quote from Mindfulness and Clinical Psychology Solutions

https://mi-psych.com.au/compassion-an-overview/

Beyond the Cowl: Exploring the Benefits of Pain with Batman as Your Guide

For Batman pain is an old friend.

A constant reminder of his physical limitations.

Pain is direct feedback from his immediate environment about what his body can and can not do.

Batman has the presence of mind to be aware of pain, while not being overwhelmed by his physical pain sensations.

The suffering that comes with physical pain Batman transcends by refusing to let the signals of physical pain overwhelm his consciousness. He refuses to let his mind and judgement be clouded by physical pain.

He still feels every bit of the pain, but he does not let that physical signal that travels along his nervous system into his brain turn into mental/psychological suffering because he does not mistake the experience he is having (pain) for who he is (Batman).

Batman accepts that physical pain and injuries are part of his mission. He is not bothered by injuries, other than that they slow him down or prevent him from completing a task.

In one way of looking at Batman’s behavior, Batman abuses his body by pushing it too hard. Another way of looking at his behavior is that Batman refuses to let physical limitations prevent him from accomplishing a task in his war on crime.

Of course there are limits even to what Batman can endure and some types of pain and injury will cause immediate dysfunction and render Batman incapable of doing anything other than calling for help or retreating to heal before coming up with a new plan, tactic or strategy.

We too should know the Bat-Wisdom of when to ask for help, when to retreat, and when to heal and recover.

There are times in life to listen to the signal of pain, and back off from what we are doing – like at the gym or during sport – if we experience an injury, the smart thing is to stop what we are doing, rest, get treatment and use active recovery.

But then there are times when we must push past pain signals and ignore what our body is telling us. We must act in SPITE of pain. We must not let our body run our mind.

We must choose without any external signals to know when to push past limits, and when to respect them. Either way requires a conscious intelligent decision, rather than blind reaction.

For example you wake up and your house is on fire. You children are asleep and you must get them out or they will die.

Your body is screaming at you from the pain of inhaling smoke fumes, you may get burnt during the process or injured by debris or tripping on objects. The door handle burns your hand when you touch it, but if you do not open it you will die.

If you fail to transcend pain, your kids will die.

These are the times to rule our body with an iron fist and ignore the signals to simply get out of the house and live.

The greater perceived potential pain of death and loss helps to us to look past the immediate physical pain and very real present danger.

These are the times to be like Batman, to transcend ordinary circumstances and find our inner hero who will preserve the life of his children and family at all costs, even if it means sacrificing his own.

While we may have to perform a heroic act perhaps once in a lifetime, Batman goes out night after night and does his job, he fulfills his calling to simply “Be Batman”.

Pushing past pain just to kick a ball harder, or lift a weight heavier serves no higher purpose. They are ultimately selfish goals.

It may feel subjectively great, even euphoric to break one of our own athletic records in the moment, but what is more valuable?

Beating some personal record, experiencing a moment of euphoria that may come at the cost of months of rehab after we abuse our bodies – or the saving of a human life?

We must know our own strengths and limitations in life, and we must equally know when to gently move through them gently and respectfully, and when to break down walls like Batman in the Batmobile busting through police blockades and barriers – not just because we can, but because it serves a higher purpose.

Batman knows his priorities. He doesn’t doubt himself, or his mission.

He doesn’t care about setting athletic records or lifting a heavy weight for the sake of it.

Batman’s training is ALWAYS practical. That heavy weight lifted in the gym translates into lifting a heavy fallen beam during a fire that has pinned some poor soul to the ground, and will be dead in a matter of moments.

That gymnastic leap, tuck and roll means he can dive through a window, his cape, cowl and gloves protecting him from serious cuts from the glass.

Those brutal training scenarios where he deprives himself of food, water and yes, even oxygen means that Batman has mentally prepared himself for all eventualities, and has a plan for how to beat every impossible scenario he can conceive of. Batman has a rich mental bank of scenarios and escape plans for every type of situation.

While he plans and prepares, Batman must remain focused in the present moment. Ever alert to opportunity and new possibilities emerging that he had not yet anticipated.

While Batman is a master planner and strategist, he is also an expert at off the cuff spontaneous creative simple solutions to difficult problems. He is the MacGyver of the Superhero world. Batman is a master in the fine art of masculine improvisation.

