Munro Stewart

When it really comes down to reaching goals, or doing anything else in this world, I think you need to know what steps to take. There is so much information out there about how to set and achieve your goals and dreams. But I believe we need to focus on exactly what to do, and less on how or why to do something.

So with that in mind, these are what I have found to be the 7 most important actual steps that you need to take when trying to accomplish any goal, reach any dream, or make any change in your life. We're talking the nuts and bolts of exactly what to do to get things done. Whether it is a dream as huge as climbing a mountain, a goal as big as writing a book, a weekend project like painting the deck, or a task as small as getting milk at the grocery store.

Introduction

Dream big dreams. Believe all things are possible. - Unknown

I have read some important books on reaching goals including Think and Grow Rich, The Alchemist, The Magic of Thinking Big, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Atlas Shrugged, and Getting Things Done. I have gathered a lot of information from all of the books and countless articles I have read on the subject. I've been pretty obsessed with this stuff and enjoy reading and learning about how to reach your goals, achieve your dreams, get things done, and improve your life.

I have tried many different methods, advice, tips, and tricks to reach your dreams and achieve your goals. I have used trial and error from many amazing writers to find out what really works. The result is that I have found these steps to be the most essential actions to take when trying to reach a goal, complete a task, or make any change in your life and in the lives of others. These are the 7 key steps which have allowed me to set and achieve goals and dreams. I believe and hope they will work for you as well.

Outline

• Introduction
• 1) Choose one goal
• 2) Write it down
• 3) Visualize it
• 4) Create a habit
• 5) Talk about it
• 6) Imagine ideas
• 7) Create a log
• Extra Tip - Enjoy it
• Conclusion

1) Choose one goal

Decide on one specific goal that is important to you.

In order to reach a goal you need to decide on exactly what you really want. To do this, you can come up with some ideas of goals you would like to achieve by making a list. But after you brainstorm a number of goals, it is very important that you choose just one goal you really want to achieve. If you do not prioritize and focus on what is truly important to achieve in your life, you will be distracted by less important trivialities that life throws at you.

If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both. - Native American Saying

So I suggest you choose a single goal or dream that is most important to you now. Decide that you will focus on this one goal above all else because it is the most important thing in your life right now to you. With that said, you can continually evaluate and tweak this goal. You might not know exactly what you want when you start out. That is ok. The important thing is to choose something to start working on.

If you set your goal too high to begin with or you decide the original goal you set is not exactly what you want, do not be afraid to change your goal slightly. If you get going and realize this isn't really the goal you want to work on now, you can even completely change and work on a different one that you can truly commit to and put your heart into. But find and decide on the one goal that is important to you and commit to focus on it with all of your energy.

2) Write it down

Write your goal down in a single sentence on paper.

When setting a goal, you should first decide on exactly what you want to achieve. After you have decided on your goal, write it down on paper. Make your goal very specific. Sure, keep a list of goals that you want to achieve on your computer. But for your most important goal write it down. Write it down on a piece of paper that you keep in your pocket.

You can also write it down other places and post reminders about it everywhere. Your home, your office, a post-it note hanging off your computer monitor, on your bedroom alarm clock, taped on your bathroom mirror, written on a piece of paper used as a bookmark in the book you are reading, posted above the stove.

'Begin with the end in mind' is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things. - Stephen R. Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

You can even rewrite it over and over each day in a notebook. And you can rewrite it once a week or whenever you need to. Change any words, details, or ideas you have added on your piece of paper. Tweak your goal as you continue to work towards it and decide what you want to achieve. Include words that inspire and motivate you.

But at least write it down somewhere. Write it in a single specific and descriptive sentence that you can memorize. But also write more details about it if possible about what your life will be like. Include details. How will your life be different? How will you feel? What exactly will you have?

• Example - I will write a first draft of a short story and give it to 2 people by September 30th.

I personally like to also make a list of about the 7 most important reasons why I want to achieve the goal. A list of how my life or the lives of others will be different and better when I achieve the goal. But at the very least, write down your specific goal in a single sentence on a piece of paper that you keep in your pocket.

3) Visualize it

Read and visualize your written goal today and every day.

