All posts by steve@kerrzone.com

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Friday Yet?

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Many of us work for others and receive compensation for doing so.   A common full time work schedule is Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

There are of course multitudinous variations to that schedule and variances in employment types from part-time, contract to seasonal only.  This post focuses on the common but applies to all the situations.

Working for the Weekend

Throughout my working career I would occasionally run into those who asked on Monday; Is it Friday yet?  Or of course, I oft encountered those who practiced the mantra TGIF (Thank god it’s Friday).

For the majority of people working for fiscal compensation whether derived from others or directly from your own efforts is standard practice.

Don’t Waste It

Work (in this context)  usually takes up a large percentage of our waking hours (40% to 50% for most) and goes on usually from your early twenties to mid to late sixties.  (65% to 70% of your life).

Given the majority of our lives are spent working we are far better off to both enjoy and derive pleasure from it.  To do otherwise draws into question (at least for me) what our life goals or purpose is.

To detest the work we have chosen to do such that we are just working for the weekend (analogous to working for time-off) and for the money deserves a real wake-up call.  You need to get out and make a change.

There is no excuse for not enjoying what you spend most of your time on, it is a choice.  At the most basic level choose to enjoy what you are doing.  It is totally within your capability to do so.

OR

Make a change to doing something you enjoy doing, life is too short to do otherwise.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Don’t Rush It

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Sometimes it is worthwhile pausing to reflect before acting to provide yourself time to consider options and be sure you have chosen wisely.

Functioning under time constraints is enjoyable for some and often many digital games and puzzles incorporate time as a constraint, to make the game challenging and because there is an audience for it.

Examinations and other tests often include completion time frames, many seem to come alive in these scenarios and embrace them.  They thrive on the excitement.

Not Me

I believe there is a proper balance between rushing to decision and letting it languish for a long time.  Time constraints make me nervous and I question whether the choices are well enough reasoned.

The pressure can help somewhat with the flow of ideas and building a sense of excitement however if given all the time needed you may well come up with better solutions, or at least enjoy the path to arriving at them more.

This is not to suggest taking a long time before acting is better.  Certainly, this can lead to analysis paralysis and has its own set of complications.

How Much Thought is Best?

Every situation is different and the context drives what is the appropriate time to spend on analysis to come up with the best solution.  As noted spending too long can be just as bad as spending too little time.

Considering all alternatives also might not be beneficial.  This can lead to brain capacity overload, followed by frustration and ultimately less than optimal solution.

My advice, when deciding how to proceed, give it time, not too much, not too little but just the right amount.  Often, you will just know intuitively when you have spent the optimal time on something (but you must take the time to do so).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Clearing your Conscience

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Taking action to salve your conscience may benefit others or it could just be a selfish act.  Most likely though it is a little bit of both.   Doing it solely for vindictive purposes may weigh on your conscience and create a vicious circle.
Each of us is guided by our inner feeling or inner voice relative to the rightness or wrongness of our behavior.  Sometimes we act on this directly, sometimes we ignore and let it fester for a while but ultimately it always affects us in some way.

Focus on You

Our conscience is with us until we die.  When we override the voice in our head or values we hold dear in our hearts the action we chose remains embedded in our brain and we need to live with it.

From time to time this can mean we try to heal our feelings by taking actions to resolve those things that are eating at us from the inside and just won’t go away.

In some cases, these things we finally chose to resolve will not only help us but can spill over as beneficial actions for others.  For example, if you chose to out a bully through public identification,  this could have drawbacks on you (the bully might not like it).

However, the good news is that it could put a stop to the bullying behavior, that is saving others from past or future pain.    For you, doing the honorable thing should resolve guilt feelings a salve your conscience, although there may be some short term pain.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Making Assumptions

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From time to time most of us will accept something as true or as certain to happen, even though we do not have absolute proof (it is possible definitive evidence of the truth does not exist.

Making assumptions can be expedient but it could also result in inappropriate behaviour or doing the wrong activity because things we not actually as you assumed them to be.

Speculation

A close cousin to the making of assumptions occurs when we form a theory or conjecture without firm evidence, i.e., speculate.  Combining speculation with assumptions can lead to a very dangerous combination.