Give Batman a box of matches, a watch and a toothpick with some gum, and he will escape from an impossible trap, build an airplane or defuse a nuclear bomb before he has even had breakfast all while he is bleeding to death with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder.

There’s still something about the character [Macgyver] that strongly resonates. And that resonance actually goes a lot deeper than pop culture; it in fact points to an universal archetype of manliness, and a trait of masculinity that has been valued and celebrated across times and cultures: improvisation. – Brett and Kate McKay / Artofmanliness.com

Whether doing the impossible, or making the extraordinary part of his daily routine, Batman applies personal excellence to all he does in life. He transcends pain not as a masochist, but because his job demands it. He can’t afford to fall to pieces going into a burning building to pull someone out any more than a real life fireman can.

Batman can’t afford to get sloppy and let his physical sensations and emotions overwhelm his decisions on the street any more than a real life cop can. Fear and hesitation in the field can mean death comes sooner than rather than later. However the right kind of fear also can keep us alive. It takes training to trust your instincts under high stress situations, and you know Batman has trained himself for exactly that.

While it is impossible to literally be Batman, we can all learn a little from Batman that we can apply in our daily lives. Batman did not turn into a Superhero, urban vigilante and Champion of Justice overnight – he got there through gradual slow training, making mistakes, experimenting with his own life. He made 1000’s of mistakes on his way to greatness. And he will make a 1000 more mistakes as he continues to evolve as a human being.

The Art of Batmanliness then involves not only transcending pain, but knowing your limits.

It means knowing when to push forward and break down barriers, and when to retreat and lick your wounds, growing stronger with each new stimulus, with each new piece of feedback that life gives you. And being like Batman also means that every time life knocks you on your ass you have the bravery to stand back up and fight on or retreat and replan your approach to your mission.

The man who gets knocked down and stays down beats himself.

The man who gets up no matter what is impossible to beat.

Which type will you be?

Batman by Vranckx / DeviantArt

The Mother Fucking Batman

One of the many things I love about Batman is that Bruce is a real D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) – get it done, sort this shit out before yesterday Auto-Didact sort of guy.

Sure in modern comics and vidya’ games Batman has a full on fellatio for excessive sexy gadgets and push button appliances each more slick, exciting or impossibly effective than the last…

But in his heart of hearts, you can take away the fancy gadgets, cars and costume and Bruce McBat is just a guy addicted to learning new shit as effortlessly and efficiently as possible every fucking day of his life. He don’t care about the how, only about the why.

Batman takes all that new learning and knowledge and applies it to the real world with courage, dedication and endless persistence. Each new failure is one more step towards useful results.

Bruce is merciless in his rigorous scientific testing in applying his tactics to the real world, seeing what sticks, what works, what don’t. His own body is his daily sacrifice in this science and all that matters is results. Building a better body or a better Batmobile is all just applied knowledge.

Batman is not just a gadget obsessed supehero wrapped in leather wings.

He’s a guy who can grab a welding torch or grinder and cut up some steel, as well as a gymnast, scientist, chemist, boxer, detective and engineer.

Batman can break things so ruthlessly…

and precisely…

…because he knows exactly how to construct or deconstruct the things he ruthlessly demolishes in his knight time duties.

Batman can take down a wall or take down a bad guy with maximum leverage and minimum of effort because of all that study and intellectual book smarts as well as his street smarts.

So all the gadgets, cool vehicles, membership in the Justice League and the odd trip into space and all that bullshit is nice too. But underneath the glitz, the glamour and the endless brooding in the dark, is a tough as nails don’t fuck with him do it yourself-er who just doesn’t stop.

A self reliant person addicted to learning anything and everything he can, if he has a reason to, if it gives him some form of leverage in his war on crime, Bruce McBats will bury himself in any topic no matter how mundane or obscure. That kind of dedication I respect and is a big part of what keeps me coming back to Batman (in any media) year after year.

We can’t all be Superman, but we sure as shit can train hard, and with loads of practice, we can be Batman. And who the fuck doesn’t wanna be Batman? Batman has an impeccable moral compass, he’s clever and mysterious, and when fucktards get sassy, he punches them in the face. – Kevin Smith

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The Art of Failing Better: A Lesson in Perseverance from Batman

“The more we TRY to impress others, the less natural we are, the less flow we experience and the less power we have.