In order to visualize a goal you should first write a specific goal down in a single sentence on a piece of paper. Then simply grab that paper and read that sentence. Now, every day read that goal over and over again at least twice a day. Once when you get up in the morning, and once before you go to bed at night.

You can also read any of the details you wrote down about your goal and the reasons why you want to achieve the goal. And you can also read it more often during the day, maybe after eating lunch and dinner too. But at least read the one sentence goal twice a day, and preferably out loud.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve...Man may become the master of himself, and of his environment, because he has the power to influence his own subconscious mind - Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich

As you read your goal over and over again, think about it and visualize it coming true. No matter how big your goal is, believe with everything in your heart and soul that you will succeed and reach that goal.

Don't just think about it, but put your emotions into it. See what you will look like and feel like. Imagine as clearly as you can how your life will be better. Have faith that you will do this. Come up with ideas in your mind to reach your goal. Think about how your heroes would accomplish this goal. Think about what you will do today and tomorrow to reach this goal. Create a desire not just that you will do this, but that you must do this.

• Example - I will read and visualize my goal every day when I wake up at 6:30am, and every evening before I go to bed at 10:30pm.

Humans can turn thoughts into action, and action into things. It's as simple as that. The point of reading and visualizing your goal as often as possible is to get you thinking about your goal constantly. To keep your goal in your mind and your thoughts. If you read and visualize your written goal every day you can achieve anything that you believe you can achieve.

So if you haven't actually tried it before, you really need to follow this advice and do it every day. Do it right now. Read and visualize your goal at least twice a day, every day, at the same time.

4) Create a habit

Take action towards your goal today and every day.

You need to find the time, any way you can, to make a daily habit to work towards your goal. I don't care what else is going on in your life. This can be as little as 10 minutes a day, but you need to do it every day. If you can work your way up to setting aside 1-2 hours every day to work towards your goal, all the better. One tip though. It is best to start extremely small with this habit, like 5 minutes a day. You will grow and develop the habit later through repetition.

A habit is any action you do every day at the same time and place. You will ultimately achieve your goals not just by thinking about them, but by taking daily action. - Munro Stewart

Most importantly, if you work on something every day for even a small amount of time, you will make gradual progress one day at a time. In my opinion, creating a single daily habit to work towards your goal is likely the most important step of all in achieving any significant goal. This is the step that often gets left out in self-help books, and it hasn't been written about enough in books or articles.

Why taking daily action works to achieve your goals or anything else you want, and how to create and keep a habit could be a whole article in itself. But here are a couple important things to remember. First of all, make a habit that you can do at the same time and place every day. And second, the habit should be the most important repeatable action you can take towards your goal. If you are writing a book, then actually writing should be your habit, not organizing your desk.

• Example - I will spend 30 minutes writing at my desk at 7:30am every day after breakfast.

Basically devote 30 minutes to 2 hours a day to your goal by creating a daily habit to take action every day. It is also worth noting that just as with your goal you will want to adapt and change your habit as you go along. Now, get out that piece of paper that you wrote your goal down on. Write down your daily habit along with that goal. You need to create a daily habit to take action towards your goal every day, and writing it down will help you follow through with this step.

5) Talk about it

Talk about your goal with someone every day or once a week.

You need to create what is called a mastermind group, and tell at least one other person about your goal. Preferably this will be someone who might have an interest in the goal and be able to contribute ideas. Get professional help if you need it, and talk with a coach at least once a week about your goal. Not only can you get help from other people, but maybe more importantly you can get ideas from them. So make sure to listen intently to what others say while you are talking about your goal with them. This is all about thinking about your goal constantly and getting ideas from anywhere you can.

The 'Master Mind' may be defined as: 'Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose. - Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich

Preferably, just like all of the other steps, you will talk about your goal every day. However, because this step depends on other people, this may not be possible, especially to start. So, if you don't think you can talk about your goal every day, decide to at least talk about it with one person at least once a week. And schedule that talk.

• Example - I will phone Jim to talk with him about my goal every Sunday at 10:00am after exercising.

While talking about your goal is most important, you may also want to write about your goal, which is basically just recorded talking on paper. Writing about your goal is a very powerful tool, and can be used in place of talking if you can't find someone to talk to. So if you can't find someone to talk to even once a week, you should journal or write about your goal instead to start.

