Psychic Weight - The Art of Letting Go

In my previous articles, I Introduced the S.P.A. Story Building Method and how I build story modules for my keynote speeches.?

Part 1: The SPA Method: Story Building Made Easy

Part 2: Stop Dumping Your Load

Part 3: Donkey Logic

When I build a speaking module for my speeches, I use the SPA Method which stands for Story - Point - Application. Each SPA module is about 5-7 minutes in length depending on the context.??

Here’s another example of a module I built and share from the stage. I titled this one, “Psychic Weight”. It's based on a story I heard about two monks and their journey of enlightenment. Enjoy!

Story:?

There were two monks who were traveling the countryside as part of their pilgrimage to enlightenment.?One day they reached a shallow river they had to cross.?The monks noticed a young lady standing on the bank who was hesitant to cross the river.??

Both monks looked at each other as if to say, “What shall we do.”?One monk chose to continue on his path to enlightenment and crossed the shallow river alone.?

The other monk decided to scoop up the young lady in his arms and proceeded to carry her across the river before letting her down on the other side. She thanked the monk for his kindness and continued on her way.?

As both monks continued on their journey, the one monk who had crossed first was silent and seemed consumed in thought.?For the rest of that day, he didn’t say a word or even mentioned the kind gesture his fellow monk performed.?

That night as they camped, the first monk couldn’t hold back anymore and asked his fellow monk, “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us that in order to achieve enlightenment we are to avoid any contact with women, yet you picked up that woman and carried her!"?

The second monk reflected for a moment then said, "Brother, I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."

Point:

The first monk understood for the first time the difference between physical weight and psychic weight.??The latter is the heaviest of all.??

We judge others because they:

• Do things we don’t agree with.?
• Don’t dress the way we expect them to.?
• Don’t behave in the manner we expect them to.??

Judging is the accumulation of psychic weight.?The more you judge, the heavier your life (psychic weight) gets.

Application:

Too many times we carry the psychic weight of things that no longer have meaning yet we give them meaning.?So lighten your load!? And, if others decide to judge you, let them carry the weight; you’ve already set it down.

This story module is particularly powerful when I integrate it with a speech on maintaining focus and a proper mindset to improve personal or professional performance.

Victor Antonio

#storyselling #storytelling #judging #lettinggo #motivation #inspirational #mindset #focus