Consequently, the more we try the more we fail. And when we try even harder, we end up even more frustrated. ” Matt ‘the man’ Furey

Fail more, fail better.

Failure is feedback.

Failure is daring greatly while being open to the results of our own experiences free of any external judgments.

Batman don’t fuck around, he takes what he knows, and he adds to it daily.

The daily step by step process of learning / doing / applying.

What works… persists,

What doesn’t… falls away.

It’s an ongoing experiment in living that is unique and individual to all of us.

What works for me might not work for you.

What works for you, might not work for me.

What works for Batman might not work for us.

THIS IS ONE OF THE SECRETS OF THE BAT.

Batman is Zen and the I Ching and Superman and costumed underpants on the outside and the mythical unknown Underverse all rolled up into one big ball of might, supreme willpower strength and surrender. He’s a costumed maniac who harnesses unknown forces and makes them his bitch. He takes knowledge and skills and transforms them for his own unique purposes, as only he can do.

He is ordinary yet mysterious.

Super, yet human.

He gives Superman a headache.

Batman runs circles around the JLA with his strategies, contingencies and thinking of every last possible stupid fucking scenario while they piss into the wind.

His super power is his will power, it’s how he can beat Superman and Wonder Woman on a Tuesday, and break for lunch before being back in Gotham for the afternoon.

Batman is pure imagination and willpower given physical form.

He places no limits on his knowledge, skills, abilities and most important his IMAGINATION.

The theoretical, the unknown, the unlikely, the improbably probable.

The improbable and crazy shit we ought not to think about, Batman has already thought about and executed multiple plans for. But he’s not unbeatable, he’s just unreasonably prepared.

Batman might be successfully preventing a crime in a dark alley tonight…

But in times past nearly lost his life to an ordinary street punk with a gun, or that time he got his ass handed to him by a time travelling cyborg, or smashed in a Predator’s face out of pure frustration with a baseball bat when all his high tech methods failed and he was left for dead, rescued by Alfred.

Batman might prepare for everything, but he still routinely encounters the unknown, and he fails.

A lot.

The thing about Batman is, he’s like a bad smell that you just can’t get rid of. Beaten, broken and bloodied – he doesn’t give up. He goes away, plans, comes up with new strategies to beat that unbeatable enemy. His mind is his greatest weapon. He still makes rash impulsive decisions – being a man of action – and has to live with the consequences.

His failures are numerous and un-countable. But he keeps marching forward, each day a new opportunity to make a difference in the world.

He will always have more failures than successes because he is always trying something new, always learning and adding to his skills. Always creating new obstacles and adverse situations for himself to rise and overcome.

THE WAY OF THE BAT

Rarely are we ever successful at something right away.

It’s that stubborn, stick at it, never tire or repetition Batitude that makes the difference.

The important thing is not that Batman tries, or succeeds at anything. The thing to remember is that he fails. All the time. He doesn’t let any fear of the unknown stop him from taking action. He embraces the failures, each and every one as valued feedback.

We can learn from that and use it on our own lives. And the thing is, trying to do something, or failing over and over doesn’t mean we will succeed at something. It’s easy and soft to have a “feel good” philosophy that makes us feel better. But it’s wrong and it won’t do shit to help you when you are at your worst. Pretty ideas won’t help you.

Life is hard, sometimes it kicks you in the gut and laughs at you for even attempting to do anything at all.

Life is painful, and we’re going to suffer whether we want to or not.

Trying over and over does’t equal success.

It might sometimes.

But most of the time it doesn’t.

Embracing failure doesn’t mean giving up, or trying to call every failure a “success”, it means accepting more often than not, our actions have little to no potency.

When you get to there, and you KEEP going, then you’ve got something.

Then you are tapping into the Will of the Bat. When you accept that most of the the time you are going to fail and going to suffer, and that life can be damn tough – but you’re going to get off your ass, and do what you can anyway to make a difference in your own life and those you are responsible for, well that my friends is tapping into BATITUDE.

Then you move beyond simple labels, ideas and words. You move into the FLOW of life.

The more we TRY to impress others, the less natural we are, the less flow we experience and the less power we have.