You can write publicly if you really want. But keeping a dated journal with your thoughts is probably even better because it allows you to write freely, more like talking. You could also write emails or letters about it once in a while by telling those friends or people in your mastermind group about your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and progress about your goal.

• Example - I will write thoughts and ideas about my goal for 5 minutes every day at 6:30pm after dinner.

The more you talk about your goal and write about your goal, the more you are thinking about your goal. The more you think about your goal, the more ideas you will get to help you reach it. Your goal will literally come to shape in real life if you talk about it with other people, write about it, and think about it constantly. Realize just how important this step is.

If you can find the time to write freely about your goal, definitely do so. But even more importantly, try to talk with people about your goal as much as possible, especially people who might have an interest in that goal or give you ideas to help you reach that goal. And at the very least, make sure to at least schedule a weekly appointment with someone who you can talk to about your goal.

6) Imagine ideas

Think about ideas to reach your goal and write them down.

If you follow the advice above you will be deciding on a goal, writing it down possibly daily, visualizing and reading it aloud daily, creating a daily action habit to work on it every day, and talking or writing about your goal every day. While you are doing any of these steps you will be thinking about your goal every day and ideas, plans, or tasks to do to reach your goal will come to you. I find a huge number of my ideas and plans come while I am performing my daily habit for the goal.

Here is a basic truth: To do anything, we must first believe it can be done. Believing something can be done sets the mind in motion to find a way to do it. - David J. Schwartz - Magic of Thinking Big

Here's the next step. When ideas for how to reach your goal come to you during any of the other steps here, write them down. And you may also want to commit to another 5 or 10 minute brainstorming session each day to think about and prioritize ideas or steps to take to reach your goal. You need to take time to ponder and think about your goal in solitude. You need to come up with ideas of what you should do next to help you achieve your goal.

I have found that a good place to write down these ideas or tasks is on the back side of the piece of paper you wrote down your goal and habit. You'll get chicken scratch on there which is fine. It will make you keep your idea list small enough to fit on a single piece of paper. You will rewrite them often to prioritize a task or a mini goal that you are currently working on.

It will force you to start on a new piece of paper once in a while, maybe even once a week. When you do that you can not only rewrite the ideas you want to keep on there, but rewrite your goal and habit too, which is great. If you prefer to keep a separate piece of paper for these ideas, or even keep them as a list on a computer, that would work too.

• Example - I will think about ideas to help me reach my goal for 5 minutes every day at 12:30pm after lunch. I will write down any good ideas whenever they come to me.

If you want to take this a step further, you may also want to write down your most important task or tasks for today. The tasks or mini goal that you will work on today as part of your daily action habit. Doing this is not necessary, but it is an extra step you could do, depending on the type of goal you are working on. Maybe you decide while thinking about your goal that you will lift 50 pounds on one exercise machine today instead of 40 pounds. Or that you will finish your book's second chapter, of which you are 80 percent done so far.

• Example - I will write down my most important task or mini goal for today at 6:40am after visualizing my goal.

So don't worry about coming up with the perfect plan of all 20 tasks and the correct order to do them to achieve your goal. Focus much more on what you are doing today, thinking about your goal every day, and actually taking action with your daily habit. Your plans will change hundreds or thousands of times, sometimes all within a single day while you are working towards your goal. You don't even have to write it all down because you will constantly be thinking about what to do next while doing your daily visualizing, daily action habit, and daily talking.

But do spend some time thinking about what to do next; what to do today and tomorrow for your action habit. Maybe even write down your most important task you will do today for your daily habit. And when good ideas or thoughts come to you about your goal, write them down somewhere to help you remember them. But most importantly, take time to think about your goal and imagine ideas that will help you reach your goal.

7) Create a log

Log your daily habit by placing positive check marks on a calendar.

The most important step in this list is creating a daily habit where you take action towards your goal. Now you need to log your daily habit by putting a single check mark on a paper calendar on the day you complete this habit. The calendar should probably be hanging on the wall by your bed, on the wall by your computer, or even in a pocket calendar or hand drawn paper calendar in your pocket if possible. Similarly to your written goal, your calendar needs to be somewhere that you look at it every day at multiple times during the day.

