Expectations

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There is a slogan from Dr. Low of Recovery International that we learn as part of out cognitive behavior training (CBT) that states, “Lower you expectations and your performance will rise.”

The basic idea behind this slogan is that if you set lower goals for yourself or lower what you expect to receive or achieve you will not only achieve those goals and receive what you expect but that your overall performance with be better.

I don’t know how many times I have expected some outcome and it didn’t materialize leading to disappointment and discouragement. It also led to ‘feelings of inadequacy’ or failure. The times I set more realistic goals or lowered my expectations, not only did I get better results, but my self-esteem was raised and the rest of my day went better.

I don’t know why I am ‘plagued’ with this problem or why I have a low self-esteem but remembering to practice this principal helps me on a daily basis. I have not achieved perfection – in fact I still need to try to practice this on a daily basis and still fall prey to this character defect…

Muscle Memory

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Something I learned from being involved in Recovery International and practicing cognitive behavioral training (CBT) is the concept of ‘muscle memory.’

Muscle memory is the idea that ‘Your muscles teach your brain a higher set of values’, something taught by Dr. Low who founded Recovery International and who pioneered CBT.

As a segway, most people probably associate the term ‘recovery’ as referring to recovery from alcoholism. I will elaborate on that concept in other posts as I am also involved in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Back to muscle memory: I am convinced that it is true and have noticed a number of things I have learned through my muscles. Hands on training is what most call it but it definitely applies to playing a musical instrument. That is why music learning in elementary school and high school is so crucial to a child’s learning and caries throughout their life.

In other posts I get into home schooling. I homeschooled my seven children while posted abroad on the mission field, some through to grade 12.

P.S. Dr. Low did not refer to CBT as therapy but rather as training since with training you can learn to help yourself. With therapy you always depend on a therapist to relieve your problem.

My Hobbies

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I have several hobbies.

One of the most recent hobbies is guitar building. See my post(s) on that topic for more details.

Another even newer one is investing in cryptocurrency. Again, please see my posts on that subject if you are interested. I haven’t explored this topic on here yet but plan to in the near future.

Music listening and playing guitar, drums, and bass are my longest standing hobbies and I intend to explore those as I expand my posts, so stay tuned…

I was involved in Recovery International, a mental health organization for nine years and still try to practice the principles learned to better my cognitive behavior. ‘Not sure you can call that a hobby but it was a daily practice and involved a number of other hobbies such as web design and public speaking that I also want to explore.

As mentioned web design is a large ongoing hobby of mine. I have designed and curated a number of websites with emphasis on non-profit organizations such as labour unions, a mental health organization, a charity fundraiser organization, and a church. I will elaborate on web design in other posts.

With time I may be able to come up with other hobbies I have had it continue to be involved in. Stay tuned…

Guitar Building

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Here I would like to take a moment to introduce a recent hobby: guitar building.

I started into guitar building in 2019 when I moved to an attic apartment on Napier Street in Sarnia. I used the second bedroom as a workshop for the sake of sanding and refinishing as well as the soldering needed to build my first guitar, a blond Telecaster DIY build.

The apartment was small but had a nice second bedroom that I didn’t need and it was bright. I set up a large solid wood dinner table as a workbench.

Small second bedroom on Napier Street

My first guitar build was a bit crude in the sense that it had a maple neck I got on eBay from a Chinese vendor that had been grinded down a bit to remove the serial numbers. I couldn’t tell that from the pics posted on eBay but it was cheap and too difficult to return so I sanded it and finished it and made it work. It was a challenge but I made it work…

Telecaster ‘Chinese’ neck (with Fender logo ground off)

I bought the guitar body already finished and ready to go:

Telecaster body: Paulownia wood

Paulownia wood is very light and when you try to anchor a screw it tends to fall out over time as the wood turns to dust, almost to chalk. When you add the guitar neck it tends to cause ‘neck dive’ where you are always trying to keep the neck from falling forward as you play…

I upgraded a few things including the neck on this guitar but got rid of the body and neck the following year as I had a few others by then to replace it. It was fun building it and catapulted me into the guitar building hobby.

What’s in a Name?

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There is a song (hymn) called Only in the Name of Jesus that in its lyrics has that phrase. It is based on a bible verse in the book of Acts (4:12) that says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

That is a powerful verse. It literally says that the only way to get saved is through the name of Jesus. You can’t call on any other name for the sake of salvation.

I know a lot of people that do not like to hear the name of Jesus and I think it is because to accept that Jesus is the son of God AND to accept that he is the only way to get to heaven is not something they want to do. They would rather just call on God, or as they say in AA: ‘The God of my understanding’, or ‘A Higher Power.