Consequently, the more we try the more we fail. And when we try even harder, we end up even more frustrated. ” Matt ‘the man’ Furey

You stop simply “trying” to do things, and move into taking conscious actions, you inhabit your body and move with grace and power. Your actions, words and ideas flow together as a seamless whole. You embrace whatever life throws at you, without labeling it, justifying it, or resisting it. You simple live, breathe, move, and act without hesitation in whatever direction you need to right now, according to the best data you have on hand.

ONE BAT BREATH AT A TIME, ONE BAT PUNCH AT A TIME

Batman doesn’t whine like a little bitch when things go wrong. He don’t complain when life leaves him bleeding with broken bones and puking his guts up after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of one of his numerous enemies.

He says, “It’s my fault… what could I have done differently…?

I could have done more, I could have been better, I could have been more prepared…

but I was not good enough this time.”

Batman is committed to being better today, than he was yesterday.

Complaining when things don’t go his way doesn’t enter into his values. It’s a waste time, waste of effort, waste of life that could be better channeled and focused toward his unwavering commitment to excellence at all levels.

When Batman loses, for whatever reason he ask himself: How am I deficient? What can I improve upon that is going to increase my chances of getting a different result next time.

You can see it in his eyes.

When his enemies think he is beaten for good, in his mind he’s looking for a way out, a way forward, any bit of leverage he can get and when he does get it, he’s going to act swiftly, without mercy nor hesitation. That imagination, steely determination and force of will that silently says “Fuck you, only I SAY WHEN I’M DONE, not you and nothing else in the world gets to tell me that”

Win or lose, it’s all feedback. The list of battles we must face in daily life is endless. Almost infinite. What is our one bit of inconsequential effort and struggle in the grand scheme of things.

It’s like nothing. Dust in the wind.

We can’t win at everything, all the time. Even succeeding at anything half the time is pretty good. It’s delusional to believe we can always be at our best.

We can’t.

But we still turn up, we still act, we still take a shot, we take our chances.

We keep our mind sharp, we stack the odds in our favor by turning up to face the challenges that come every day, rather than shrinking in fear. We relentless pummel and hammer away each day at lifes difficulties. We make small incremental improvements in our skills that are almost invisible. We attempt to expand our skills at all times in our chosen arena. We beat the stupid out of ourselves one blow at a time. We own all of our bad behavior, taking an honest look at ourselves in the mirror and say:

“I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS”

We renew our vow, our eternal war on our own ignorance, and to being a little better today than we were yesterday.

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IMAGE CREDITS

*Batman vs Predator panel from Batman vs Predator Collected Edition, 1993, DC Comics.

*Batman and Grendel panel from Batman/Grendel Devil’s Bones, 1992, DC Comics

*Arkham Origins concept art New Gotham Diamond District by Meinert Hansen, DC Comics, Warner Bros interactive Entertainment

*Arkham City  concept art Gotham Skyline, 2011 DC Comics, Warner Bros interactive Entertainment

*Alfred/Batman panel from Batman, DC Comics

*Joker kicking Aquaman from Legends of the DC Universe #26, 2000, DC Comics

*Rooftop Batman by Jharren – https://www.deviantart.com/jharren

*Dusty Batman by James Bousema – https://www.deviantart.com/jamesbousema

*Hulk crushing little man’s spine from Batman vs The Incredible Hulk, 1981, Published by DC and Marvel

*Batman/Scarecrow image from Dark Knight Detective mini-series, 2005, DC Comics

*Batman Vow from  Dark Knight Detective mini-series, 2005, DC Comics

*Bruce Wayne eyes from Batman Eternal #51, 2015, DC Comics

*Batman in Cemetery image from Shadow of the Batman #2, 1986, DC Comics

Unstoppable Batman, Unbeatable Batitude, Unbeatable YOU

Batman is the ultimate introvert.

He’s this shy awkward kid who never finished growing up.

But then he puts on his bat-suit and he takes on all the confidence and courage, and other typically positive male qualities that he can muster and channels it into this relentless dark force for good.

We can use that kind of courage and make-believe in our own lives.

I used to train in Ju-Jitsu for several years, and every year or so we would have a grading (test of your skills and knowledge so far) and each time I would have to project total courage and confidence. As well as practicing all the required skills for endless hours.

It was tough.

I didn’t use to have a lot of either, toughness or CON-fidence – well less than none really, I had almost no belief in myself whatsoever. I’m not exaggerating in the least, I was the most shy socially awkward weak and underweight kid you can imagine growing up.