"It is important to keep track of what you have accomplished, and feel good about it. A check mark on a calendar is the simplest way to remember and log your habits and achievements." - Munro Stewart

The objective with your daily habit is to create a habit which will become easy and enjoyable for you to do most days. And the goal with this calendar log of your daily habit is to feel good about what you have done and help you remember to build your habit.

It is better to make a super easy habit. Decide on just 5 minutes of sitting at your desk to write to start. It is better to be lenient on yourself. If you don't even write, but still sit at your desk thinking, still put a check mark. It is better to build on the habit and repeat it as often as you can. Place 3 check marks if you do it for 15 minutes one day. Or place 2 check marks if you not only do it at 7:30am in the morning but also do it again later in the day at 5:30pm. Heck, place 2 check marks on a day you made extra progress, or even a day in which you found it was really difficult to get in the 5 minutes but you still did it.

• Example - I will place a check mark on my paper calendar right after completing my habit each day.

Make it a game to get as many check marks on that calendar as you can, and make sure you feel good about it every time you do it. Repetition will also help build your habit. Two short periods of time can be even better than one large period of time when building a habit. So, it can't get much easier than this. You don't need to keep a long journal or do a weekly review. Just create that habit by spending the time to take action towards your goal today. Then, right after you do your habit or take that action towards your goal, place a check mark on a paper calendar to log what you have done.

Extra Tip - Enjoy it

Make sure you enjoy the daily habit and the journey.

I believe from all the reading and research I have done that people are not born geniuses. And they are certainly not born with a list of accomplishments already done. People achieve great things, and even simple things, because they enjoy them and truly desire to achieve them. Michael Jordan most likely loved getting better at basketball and winning basketball games. Mick Jagger created and performed great music because he had fun doing it. Abraham Lincoln took pride in influencing people to make the world a better place. Bill Gates loved technology and used his intelligence to make a lot of money, but also to improve the lives of many people across the world.

I believe that people I look up to found a merger between goals and happiness. They are driven not just because they found a goal that they really wanted with all their heart and believed they could achieve. But even more importantly, they found habits that they enjoyed doing and which made them happy. They used that joy as their motivation to achieve great accomplishments in this world.

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. - Greg Anderson

So enjoy the daily activities that you complete as you work towards your goal. Get excited. Have fun. Take pride in what you are doing. Make sure you choose a habit that you can actually feel good about while you are doing it, and after you have done it. You can also reward yourself once in a while in other ways when you complete a tough habit or want to pat yourself on the back. But there is nothing like the intrinsic motivation you get when you feel good while doing something.

If you think you just need better will power, or motivation, or determination, you might find that you only end up winning a few battles, but lose the war. If you do not get satisfaction out of what you are doing, you may find you ultimately give up when trying to reach your goals. You need to enjoy the journey. Be present. Take pride in what you have done, even the tiny steps like working on something for 5 minutes. If you hate what you are doing, why do it anyway? Pick something else. Pick a habit that you can enjoy, and a goal that you can feel good about and really want to see come true.

Conclusion

If you are thinking of following any of this advice realize that it will be very tough at times and may take quite a bit of hard work and time. Life is not easy and the goals we are talking about are not easy. You will temporarily fail many times, fall, be beaten up, feel like quitting, cry, and stumble through hurdles you did not expect in trying to reach your goals and dreams.

That is why it is important to find some daily satisfaction in what you are doing, or you won't have the determination and desire to continue on your journey. Just start with step one, take it one step at a time, and enjoy the journey. I’d also say practice and use this set of steps with smaller goals and tasks like getting groceries or planning a weekend in order to build your confidence and prove to yourself that this works. These aren't just steps to achieve big goals. I have found that these steps are proven to work to get anything done in this world.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Lao Tzu

Turning your thoughts into action works if you want to change anything about yourself or the world, big or small. If you really want something with all of your heart it’s what you think and believe that matter. You then take action every day to turn what you see in your mind’s thoughts into something in real life. The steps above allow you to do just that and achieve whatever you desire. You are in control of your life, your goals, your dreams, and your destiny. And you can do this.

How To Get Things Done

September 15th, 2014

I love reading and learning about the following subjects and feel I've learned a great deal about them.