Basically, inadequate quality of facts and inconclusive information leads us to actions that appear to be supported by feelings or beliefs that we can firmly trust, although in fact they are based a bit on smoke and mirrors, (i.e., what appears to be, not necessarily what is).

Easy and Simple

The prime motivation for acting on speculative information and assumptions is simplicity.  It is easier to assume you know the answer and proceed than step back, dig in and investigate.

We can achieve our goals by knowing how to proceed and assumptions provide us with that direction.  Sometimes it works and of course, our level of false confidence drives our ability to make assumptions comfortably.

The thinking goes “We are good at this, it’s unlikely we are wrong.  Why wait, why do more work?  Let’s get it done.”  Unfortunately, this approach does not always work out.  Worse when it misfires you can really make an ass of yourself (or worse).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Courage

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Showing strength in the face of pain or grief or taking action that is frightening or might undermine your self esteem requires courage.   Courage does not mean the absence of fear but rather ability to manage yourself appropriately when scared.

The practice of courage can be dramatic and inspirational or it could just be relatively mundane.  Behaving with integrity often requires courage, that is doing the right thing even if it is hard to do so.

Anxiety

Circumstances do not lead us to worry.  When we give way to anxiety or feel unease it is because we chose to allow ourselves to dwell on difficulty or troubles not about what is going on around us.

Exercising courage often simply means you focus on what really matters, that is your personal goals.  Dwelling what might be or what scares us, which can be very real things, detracts from our ability to be courageous.

It’s about you

Acting courageously may result in the admiration of others, even being classified as a hero.  This should not be a motivation for behaving with courage.

Being tenacious feeds your self esteem, that is behaving according to your personal values even in the face of potential adversity strengthens your inner peace.  Ultimately you feel better about yourself.

The worst impact of succumbing to a bully is not immediate or imminent pain they may inflict but the lingering impacts on your self worth.

Standing by your personal convictions may cause you immediate pain and suffering.  However, feeling good about yourself is   something that will last through the long term, ongoing mental stability will far outweigh passing periods of physical pain.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Say what you do and do what you say

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We perceive other levels of honesty and moral uprightness based on their actions (words and deeds).  People who do not follow through can lose respect and trust very quickly.

That is not to say you must accomplish every objective and goal you expound on in order for others to view you as having a high level of integrity.

Open, Clear, and Forthright

Things change and new circumstances may make if less feasible or even impossible for you to complete your initial commitment  (i.e.,  you said it but could not do it.)

However, when what you committed to changes, openly communicating this, and discussing options with those impacted mitigates your risk of being perceived as dishonest.

Blindly Forging Ahead

Making a personal commitment does not entail being successful at all costs but collaborating with others to achieve positive outcomes when the unforeseen occurs is critical.

Blindly forging ahead with your initial approach when it has become unfeasible can be both painful and unproductive.  Our moral foundation will not be cracked because we fail, only if we ignore that failure and hide it from others.

Explore Alternatives

When I was young my parents use to advise me; Succeeding is important but trying is critical.  If we have accepted accountability for a task or deliverable it is possible we won’t achieve it.

This does not impinge upon our integrity as long as we both tried and kept everyone who will be impacted apprised of our efforts and well as consulting them and seeking assistance where it makes sense.

Maintain your personal integrity with others – try your best and keep them informed.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

How do you feel?

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We all have a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from our circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.  These emotions drive our behavior.
Our feelings are not based on logic but rather they are intuitive and can even be hereditary reactions.   Our emotional response will not always result in optimal behavior based on the situation.

Logic or Emotion

The interesting paradigm presented by emotional behavior was cleverly illustrated in the original Star Trek television show.  One of the crew members belonged to a race (Vulcan) which could not experience emotion.

Amn oft viewed scenario on the show was the Vulcan character (Spock) opining on others behavior as being illogical.  Sometimes the emotional behavior proved best and sometimes disastrous.

Life Without Emotion

Seeing life without emotion, as envisioned by the TV shows creative talent was fascinating to say the least (another perspective oft spoken by Spock when observing others act emotionally).

The show very much put emotional behaviour into perspective and helped me understand the value of checking your feelings before acting.