So…

I did a lot of mental rehearsal for whatever was required in the Ju-Jitsu grading, it’s something I’ve done for years along with meditation, weight training and Yoga. I credit Ju-jitsu training and the instructors for giving me the kick ass attitude to life I have today. I am indebted to them.

I would run mental movies over and over again in my own mind leading up to the grading test.

I ran through the mental routine of everything I would do, or might be asked to do.

A key thing is I did not just mentally rehearse in a cold mechanical way.

What was important is that I would see myself, in my own mental movie as already being extremely confident, assured, and relaxed. I saw myself as supremely confident and performing all tasks required without error. You know, Batman, Bruce Lee, Goku and Rambo all rolled into one. Total relaxed confidence, a precision engine of mass destruction!

 

And the great thing was, it worked.

I always APPEARED more confident than I was, and it showed.

In reality I was a nervous wreck. But nobody knew that.

It took several years of this practice, for that confidence to become permanent.

I don’t really need the mental movies so much now, I’m confident at most things, and what I don’t know already, I know I can learn and pick up pretty fast.

That does’t mean I don’t use that practice,

I still do, just not as often.

But if I was go into some arena of life that was completely unknown to me, boy you can bet I would be using those daily mental movies again.

Batman mentally rehearsed being or becoming Batman for years.

Before he ever became the Dark Knight.

He didn’t wake up one day being the epitome of courage, determination and self-sacrifice.

Batman got there slowly one Bat-breath, one Bat-punch, one Bat-Step at a time.

Bruce Wayne mentally (and physically) rehearsed being Batman, and everything that meant, as well as countless hours of training, (I’d say he started with at least several thousand hours of rigorous training).

He imagined he already was what he wanted to be.

The best goal setters and champions of the world are time travelers.

They have time traveled within their own minds to the near future, and in their own mind, they have ALREADY ARRIVED where they want to be, and already are how they intend to be. And they patiently wait for their body and present reality to catch up to their minds inner vision.

This is one of the secrets of Batman being 10 steps ahead of everybody else in the room. When Gordon or the JLA are working on some tough mental problem, Batman already has the solution, he’s already seen the near future and is waiting for everyone else to catch up. He’s not clairvoyant, and a good Detective has to work through things logically one step at a time, but they also take leaps.

No matter the challenge, in his own mind, Batman has already beaten it. This is where his supreme confidence comes from. Even when he loses, he wins, his enemies reveal their weaknesses to him unknowingly when they beat him. It’s all feedback for Batman, who is going to go away, train and come back even better than before.

I think with the right BATITUDE, all things are possible.

To be a little more like Batman, we can and should use mental movies to boost our own confidence at whatever we want to do in life, and to be as specific and detailed as possible in those mental movies. Your body is your slave, it does whatever you ask it to do without question, it literally has no choice. Your mind is your own garden to grow as you damn well please.

It’s no guarantee that you will succeed at anything at all, that’s a fantasy. We all fail and do stupid things. So what, with ongoing practice of mental movies and Batitude, win or lose – we take it all as feedback, as fuel for greatness.

We can apply that practice to just about anything.

Getting a new job, starting a new sport or martial art, becoming a better brother, husband, son or father. There literally is no limit to what mental movies we can run in our own minds on a regular basis.

We project the BEST version of ourselves into our mental movies we can imagine at present, we see it, feel it, smell it and know it. Then we wait for reality to catch up.

And slowly, one Bat-Step at a time, one Bat-Breath at a time we become on the outside, the person we already know we are on the inside.

We bring our BATITUDE out from our own dusty minds, we practice something meaningful in our outer lives that we can focus and channel all our best qualities into.

We still have to do the hard work of learning any actual skill, of endless training and learning.

There are no shortcuts.

But whatever you DO in life, you will be 10 times more effective with the right kind of mental movies, and the right kind of BATITUDE.

Those mental movies become the future versions of ourselves, so I hope when you watch your own mental movies, you’ve hired the best director (that’s YOU!), the best sound guy, the best actors, and the best soundtrack possible to get you feeling and acting at your best.

 

IMAGE CREDITS

 

Midnight, R.I.P. and Two Face images by Ai Eye

Full Ai Eye Gallery at Deviant Art http://ai-eye.deviantart.com/gallery/