• Life Improvement
• Goal Setting and Habits
• Productivity and Task Management
• Lifehacking and Software
• Simplicity and Minimalism
• Happiness and Positivity
• Physical and Mental Health
• Simple Finances and Independence

There are a lot of great websites and resources out there for learning about these topics. Essentially places for learning about how to live life. One thing I've noticed is that there is so much information out there that it can be hard to find the good stuff. That is a gap that Life Thinkist hopes to at least help fill.

One main goal of Life Thinkist will be to find links to the best articles out there. Life Thinkist may not provide really long commentary other than maybe a paragraph or a sentence to many links and articles. It's a place to come to in order to find the great news and resources out there on life improvement written by many great writers. We still may provide some longer features written here because I also have some ideas myself that I may sometimes feel inspired to write about. But these longer features will probably be infrequent, and the main goal will be to provide the best news and links that are out there.

Another thing I've noticed is that the subject of "Life Improvement" or "Productivity" isn't really thought of as "News". Subjects like sports, entertainment, and technology all have such a strong following with popular blogs which provide news. Whereas with life improvement blogs, many of the websites are one person magazine type blogs with articles written by one person. I absolutely love many of these magazine blogs by all kinds of amazing writers. I read them all the time. But I wondered if we couldn't get some more useful and helpful life improvement information out to people if we thought of all of these blogs more as news.

So one crazy goal for Life Thinkist is to make "Life Improvement", or just "Life", a news topic. To be a source to find the best of all the great news, articles, blogs, books, and other resources out there on life improvement and the above topics. And though it sounds like a crazy dream, to ultimately help improve not just people's lives but humanity as a whole. Maybe by making life improvement more like news and simpler for people, we can get more people interested in reading about it and finding little tips that they can actually use to help transform and improve their life and the world around them.

Thirdly, Life Thinkist is going to try to make people feel at least a part of a community as we learn together. Life Thinkist will try to provide a place that people enjoy coming to because they know that the creators and the other people who read it are there for a similar passion and reason. I don't know if Life Thinkist will ever grow to become much of a community other than a few comments. But I do know a big goal is to create a community of people around Life Improvement news and information, and to try to bring these people with a similar interest the best news and links on life improvement.

I don't know how long this website will last and I expect the goal for the website may change over time if it does last awhile. If it becomes successful enough to gain some loyal readers then I'm hoping that the website will grow and adapt with the readers and the community that supports it. I hope to listen to the community and anyone who becomes interested in the website so that I can find news, links, articles, information, and other resources that are useful and interesting to people who are interested in life improvement. At the same time, I know the subjects that I'm interested in and Life Thinkist will adapt with what I find interesting as well.

So the goal of Life Thinkist is to be a source which provides people with links to the best news, information, and articles on improving your life, getting things done, and learning how to be happy. We also hope to provide a community where people can have an intelligent discussion about these topics. Please enjoy the website and make comments on any of the articles so that we can build a community around improving our lives, getting things done, and learning to be happier.

May 2, 2014

Why would you choose to use text files for notes and lists instead of using a notes app? There are a number of advantages to writing your notes in simple .txt files using a text editor.

Keeping notes and lists in text files might not be everyone's cup of tea. But here are a few of the key reasons why I have kept a lot of notes, lists, tasks, journals, and other information in regular old text files.

1. Open Anywhere and No Data Lock-In

What's great about using .txt files for notes and lists is that you can open the files literally on any device. You don't have to worry about having the app or web app to open your files and read your information. You don't have to worry about your information being locked into a file format, operating system, or website that you can't get it out of. With Evernote, you need to use their apps and their apps only. They hold your data hostage, and if they decided now not to offer a free version, you'd either have to pay whatever they said to pay for it or be out of luck with all of your data.

2. Future Proof and Company Independent

You can open text files on any device, both now and way in the future. Text doesn't depend on a single company or piece of software existing to support a file format or web service. Plus, if you ever find or build a working time machine, you could even open a text file on a computer from 30 years ago. Though I don't know why you'd want to go back to the 80's. Before Google Keep, Google had Google Notes and they completely terminated it leaving people kind of helpless if they had used it. They came out with Google Keep, an extremely similar product, years later.