I am a born again Christian and believe in Jesus. I believe I am saved through a few steps I took but mostly I from the verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

To Mexico

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In 1984 Rosi and I headed to Mexico to continue our missionary work.

We had three children by then: David, Peter, and Esther. David and Peter were born in London, ON and Esther was born in Point Claire, QC.

We had clearance to go and be part of the missionary effort in Mexico provided we could manage to get there, and provided that we had a certain level of self-support. We were self-supporting non-denominational Christian missionaries.

So we had to decide between Brazil and Mexico. It seemed easier to get to Mexico, we knew the language (Spanish) and we didn’t need as much home support.

We decided to drive down there in our ’72 Pontiac Parisienne that we bought the year before:

’72 Pontiac Parisienne

We bought a roof rack and drove down from Canada. Our immediate destination was Guadalajara, Mexico. In another post I will talk about our trip down there.

Forsaking All

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Let’s start by telling you that on January 7, 1976 I was born again and joined a non-denominational Christian organization in Canada.

Part of joining the organization was to forsake all. This was a source of income for the group as it would give them items they otherwise couldn’t afford to buy. If they didn’t have a need for the things you forsook they would sell them at garage sales and raise funds for the organization.

So I decided to join and part of that process was to forsake all my possessions.

What possessions did I have? I still lived at home with my parents but I had a set of used Ludwig drums, a couple of guitars, a Yamaha component stereo system, an old Ford Falcon car, a ten speed bike, and some books. Non of these items were cheap. I worked hard to get them…

A pic of me in ’76 in Montreal, soon after joining

When I was told I had to forsake all if I wanted to join, not just my possessions but that it was a total commitment – I was going to have to give up my life if I wanted to start a new one… I said ‘Yes.’

So I went home with one of the brothers that recruited me and we loaded up my beat up Ford Falcon with all my possessions and were going to take them to my new home. Unfortunately, the car had a problem with the gear shift. I hadn’t driven it for a while and that day, in the middle of a snow storm, wouldn’t cooperate and I couldn’t get it out of the driveway at my parents house.

We ended up getting a taxi instead so that was an ordeal but it was alright because I had no qualms about forsaking all. I was determined to give away my past life in exchange for a new one that had purpose and meaning…

I’m a Dreamer

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I woke up this morning with this thought in mind. ‘Seems like I have big dreams and I am an idealist.

I also tend to be an extremist.

If I believe in something I throw everything into it and am willing to go ‘all in’.

Being an extremist is a bit of a gamble since I may not have anything to come back to if my venture doesn’t work out…

Some talk about having an addictive personality. This is something I believed about myself. Researching this further it would seem that that is a false concept. According to the experts there is no such thing as an addictive personality.

Some examples of my extremism:

When I was a teen and teaching guitar and drums at the music studio I sold my really nice Hagstrom guitar and bought a cheap imitation Telecaster guitar and a 12 string acoustic guitar instead. It turned out to be a mistake because I hardly ever used the 12 string and the cheap electric was really crappy…

In another post I will get into the biggest example of my extremism called ‘Forsaking All.’

Born to Drum

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Seems like I had drumming in my genes.

Here is a pic of my first drums I got for Christmas:

My first drums

I am not sure what year that was so I do not know or how old I was. I am thinking I must have been 4 or 5 years old.


Next is a pic of me in my 20’s in a band in Montreal:

2125 AD (Band name) I am on drums on the left…

The band was formed by fellow missionaries.

In this pic we were performing for a group of our co-missionaries in Montreal during a weekend fellowship at a chalet outside Montreal.

In another post I will elaborate on the band and our united vision to go abroad together and recording and performing as a form of outreach.

Multi Careers

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They say that the average person has multi careers in their lifetime. It is rare to meet someone who has only had one career.

People that have worked their whole life for one company in one career is a ‘dying breed.’

In some ways I am jealous of people that have retired with a full pension because they worked somewhere for 30 or 40 years. On the other hand, even though I am not one of those people, I am grateful for all the adventures and experiences I have had during my working years. I would not have had those adventures and life changing events if I was stuck at a 9-5 job in the same company, in the same place for all those years.

I always had a hard time making up a resume when I was looking for a new job. The main difficulty was explaining gaps in my career path or luls in my employment. I had so many different careers and/or odd jobs and it was difficult to have my resume focus on a certain career so my prospective employer could see the value in hiring me.

My main career was as a non-denominational self-supporting Christian missionary. In another post I start to elaborate on my adventures as a missionary.

Apart from missionary work I have had varied jobs and careers, from Chauffeur to delivery driver, to electronics technician to teacher of music and later of English.

Read more about all my ‘illustrious‘ careers in other posts…