Tag Archives: surprise

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Upheaval

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The covid-19 global pandemic has caused many changes in our daily lives. Some of these may have a lasting effect on our behaviours.  For example travel and tourism are greatly restricted.

Central office workplaces are empty with many working from their homes, restaurant’s focus on takeout, bars are closed or limited capacity and online shopping is the order of the day, to name just a few of the obvious impacts.

Disruption

This sudden change is unwelcome by many if not all of us but we are adapting.  Covid-19 is not the only upheaval underway for many of us.

Even before the dawning of the pandemic the energy industry was in turmoil with the price of oil and gas sinking like a stone.  Traditional brick and mortar retail was (and is) under seige.

These changes and their impact on our lifestyles are not just regional or limited in scope, but span the globe. and impact a multitude of things.  Virtually no one is immune from their reach.

Adaptation

The causal factors  of the ongoing upheavals we are  experiencing are broad and largely out of individual control.  We can work within our social groups for changes and impact mitigation but largely the best approach is to accept and by embracing reality, thrive.

Even when remedies for covid are discovered (cure and or vaccine) and oil and gas supply and demand comes back into balance it is unlikely the changes wrought over these past months will not remain to some extent.

The new normal has arrived.  Find ways to enjoy it.  As the Borg in the TV show Star Trek The New Generation would say, “Resistance is futile”

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Coincidence or ………..

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My son and laws and I were chatting on Sunday about a variety of topics.  All while maintaining a separation of six feet.  And of course passing the beer cautiously

Not sure the impetus but the discussion strayed to how few celebrity marriages/partnership last more than 25 years.   This included each of us throwing in our examples.

Lasting Relationships

Sadly the three of us came up with surprisingly  few celebrity examples.

Paul and Joan Woodward, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel popped up and then we paused.  I am sure there are more but our point was made.  It is not a lot.

As a final additionJohn Travolta and Kelly Preston was mentioned.  I was not sure they qualified but researched it later they were married almost 30 years until she died.

That’s where the freaky coincidence comes in.  We were having this discussion last Sunday (which is the day Kelly died from breast cancer).

In fact the timing of our discourse was just after the announcement of her death although none of us had heard it or were even aware she was ill.

Coincidence?

For me this is just another example of how we are all interrelated and powers and circumstances beyond are ken do exist.  Our discussion of celebrity relationships came out of nowhere.

That is, there was no specific initiating events.  In fact my son in law who later mentioned John Travolta was the one who brought up the topic.  There was no reason, it just came to him.

These kind of coincidences occur for me from time to time and I am convinced there is some intrinsic meaning.  Just not sure what yet.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Expectation

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When interracting with others there is always a a belief that they will or should support achievment of something. The thing could be tangible or intangible, but the expectation exists.

Failed or unsatisfactory interactions, whether individual, team or a large group, often stem from unmet expectations. Others might not be aware of your expectation and hence the unsatifactory performance might be fully unknowingly.

Share Openly

A good start to avoiding cases of unmet expectations is to make sure they are not hidden. Let others know what you expect. Although just because you expect it does not mean it will be accepted.

Your expectations and those of others may differ. A mutual understanding enables the forging of outcomes that are acceptable to all, even if not optimal.

Understand Your Expectations

Often what we believe should occur has an unconcious component and even though it might not be in the forefront of our thoughts we will be dissapointed if it does not happen.

In order to share your expectation with others you must have a conscious understanding and most importantly it needs to be feasible.

Eliminate Disappointment

If you are aware of what you expect to occur, have shared it with others and discussed variations that are acceptable it is unlikely to be dissappointed.

This does not mean the outcomes will always delight you but they won’t surprise you.

Don’t keep your expectations secret, they should not be demands but reasonable desires. Following this practice eliminates unpleasant surprises and the associated negative emotions

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Guns, Guns, Guns

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I had a couple of interesting conversations today, both about guns. This was a bit unusual as this is not a regular topic for me and in fact it was one discussion just after the other.

Sharpshooting

It started with a colleague and I just chatting ideally after a meeting.  Turns out he is an International Practical Shooting Confederation black badge instructor.

He shared a video of him shooting through a course that looked just like a first person shooter video game only it was real.  Wow, impressive.

Bullets

Shortly after I was part of another conversation with a colleague who shared an interesting experience they had this weekend.

On Saturday at around 3:00 am they were awoken by a noise.  On investigation all seemed fine and it was back to sleep.

In the morning glass crunched undefoot as they entered the kitchen. The cause was a bullet hole in the window.  The bullet crossed the kitchen and lodged itself in the door opposite the window.

The police were summoned and a full CSI was conducted, over several hours.  The police officer noted this type of incident was rarer than a lightening strike.  Comforting.

It is not clear of the cause but unempeeded bullets can travel great distances.  If shot upward and sideways they can travel in a parabolic curved path, while ultimately assisted by gravity it will come down.

Again wow.  Today I recieved some very interesting information shares,  I guess the unexpected occurs more often than you might expect.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Surprise!

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The catch all definition for a surprise is “an unexpected or astonishing event.”    This is a bit simplistic because the magnitude of surprise can vary depending on how impactful the event is, whether is negative or positive and how unexpected it was. (But they all are surprises)

For example, the people living in earthquake prone geographic regions will express surprise when an earthquake occurs, even though it is not truly unexpected.

The moment in time, the magnitude of the earthquake and the results can be somewhat predicted but not with pin point accuracy and the surprise people feel at time of occurance is not unexpected in that context.

Ignore and Hope

Old age is more likely to produce strokes, heart attacks and other negative impacts.  Yet, for many, the signs are ignored to some extent and hopeful ignorance reigns supreme (I will live a long time).  When the physical event occurs it is often a surprise (to some degree anyway).

Wishing negative surprises do not occur is a very natural human behaviour and can be a good stress reliever.  Why worry about something that might occur?  Better to assume it will not.

Pragmatically for the inevitable negative surprises that will come our way acting like an ostrich has some merit  (e.g., death and taxes – although some are not surprised by their taxes).

Predict or Accept

An interesting question for me around the approach to surprises is should we try to predict and worry or just accept them when they occur and move on.

Clearly there is probably not an absolute here.   On one hand, worry can lead to mitigation and real avoidance but it can be unpleasant as well.  On the other hand, acceptance is not always easy to do.