3. Simple, Like Writing on Paper

You don't need to use complicated software or worry about formatting when you use text. Remember, we used to just write things on pieces of paper. Think simple like that. I love software, but it's also amazing how complicated we ended up making it. Think of the difference from a pencil, eraser, and a piece of paper compared to Microsoft Word. It's crazy, because often what is really important is just the information, the text.

4. Text is Text, Words are Words

Writing in text files is more like writing on paper. You write exactly what you want and you don't worry about formatting. You can pass that text file literally anywhere like you would a book. You can copy it into anything and it looks exactly the same. You can open up the file and it looks exactly like how you wrote it. Open up a .html file or a .docx file in a text editor to see what is really in there.

Always bet on text

5. Actual Files, Sync, and Backup

Text files are actual files that can be saved, opened, synced, and backed up anywhere like mp3s, jpgs, or doc files. So not only can you open them up anywhere, but they exist on your computer, devices, USB drives, or hard drives. You own them. It's not just out there on the Internet somewhere. However, because they are files you can also still sync and access your text notes online using online storage services like Dropbox. Online storage services are great for keeping notes in text files because they allow you to sync your actual files both online and offline, so you stay in control of your own data and information.

6. Quick Entry of Notes and Lists

If you've typically used online services like Evernote, you might consider trying text files first as a quicker option for an inbox or notepad of sorts. Some people just like using a simpler app to jot down notes and lists in text files. Even if they use a more serious app for bigger reference material which includes pictures, audio, and document formatting. Text files are more like a paper notebook that you can quickly write down notes, lists, journals, tasks, or any information you want. It's a lot quicker to edit text files because text editors are much simpler pieces of software than Microsoft Word and other online alternatives for writing formatted notes.

February 5, 2014

Maybe I don't value law as much as most people do or understand how and why patent or other laws work. But all I can think about after hearing of the $1 billion verdict awarded to Apple is that I don't think Apple should have chose to sue Samsung in the first place.

It may help them to survive and prosper over the short term and allow them to feel justified that it was proven that someone copied their design. But in the end it just doesn't feel right to me how they handled it, and regardless of the law, I don't think it was the right thing to do.

They come across as a big company that is greedy and willing to criticize other companies and people who are trying to compete and create companies and products that allow people outside of Apple to earn a living. Even if everyone is stealing from them, I just don't feel that going to the extent they have will be rewarding in the long haul for them or for others. I guess, really what I'm saying is that the patent system is flawed. But even though Apple is playing by those rules, suing other companies may not be the best strategy.

You can now bet that other companies will go after Apple whenever they can. It will turn other companies and people against them and create more of a 'It's everyone against Apple' attitude. It may make other companies more likely to partner with competitors like Microsoft or Google, just when Microsoft needs a boost. It may make it harder for Apple to work with companies and get good prices on hardware.

Some good advice that I've read before is that you generally should never criticize, condemn, or complain about others, or about anything really. And even though they feel they are protecting themselves, all I can think about is it seems to me like Apple is criticizing and condemning Samsung. While that may be within the law it just doesn't feel like the way it should have been handled. And suing other companies may not be the best strategy or attitude to have for a company like Apple, or for any other company.

Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1-billion for patent violations

September 1, 2012

While some physical contact will always be accepted, I don't think there should be any deliberate hitting or body checking allowed at any level of hockey including the NHL, and so deliberately body checking or hitting other players should be banned.

Introduction

Being able to deliberately hit someone as hard as you can should be completely taken out of hockey at all levels. In fact I think this idea is way overdue. To me, it's almost like stating the obvious at this point. I'm surprised I haven't heard more people suggest that body checking should be completely removed from hockey. Here's why.

1. Hitting Is Barbaric

Physically hitting someone else when you can hurt them is both barbaric and cruel. I just looked up the definition for cruel and the first definition said "willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others." To me, it's pretty clear that you are knowingly causing distress to someone when you hit them in any way. But I don't care what the definition is, it just doesn't seem right to me to hit someone else. I don't care if it's part of a sport, or if they've agreed as part of the game to let them hit you. It's just not civilized to hit someone else in my opinion. To me, it doesn't really matter if it's your wife, a co-worker, a friend, or someone you play a game against for money. Hitting people is bad. Boxing is barbaric. Football is barbaric. Hockey is barbaric. The more we can move to a society where hurting other people for sport is not accepted, the better off we are in my opinion. In boxing and football, it's hard to get around the idea that you have to hit someone, but hockey could completely remove hitting, and still keep the main part of the game as it is. There is no reason hitting can't be completely removed from NHL hockey.