Behave to Achieve

By checking my emotions before reacting I enabled myself the opportunity of acting in the optimal way to satisfy my desires.  Often the ungaurded reaction, based on how you are feeling at any given time, is not the best approach.

Logical analysis can often help determine the better way.

Surprisingly, determining how you feel e.g., anger, saddness, happy, excited is not difficult.  Holding your actions in check until you are ready to act appropriately is a little more difficult given the energy associated with emotion, but doable and worth it.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Manage Risk Don’t Worry

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There is almost always the potential for danger, harm or loss with everything we undertake, that is a risk.   This can lead to anxiety or unease as we allow ourselves to dwell on upcoming difficulties or troubles, that is worry.

Often when we are exposed to danger, harm, or loss our emotions kick in, and rather react in a logic-planned way we panic and get anxious.

Substitute Risk Management

Some of you will remember the popular Mad magazine character from the sixties or seventies – Alfre E Neuman.  His tag line was “What?  Me worry”.  (Not sure what his motivation was.)

Personally, I emulate that motto but my rationale is based on constant and effective risk management.   Things we worry about stem from the risk of something untoward occurring and if we plan to prevent it or how we will manage if it occurs then, why worry?

Think Ahead

Basically when you undertake a goal or plan an activity think about possible outcomes.  Don’t overthink it, that in itself can be worrisome, but consider reasonable possibilities.

Some of the things that might occur might be less than pleasant, bothersome, or even totally undesirable.  Mitigating these risks, that is planning what to do if they occur to lessen the damage or even prevent occurrence are things you can do.

By preparing for risk and being ready to take action as needed you to remove the unknown, fear, anxiety, and uncertainty is tamed, and voila worry is gone.

Hard to believe but it is that simple.  What? Me worry.  Why would I engage in a needless and unsettling emotional activity?  I can see no rational reason to do so.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Which comes first

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I often run into people seeking answers.  My counsel to them is unlike the popular game show, Jeopardy, it does not make sense to start with the answer.

The answers we seek cannot be uncovered without a clear understanding of the question.  That is where to begin.  Spending time and effort seeking to find answers is a much more efficient process if it is focused.

Clarity of Purpose

Taking the time to fully understand the question is an effort well worth undertaking.  It helps us avoid responses that are not really relevant to what we seek, but appear to be.

Sometimes digging into what the question really is can provide answers.  For example, consider the simple question “Why is the sky blue”.

Are we really trying to determine the reason for the sky’s color or is it what the sky is composed of (which results in blue color) the answer we seek.

Or do we want to understand why the region starting from land and reaching outer space exists, that is what is the purpose of the sky and why does it exist and do we need it, can we use it for something?

Solid Foundation

Research into a topic is best conducted when the object of the research is well defined.  This process of determining what we are actually trying to answer, that is creating the question is not only a critical beginning but also time-consuming.

The value equation, spending time up front to think through and clarify the question more often than not results in clear and high-quality answers.

Without understanding the question we really cannot arrive at an answer.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Learning for Life

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Do we need a reason for practicing continuous learning?  Whether formal or informal is the motivation to learn best just driven by the potential to gain knowledge, rather than a specific social or monetary goal.

The ongoing acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught directly by others undoubtedly has value even if the return on investment cannot be specifically defined.

What percent of my personal health and wealth is attributable to ongoing learning?  I do not have an exact measure in monetary terms but  I have always found ways to leverage my knowledge gains even if only to improve my feeling of personal well-being.

Embrace the Experience

Learning objectives are generally focused on specific topics and learning objectives (e.g., mathematics) however the ways we are taught and how it is received is an important part of the learning experience itself (beyond just the content).

Ongoing interaction with teachers and other learners can go well beyond the learning objectives.  Social interactions or working together with others to gather and collate information provides a side learning opportunity to increase our overall maturity.

Sometimes the most important knowledge gains are derived from the ad hoc or informal practices associated with structured learning.

Practice

All areas we undertake to upgrade our knowledge from time to time don’t need to be associated with specific future plans.  That is we do not need to take a course or training with a specific goal in mind.

Ultimately should find a way to employ the outcomes of our training when done. Without practice or actually using the knowledge we gained, learning may be wasted.

In some cases though exactly how we are going to leverage what we learned might not be clear to us until we are done.