Triplets

“Triplets” are things I "trip over" in the course of trying to get IMPORTANT stuff done … mostly in the morning … trying to get my day off the launch pad.  They include:

• ·         Making the bed
• ·         Feeding the cat
• ·         Retrieving the paper
• ·         Making breakfast
• ·         Eating breakfast
• ·         Emptying the dish washer
• ·         Taking out the trash
• ·         Taking my vitamins
• ·         Cleaning the litter box
• ·         Getting the cat’s medications “loaded”
• ·         Delivering the medications
• ·         Getting the cat “settled” in her favorite places
• ·         Brushing & flossing teeth
• ·         Shaving & showering
• ·         Brushing the cat (Damned cat!)
• ·         Watering the garden
• ·         Doing my stretches and exercises
• ·         Getting stuff organized
• ·         Etc.

 When you’re retired, Triplets can take half-a-day … and then it’s time for lunch and a nap! 

How do I reconcile dealing with “Triplets” while trying to perform effective TIME MANAGEMENT / LIFE MANAGEMENT?

[… trimming the mustache here … ]

One of he most annoying things about Triplets is that, once the brain waves start rolling, there’s a certain “FLOW” that begins to take shape, building up steam for things I really want and need to get done – OTHER than “Triplets” … problems that need to be solved, opportunities to be pursued, strokes of genius to be recorded (don’t I wish!), etc. – and the Triplets seriously interrupt that flow! 

[ … arm and shoulder stretches and exercises here … ]

In TIME MANAGEMENT sessions, we are admonished to start each day getting at least one BIG agenda item in the jar as early in the course of events as possible.  BIG stuff need to percolate … it needs LEAD TIME … it needs a longer RUNWAY for lift-off … it needs VISIONING … it needs PLANNING … it needs more TLC … it often needs REVISIONING …

Two very helpful things to facilitate dealing with Triplets are NOTE-TAKING and LIST MAKING.

First, during the course of Triplet Trekking, one can practice “Masterful MindLESSness” (auto-piloting or habit or routine processing) while engaging the wheels of BIG AGENDA item MINDFULNESS, making notes to the desk pad in between Triplets.

[ … arm, shoulder and leg exercises here … ]

This suggests that we can use a “Double-Sandwiching” technique in dealing with Triplets versus BIG STUFF:

When Triplets need tending, we can be thinking about, planning for, etc., the BIG STUFF, and when the BIG STUFF gets “Flowing”, we can mindlessly “sandwich-in” a few Triplets.

Truth being told, I find it very difficult to sustain heavy-lifting focus on BIG projects (sometimes even light-lifting focus on small projects!) for long periods of time.  In addition, my “gray matter” can only process and deliver a limited bolus of useful insight in any given time-frame.  So my productive engagement only comes in limited spurts.

[ … I’m going out to water the garden now … ]

[ … and then to Reed Valley Farm for blueberry pancakes … ]

[ … followed by an afternoon “detailing” the domicile landscape … ]

[ … it’s SATURDAY, for crying out loud … !]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Triplets are not all bad.  Triplets make the world go ‘round.  Without Triplets, the BIG STUFF won’t fare so well.  In fact, it’s important to get some Triplets out of the way early so we don’t trip over them more obtrusively and intrusively later.  (At least get some nutrition in your system so you can put up a valiant fight when the going gets tough, and make yourself “presentable” to head off self-conscious “trifling”.)  However, parceling Triplets out to serve as fire-breaks and wind-breaks in “Double-Sandwiching” scenarios allows them to serve dual functions.   

Revolving Door Channeling is another effective way to deal with Triplets.  Go ahead and tackle the high-intensity, big-boulder stuff with short bursts of absolute focus, but occasionally knock off a Triplet or two as you encounter or create “transition points” in the course of BIG STUFF processing. 

NOTE:  RDC is not “multi-tasking” in strictest terms, and should not be attempted as such.  However, true multi-tasking is an excellent way to knock off Triplets: Paying bills or doing exercise while watching news on TV; preparing meals and listening to news on the radio; listening to books-on-tape while brushing the cat …

Effective “Transitioning” is really important.  The innate tendency we have when a wind-break/fire-break occurs or is needed is to head for the coffee pot, munch on high-octane snacks, check out social media, and/or tap into the office gossip hot-line and temporarily “Veg-Out”.  Having a list at your fingertips is extremely helpful ... or having piles of notes & stuff strewn on the floor that you have to walk over or around until they’re taken off the grid can help.   