2. Hitting Is Unhealthy

It's quite clear that hitting in hockey is unhealthy. It's just bad for our bodies. I don't think we needed all the talk and reports about concussions recently to realize this. Broken shoulders, broken legs, damaged internal organs, and various other serious injuries over the years should have been enough. But with more and more reports about concussions it has certainly been making the point better known. I'm actually writing this point last out of these 10 points, as I was thinking of what to say to make people realize how bad that hitting is in hockey. But I don't really want to go research to make as strong of a point as I should. But I do think it's pretty obvious that concussions are bad, and hitting is bad. Enough said hopefully as I think it's pretty obvious at this point how harmful hitting in hockey is, whether you are a kid or an adult.

3. If It's Bad For Kids It's Bad For Adults

The debate I've most often heard so far about hitting in hockey is at what age level body checking should be allowed for kids. Though I'm sure it's been brought up, I haven't heard that much about completely removing hitting from hockey. But while we may like harming our bodies or feel we need to relieve stress in certain harmful ways as adults, it doesn't mean it's healthy. And what is bad for kids is generally bad for adults. Of course this can turn into a much bigger topic about whether people should be able to do things to their bodies even if it's harmful. But hockey is a sport, not mainly a stress reliever like smoking, drinking, or doing drugs. It should be fun. Instead of trying to figure out what age we allow kids to harm themselves by hitting each other as part of a sport, we should take it out of the sport altogether. It solves the debate of what age kids should be allowed to hit, and instead admits that hitting is harmful for anyone at any age and has no place in a fun sport like hockey.

4. More Protection Only Makes People Think They Can Hit Harder

"Back in the day when I used to play hockey in the 1940s, we didn't hit as hard as the guys nowadays". I'm sure some smart old guy without a big ego has said that. And do you know why he's said it? Because he didn't wear a helmet or nearly as much equipment or protection as hockey players do now. If you didn't have a helmet then you have to protect your head. If you don't have on three inches thick of plastic and padding on, then you have to think about how hitting someone as hard as you can will affect your body as well. The problem is that even though players have more protection, the impact is still great on their bodies. Players are less likely to get cuts or small injuries, but even with all of the equipment they wear they are still very likely to suffer a concussion, a neck injury, a broken shoulder, or a broken leg by being hit hard. This can occur when they hit the other player, hit the ice, or get hit into the boards. And when an impact does make it through a chink in their armour it can cause horrible injuries because the plastic and metal protection for one guy turns into a brute force object hitting the other guy if it makes it through his equipment.

5. Players Skate Way Faster Than They Used To

Besides having more protection now, players are also in better physical shape. They can skate faster than they used to and are stronger physically. It's bad enough to run as fast as you can into someone and hit them, such as in football. But when you are skating you can go at even faster speeds than two linemen hitting each other in football. And because players are now skating at even faster speeds and are much stronger than they used to be the result it pretty damaging. When two players are skating as fast as they can now and hit each other as hard as they can, which is completely within the rules, the impact is very big. And the damage is way worse than in the past and worse than we could have realized when the sport was first created.

6. Intelligent And Talented Athletes Will Choose Not To Play Hockey

Athletes aren't all stupid, and athlete's parents aren't stupid either. Hockey was already a rough sport to play 20 years ago as fighting is pretty much allowed, and often encouraged. Plenty of parents kept their kids from playing hockey. But with all the attention given to concussions and how unhealthy it is in the last few years, more and more parents should and will stop their kids from playing hockey; at least from playing hockey at any level with body checking. And more and more kids may even realize in their teens that they should maybe choose soccer, or baseball, or basketball over hockey when all they see in the media is their favourite player sitting out again with a concussion.

