Strong Minds for Tomorrow's World

Intriguing, captivating, challenging, energizing - are just a few of the words that have been used to describe staring contests. Adults of this country have come to consider these childhood games to be beneath them, but is there more to it than meets the eye? Our society has relegated these games into the past as something not worth our attention, about as useful as watching paint dry. Let us consider the long history of staring down an opponent.

In ancient times, one might say more civil times, battles were fought with clubs, spears, swords and bows. This is the physical side of the battle. How did these valiant warriors prepare for the mental struggle? If you said through studying fighting techniques and subjecting themselves to the extremes of the elements, you'd be right. Although recent archaeological discoveries indicate the best warriors went through a more rigorous training regimen. That's right, staring contests! These contests were at times brutal in nature. If one lost their intense focus and blinked or perhaps even laughed they would forever be ridiculed and spurned by their clan. This of course promoted a deep desire for success and a strong mental fortitude. The people group that achieved the highest faculty of concentration in this skill were the Spartans. That is how a meager group of only 300 men held off thousands of the Greeks.

So how can we use this oft overlooked method of training the mind in todays culture? I see a couple options before us. We can start a class at local colleges and design a curriculum around this highly intensive mental exercise. It will be most beneficial in preparing young adults to jump into the work force and not have to rely on power naps or Starbucks to get them through the day. Another application would be staying alert on long road trips.

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