[Where did the weekend go?]

[It’s Monday, already!]

[OK, I did the bike ride, watered and weeded the garden.  Now I gotta get cat meds loaded.]

Finally, UP the Triplets!  Squeeze in some “Research and Visioning” explorations for personal and professional advancement/enrichment and include some “Recharge” activity.  I’d have to say there’s nothing like exercise to settle the old “squash” down, aerate the psyche, realign priorities, strategize, solve problems, renew the spirit, re-energize, recalibrate the compass and get a new “bead” on the project(s) at hand. 

Whatever you do, and how ever you do it, start early!  Triplets are part of the “Cost of Living” and are a LARGE part of “Living Well”.  SUCK IT UP!  Instead of tripping over Triplets and getting bent out of shape by all the “triflings” of life, save the righteous indignation for fighting injustice, prejudice, willful neglect, mediocrity, unfounded assumptions, unrealistic expectations, unwarranted entitlements, untruthfulness and fabrications.  Both you and the world you live in will be enormously better for it!  Quartermaster 

“I’m going out to clean the pasture spring;

…

I shan’t be gone long.  – You come too.”

Robert Frost

“The Pasture”

Buck Stops Here

Buck Stops Here

The wife was cleaning out the refrigerator shelves but couldn’t figure out how to remove a retaining rack, so she called Super-Hurango for help!  [OK, it was probably a ploy to make retired SH feel useful!]  A 22-second assessment, including two “trial” but failed approaches, finally ended in a successful rack removal venture.  [She then wanted help reinstalling the rack!] 

The socio-psychic (psychosocial?) dynamics here are important.  What if SH had been MIA (like out riding his bike, working in the garden, mowing the lawn, at the library … or out to “Green Pastures”)?  There would have been no BACK-UP … no FALL-BACK … no HAND-OFF … Removal of the refrigerator rack would have had to have become a DIY project, which she would have had to figure out for herself. 

OK.  So she has a predisposed inclination to think every mechanical challenge requires macho brawn, and she simply reached out to the nearest facsimile.  However, this particular activity was not overly taxing.  A few moments reflection would have shown that she could have used a kitchen knife to facilitate the rack removal, if necessary.  All else failing, she could also have visited the store where we bought the refrigerator and had the salesman demonstrate rack removal and replacement.  But SH happened to be close enough by – in the “office” doing nothing of obvious intrinsic or extrinsic value – to haul into action.   

The first point here is that, given choices of any ilk, we will default to the easiest choice.  That’s probably as it should be: If you have an easy choice, why make a project more difficult?  Duh!

However, the greater point here is that, where there are NO choices, we can often figure things out for ourselves.  (I’m a “Slow Processor”, so sometimes I have to “sleep on it”!)  And “figuring things out” both increases problem-solving skills and enhances GETTING STUFF DONE. 

When I was involved in mainstream program development of a newly emerging center, many novel issues surfaced that required the undivided attention of the Center Director.  Lower level “novelties” and more routine stuff, which also begged the Director’s attention, tended to pile up – on MY desk!  As an organizational “sentinel” and presumptive “expediter”, I began to research, problem-solve and process increasing numbers of needs and requests, preparing them for the Director’s edit, final approval and sign-off – but often simply finishing them off to keep them from bothering him.  Operationally, the more “Bucks” I could stop before they hit the Director’s desk, the more effective he could be, overall.  It turned out to be an excellent Teamwork approach.  Best of all, the increasingly routine practice of “Stopping the Buck” at my desk led to promotions I didn’t even ask for.  Being proactively useful works wonders!  

Every time we “Buck UP”, both our navigation capacity and our negotiability within the universe increase.  See how far UP the ladder you can go to extract “pending” stuff and keep as many things as possible from “Bucking the System”.  Then look surprised when the dividends accrue!  Quartermaster 

Purpose

["Ask Marilyn", Parade Magazine, May 29, 2016, p. 10]

Question:

“I’m in Mensa, where I’ve been discussing this question with other members for years: What is the reason we are here?”

Marilyn’s Response:

“I think it depends on your spiritual beliefs.  If you have a religion, it provides the answer.  But if you don’t believe in a god, the question contradicts your thinking.   Having a reason implies having a purpose, which indicates an intelligent being for cognitive power with intent.  That’s what people call a god.  So if you don’t believe a god exists, you can’t believe a reason exists.  You must settle for assuming we got here through some natural process, and that’s that.” 