7. Hitting Causes More Injuries And Is As Harmful As Fighting

I personally feel that taking hitting out of hockey is way more important than taking out fighting. If two guys want to fight, whether it's on the street or in a hockey rink they will. It can even be banned and it will still sometimes happen. But hitting probably causes more injuries and affects every single person that plays the game. You can't avoid it, as every time you are out on the ice five other guys are allowed to hit you as hard as they can to take the puck away from you. There has been so much talk about fighting in hockey in the past. But I think removing hitting from hockey is much more important as it causes more injuries and doesn't just happen once in awhile, but constantly as part of the game.

8. Fighting Would Not Be Needed If Hitting Was Removed

Fights can happen sometimes even in sports even when there is no physical contact. I mean, I'm sure we've all had one or two bowling games where things got out of hand. But I think the main reason fighting is popular in hockey is because there is hitting in hockey. Fighting is just a balancing act, mostly because hitting another person is allowed in the game. It's legal. I understand that people can jab someone with a stick and get away with it too. But that is against the rules, and the guy should get a penalty. Hitting is legal, so you are allowed to hit someone as hard as you can, even if it's the other teams best player. And you do it all the time. Because of this, the talented players have needed to be "protected". But if hitting was removed, I think the need and desire to fight in hockey would go down dramatically.

9. There Is More Talk About Concussions And Suspensions Than The Game

Unneeded media stories about player's personal lives and the finance and business side of hockey are inevitable. They detract from the game sometimes and there is too much talk about both of them in the media. I don't think that will ever change as the media needs any stories they can find. But the amount of media attention and talk about concussions recently has reached a pretty high level. The first story in the hockey news always seems to be about what great player is out because of a concussion whether it's Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, or Sidney Crosby. If it's not that, it's about showing the three big hits from five different angles where a guy got hurt. And if it's not about that, it's about a hit that they aren't sure should be legal or a talk about if the guy should be suspended, and how many games. What's the common theme with those three types of stories? It's all about hitting in hockey, and nothing to do with the score in the game, or the skillful plays in the game.

10. Hitting And Fighting Are Psychologically Unhealthy Too

Harming our bodies physically is unhealthy psychologically and causes us emotional and mental stress. I don't know that the previous sentence is a fact as I sit here and I never actually remember reading this specifically but I'm pretty sure it's true. Go look it up somewhere and I'm sure you'll find articles by doctors about how hurting our body physically isn't good for our minds either. Do a search for torture and mind, or cutting and emotions, or boxing and stress. In just one offseason, a number of hockey players who were known as enforcers committed suicide. This is one possible example of the mental stress that hitting and fighting can cause in hockey. I'm not going to look for more proof now, but I think we all just know naturally that hurting our bodies physically or having to do something that hurts our bodies physically can cause us quite a bit of stress and affect us poorly, mentally and psychologically. When you know you are going to be hit every day it can be tough on you psychologically, whether you are a boxer, a football player, or a hockey player.

Conclusion

I played hockey competitively until I was about 21 and enjoyed it. It's fun. But as I've grown older I've realized that the hitting and fighting parts of the game have just been accepted, but it doesn't mean that allowing them is best for everyone. Looking back at these points, I think I'd have to say that the first two points are certainly the most convincing in my mind and really all that needs to be said. Why do we think it's ok to hurt other people and to do something to our bodies that's completely unhealthy just because we call it a sport and people pay to watch it? Whether enough people would watch the game without hitting and fighting is another debate, and I've decided to focus this article not on that aspect of the debate at all and just think about what is best, healthy, and civilized. Hitting in hockey needs to go. I'm pretty sure that its part in the game will be questioned and debated more in the coming years.

Outline

1. Hitting Is Barbaric
2. Hitting Is Unhealthy
3. If It's Bad For Kids It's Bad For Adults
4. More Protection Only Makes People Think They Can Hit Harder
5. Players Skate Way Faster Than They Used To
6. Intelligent And Talented Athletes Will Choose Not To Play Hockey
7. Hitting Causes More Injuries And Is As Harmful As Fighting
8. Fighting Would Not Be Needed If Hitting Was Removed
9. There Is More Talk About Concussions And Suspensions Than The Game
10. Hitting And Fighting Are Psychologically Unhealthy Too

May 13, 2012