Month: July 2024

When you hear something that doesn’t resonate with you, your first gut reaction may be to say, “How can anyone say something that stupid?”

That’s because we make the mistake of thinking you are the target audience.

My take: If you hear something during political theatre that you do or don’t like, try to take emotion out of it. Understand that what is said is not the same as what is done. These are two different things.

We create tension by waiting to make a decision about something we don’t want to proceed with.

We then make the tension worse, waiting for an inevitable outcome.

So the question is: what are you waiting for?

At the end of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin is getting ready to start school and becomes sad that he won’t be able to play with his animals as much.

Winnie the Pooh says, “So, they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”

As we age, we work to justify our existence and forget the value of play. We work so hard that we sacrifice memories with those we love.

Many know how to work hard but have forgotten to play hard.

You can go out and be set to change the world only to be disappointed it didn’t happen.

The easier change is to change yourself.

You can’t change the whole world but you can change your part in it.

The thing about Eddison is that he didn’t discover electricity; he invented the first long-lasting incandescent lightbulb.

Columbus certainly didn’t discover America when so many had previously inhabited it.

The Wright Bros. didn’t invent physics but were able to create a vehicle that harnessed aeronautical engineering.

Inventing is to discover. And to discover is to invent.

The interesting thing is that when we discover something in ourselves, we also need to invent ourselves going forward. It also works the other way around.

One of humans’ unique characteristics is their ability to anticipate the future. This ability is what keeps humans alive on the Savvanah. If we could predict if a sabertooth tiger was around the corner, we would increase our chances of survival.

Today, we certainly do the same. Instead of focusing on animals, we look at people and situations similarly. As a result, lump danger all together in one category. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing until we are looking at Twitter from the comforts of our own homes or looking at a name on a resume.

These snap judgments are riddled with bias. And while it can still keep us alive when driving down the freeway, it isn’t that valuable in extending the benefit of the doubt when talking about conflicting ideas.

It’s easy to find in others because look how someone is behaving compared to you.

It’s easy to find fault in ourselves because we look at all our mistakes.

It’s easy to find fault in the world. Because everyone knows its not perfect.

The bottom line is that it’s always easy to find fault in people or situations. It’s not easy to be patient in casting judgment, especially when we don’t have all the facts or context.

People will believe anything once cemented in a narrative.

Whether it’s true or not, what matters here is understanding that people’s desire for a specific outcome will trump a more objective reality.

The speed at which information can be received today is truly a miracle.

What hasn’t changed is people’s patience.

We look for the shortcut of information if we are not patient to see it play out.

Too often, we can fall into this trap of appearing too busy or stressed to accomplish something.

You can see this with hiking, where people push themselves until they are out of breath and are not enjoying the experience. They get to the top only a few minutes faster than the other person, who is going at a steady pace.

The same happens when completing an assignment from the boss or paying bills. Breakneck speed and the associated stress aren’t a strategy to run your life.

Half the stress and yet the same results.