Tim Ferriss, Bobby Fischer, and playing in the rain

I was listening to Tim Ferriss’ podcast where he interviewed Josh Waitzkin. The movie Searching For Bobby Fischer was based on a book his father wrote about Josh’s life as a child, chess prodigy.

Josh Waitzkin is a really interesting guy who has accomplished many amazing things, but what impressed me most about him was what he taught his son about how to react to the weather.

Whenever it rained or stormed he would hear other parents tell their children, “Well, it’s bad weather we can’t go outside today.” He did not want his son growing up with external factors deciding if it was going to be a good day or a bad day. So Josh flipped the script.

Josh and his son have gone out and played in every rainstorm that comes their way since he was born. Now his son will say, “Look Da Da it is a beautiful rainy day, let’s go play in it.”

I thought that was some amazing parenting right there. High five fellow dad, well done!

This is something you can apply to your life too. What are things you can't control in your life that make you decide it is a bad day or not an ideal situation?

I’ve got one that I’m going to fix today. The fact that it gets dark at 430pm has had an adverse effect on me. “Man this stinks. It gets dark so early, it feels like midnight!” Maybe I should go with, “What a beautiful night, there is no way my pasty skin can get a sunburn now!”

It’s a work in progress, but you see where I’m going with this. Only you get to decide if it is a good or bad day, why not make as many good days as possible?