Category: Everything else

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” | Albert Einstein

There is no quote I’ve thought of more often in the past year in relation to our collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pithy and wise. Einstein, as always, was well ahead of his time.

To be human is to be fallible.

Perhaps becoming better at being human starts by accepting that.

(For the record, today’s reminders were an exchange about vaccine hesitancy in India as well as John Oliver’s segment on vaccines)

A good friend is explicit about the level of confidentiality of information that he shares. The three levels he uses are:

(1) Okay to share with close friends
(2) Okay to share with your wife
(3) Forget it as soon as you hear it :-)

While levels (2) and (3) typically elicit a smile, I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom in this approach. It is far better than the generic “please don’t share” because we hear it deployed far too often with varying standards.

It helps to be specific about the confidentiality we expect.

And, when in doubt, it is good practice to ask.

We had a meal much later than we originally planned recently.

As I began gushing about how tasty the food was, my wife reminded me that the fare on the table was ordinary.

I was immediately reminded of an incident from a decade ago. We were in the midst of a trek in the Himalayas and had walked ~10 kilometers through steep terrain that day. As our group was slower than usual, lunch was delayed.

We eventually settled to eat in a small hut at the edge of a small army base. And, we were served… wait for it … boiled potatoes. There was some salt on a plate in case we wanted it. But, that’s about it.

It is hard to explain how tasty that meal was. Even after all these years, I vividly remember the happiness we all got from those boiled potatoes.

I’ve had many such meals since. That is one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed intermittent fasting over the past year as well.

The hungrier we are, the tastier the food on the table.

In food and in life.

Someone I spoke to recently explained that she thought that the essence of a career journey is what we learn about ourselves.

That learning helps us gravitate toward work that suits our unique strengths and thus gives us energy.

It is a wonderfully simple way to think about careers – one that reminds us that we are all on our own unique journeys.

It resonated.

Eric Holthaus shared this chart with drought intensity in the Western United States.

For comparison, this was what this chart looked like last year.

We had a rough wildfire season last year. It looks like we’re in for a much tougher ride this year.

I’ve reflected on the similarities between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis many a time in the past months. Both involve non-living agents (a virus, climate) that don’t discriminate between people who believe in it and who don’t. Both require global cooperation and science to ensure survival.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about COVID-19 of late – especially with the intensity of the crisis in India.

But, seeing these charts have reminded me that COVID-19 is a warm-up act in comparison to what lies ahead for all of us with the climate emergency in the coming years.

PS: A former colleague has started a weekly newsletter explaining the science behind the climate crisis in a very accessible way. If you’re interested, please head over to Climate Camp – thanks, Logan, for the good work.

Dimitris shared an excerpt from the Greek poem “Ithaca” recently – “When you depart for Ithaca, wish for the road to be long, full of adventure, full of knowledge. Fear not the Laestrygonians and the Cyclopes, nor the angry Poseidon. “

Long.

Full of adventure.

Full of knowledge.

These may not be the first things that come to mind when we wish for what lies ahead.

But, they’re what make the journey worthwhile.

I continue to be amazed by the impact “to do” lists can have on us. The same list of items can either inspire peace of mind or stress us out.

If we look at our list and immediately get clarity on our priorities and the sequence in which we need to work through them, peace of mind will follow.

And, when clarity on priorities or sequencing is absent, we’re headed for trouble.

In a game of soccer the other day, there were two moments that stood out.

First, I was playing last defender/goalkeeper and someone chipped the ball over me. I gave up and just turned around to watch it go in. Funnily, it hit one of the small foldable goal posts, spun about the edge of the goal, and eventually went in.

If I’d chosen to turn back and run after the ball, I would have been able to stop it.

Second, one of the players on our team went chasing after a defender on a seeming lost cause. The defender made a mistake, he got the ball, and scored.

All of this was part of a fun Saturday game. There are no consequences to scoring, winning, or losing.

But, in both cases, it was fascinating to see the power of persistence and that bit of extra effort.

They don’t seem to pay off for the longest time.

Until they do. Big time.

In the 1980s, Prof Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied 250 teenagers who were given pagers that beeped at various times. They noted down what they were doing and how they were feeling.

One group – “low-flow teens” spent more time watching TV and hanging out in the mall. The other group – “high-flow teens” – spent their time engaged in activities like sports or on their homework.

The study followed these teens to find that the “high-flow” teens reported more longer term happiness, deeper social ties, and education/career success. But, it is more interesting to look at how they were feeling in the moment.

During the course of the study, these high-flow teens did better in every measure of psychological well being (happiness, self esteem, and engagement) except for ONE.

They thought the mall kids were having more fun.

:-)