Category: Everything else

1. They’re present no matter which path you take. There is no problem-free or pain-free path. The paths we take just change the nature of the problems we face.

2. There are two kinds of problems – tiny issues and systemic problems. Tiny issues constitute all the small, unexpected and annoying things that happen to us – e.g., losing a wallet, getting sick, etc. These insert themselves in our lives every once a while and there’s not much we can do about them. Tiny issues are regular tests of our character – we can either choose to moan and complain or move on by giving them the attention they need but not letting them dictate our experience.

Systemic problems, on the other hand, are those that affect our entire system. These sorts of problems arise when we’re feeling stuck, negative or unclear about whether we’re doing the right thing. They come with big failures and big disappointments. Systemic problems are usually blessings-in-disguise as the only way to solve them is by taking the time to reflect, to be aware of what’s going on, evaluating our options and choosing a path that feels most right. They’re tougher problems to solve and generally stay for longer. And, the hardest part about systemic problems is discerning which portions of the solution are within our influence and then focusing entirely on them.

3. All our problems are first world problems. If you are reading this on a laptop/mobile phone wherever you are, it is highly likely that you, like me, are living what I term a first world life. All the basics – food, shelter, and physical security – have largely been taken care of. We work for happiness, not for survival. And, the problems we face largely emerge from the choices we make. All these problems are good problems. They remind us that we’re vulnerable and make our journey interesting.

And, one last thing, there’s a wonderful truth that applies to all sorts of phases in our lives, both tough and easy – ‘even this will pass.’

True that.

There’s a lot to like in Pixar’s new movie. It is a lovely course in how the brain works – not a 100% scientific but enough to paint the picture. It also speaks to the tension between the various emotions in our minds as we make our way through this journey.

My favorite lesson was the central lesson in the movie – joy and sadness work best when they move together. One wouldn’t exist without the other.

We all go through bumps in the road. It feels easier to avoid the difficult, suppress emotions and move on. It takes courage to put ourselves out there, let ourselves feel the sadness and then move onto recovery.

What we learn from that movie is that that courage is essential. Making sure we let ourselves feel that sadness/disappointment/anger when things don’t go our way is an important step in the recovery and “bounce forward” process.

Or, in fewer words, don’t avoid pain. It is part of this rich life experience. Besides, joy wouldn’t be good if it wasn’t for pain.

Young musician George Ezra grew up in a family of avid singers. His siblings, however, had better voices growing up. One day, he stumbled onto a label by American folk singer William Ledbetter “Lead Belly.” On the back of the CD, it said – “his voice was so big that you had to turn the record down.”

So, George, in a moment of inspiration, decided to try out a big voice.

It worked. And he never looked back. One small leap and his life changed for ever.

There’s no guarantee that we’ll have our George Ezra moment when we leap next. But, leap enough, and it’ll likely show up.

I, for one, am glad he took that leap and gave it a go. We wouldn’t have had “Budapest” if he didn’t.. :-)

13 year old Katie Francis sold 21,477 girl scout cookies this year and broke the world record. The New York Times has captured a few hard earned lessons that Katie’s learned over these years – this wasn’t her first time selling girl scout cookies, of course. She’s accumulated considerable skill attempting to break the record every year and is probably in the top 0.1% of hard working 13 year olds.

With stories like this, I’m always curious as to how much of the motivation came from factors like parents and the environment and how much came from her own self. I suspect it must have been ignited by external factors when she started and then taken on a life of its own thanks to intrinsic energy and drive.

Katie’s become a superstar and is now doing speaking gigs at sales conferences. Good for her. I’m hopeful she’ll retain the spark as she grows up.

And, just for today, I wanted to draw attention to one lesson she shared – ‘Don’t waste time convincing the naysayers. Move on and find the yesses.’

Great advice.

A butterfly’s lifecycle is a great example of the lifecycle of something cool.

Source: Milkweed for Monarchs

You go through many stages that look distinctly un-cool until something beautiful appears.

Behind any kind of greatness lies years spent in activities that are distinctly un-cool at the time – days spent in self doubt, weekends spent working on that dream, and years spent in lonely practice. There is no guarantee that these efforts will lead to the desired rewards. Sometimes it all works out. And, sometimes it doesn’t.

And, even when it doesn’t, it is just the desired reward that doesn’t work out. What follows whole-hearted effort are character, happiness, and a persistent spirit that moves onto working on the next thing.

The best thing about those riches is that they’re eternal..

If you see someone come in to a non critical meeting prepared and with an agenda, take notice.

There are many who brush away the “small things” because they’re saving themselves for the “big things.”

Why bother showing up on time for a meeting at school? I’ll do that at work.
Why bother keeping up my promises with my peers? I’ll do that when my boss asks me to.
Why bother? I’ll do that when I have to.

Many of these folk do actually bring their A game when they have to or when the big boss asks them to.

But, the way life works, very few meetings or opportunities come with the right labels. Very often, it is the small meetings and interactions that lead to the big meetings and interactions.

Watch for how we approach the small things. Because, it is the small things that become the big things.

I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being–forgive me–rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger. | Albus Dumbledore

As we grow older, and hopefully smarter and wiser, our mistakes generally become bigger. We may make fewer mistakes but the stakes are generally much higher than they used to be. That’s part of the natural growth process. Sometimes, this process is accelerated – as in the case with young entrepreneurs who’ve created successful companies and find themselves making huge mistakes – and sometimes, it happens slowly. But, if you’re learning, growing and doing more, it generally happens nevertheless. Bad judgment -> mistakes -> experience -> good judgment.

The response when we make such mistakes should not be to attempt to avoid them. Instead, it should be to check if our processes are better today than they were yesterday. Here are a couple of examples –

Example 1 (good) – when I went on school trips as a kid, a loss of possessions was guaranteed. I’ve lost many clothes and shoes on these trips. Over time, I’ve learnt that I’m pretty careful with others’ possessions but tend to be careless with my own. I’ve also learnt to be aware of this and modify my processes. So, today, as I finished up a camping trip, I actually double checked our tent to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind.
Does this mean I’m going to stop losing stuff? Absolutely not. I misplaced a water bottle just a week ago, after all. But, the processes are getting better and I hope to lose less stuff in the future.

Example 2 (not good) – I bought a $25 extra protective sole for my shoe last weekend and promptly threw the receipt and the box. It seemed to work fine at the store but the daily reality was that it wasn’t right. And, unfortunately, I can’t return it without a receipt or a box. That’s $25 I will never see again. This, however, is a mistake that I kicked myself for – in my ongoing attempts to keep clutter out of life, I’ve disposed off receipts too quickly in the past. And, yet, I haven’t quite learnt – a perfect example of a bad process. A moment’s thought made me realize that I could easily have taken a quick photo on my phone and then disposed the receipt.

Lesson hopefully learnt and process hopefully improved.

The mistakes will keep coming and will continue to get bigger. But, the goal with examining processes is to make sure we make newer, better mistakes and learn from them. With every mistake, we can get better. Like all good things in life, the choice is ours.