The answer seemed a little brief.  I thought we might expand the discussion a bit.

Considering a non-deified “Purpose” would depend on exactly where we find ourselves in the universe, where we have been, and what tools we carry. 

The “Naturalists” among us might say our Purpose is defined by our DNA.  In fact, some would say we are merely “carriers” of a blueprint for the next generation … simply a means for propagating genetic hardware.  Played out to its logical or illogical conclusion, this would mean our expanded Purpose would be to do everything possible to assure the propagation of DNA was sustainable.  That might include such things as giving due attention to health and wellbeing; taking care of the earth and its associated resources for future generations; becoming economically viable and not going mercilessly into debt; etc. 

Another component of a non-deified Purpose might be to figure out as much as possible about the universe we inhabit while we’re here ... and, since we ARE here, figure out ways to make “BEING HERE” the best it can be. 

These beginnings suggest that – at least in circumstances where an external Purpose is not otherwise imposed – we get to decide for ourselves what our overarching PURPOSE will be.  Happy Day!  But it does carry an implied understanding that we will responsibly execute the fulfillment of that Purpose.  Again, sustainability is a key element in whatever Purpose we choose to decree or adopt. 

Whether one chooses a non-deified or a deified pretext/context, the outcomes are often astounding:  

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart … was a prolific and influential composer … [who] showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

Persons thus blessed, either way, with incredible talent are “locked in” to a defining Purpose from their earliest beginnings. 

My purpose within the next two hours is to get the lawn mowed, water the garden and clean up a desk unapologetically littered with remnants of diggings about the universe. 

So [now that THAT’S done], what about the rest of us (who are not “Mozarts”)?  

Place and circumstance matter.  A person in North Korea is primarily “Purposed” [by the “Supreme Leader”] to serve the dictates of the Supreme Leader … i.e., relegated to being a small cog in a big wheel.  A person in the US, finding himself or herself in a much more openly engaged but competitive civilization, must individually UP their game to distinguish themselves as either a unique cog or a unique wheel. 

In the least restrictive case, the DNA metaphor remains compelling.  No matter how or “why” our DNA has been bestowed – whether by Natural, Unnatural or Supernatural forces – what we’re “made of” should equip us at least to be USEFUL if not overtly PURPOSEFUL. 

Philosophies have evolved to provide some reflective context.  Hedonism, of course, abounds.  And asceticism – perhaps as an antidote to hedonism – has had its day.  And multitudes of philosophies fall in between – take your pick!

Perhaps our Purpose is covertly buried in “Who we are”, and if we find out “Who that is”, our Purpose will become self-evident?

Early in life, we’re “Joe’s son” or “Geraldine’s Daughter”.  Then we may become a “plumber”, “electrician”, “teacher”, “chef”, “administrator” … or, perhaps, even “President”!  Just as we grow into bigger “WHOS”, we increase in “WHYSdom”. 

If we take Maslow’s Pyramid to heart, our Purpose should evolve: from satisfying fundamental physiological needs … to assuring our safety … to developing effective and affirmative relationships with others … to building a portfolio of accomplishment and respect … to a pinnacle of meaningful self-actualization.

Finally, our overall Purpose may simply be to become ONE with the Cosmos.  From dust to dust and all the rest, we’re a part of what IS, so we might as well make the best run at it that we can.  It may be all the Purpose we’ll ever need! 

Whatever Purpose you choose, or whatever Purpose may have been thrust upon you … or whatever Purpose you can grow into, as you journey, may the most positive Cosmic Force(s) be with you!  Quartermaster

Prosperity

It only recently became clear to me that the riddle I’ve been chasing for 40+ years is this:

Why …

… in a country with as much wealth as the United States of America

 -- the envy of the world in its offerings of opportunity and prosperity --

 are so many so far from realizing bona fide prosperity?

DISCLAIMER

This is NOT about redistributing wealth from the 1% to the 99%.

And I am definitely NOT running for political office!

Past focus has been narrower, asking:

Why are so many high school students not “Job-Ready” or “College-Ready”?

and

Why are so many college students not “Career-Ready”?

But also … 

Why, in such an advanced civilization,

are not more folks “LIFE-READY”?

Some of the answers may be the same.  But the concept of “Prosperity” seemed to be a more unifying theme with more degrees of freedom for exploration. 

First, what do we mean by “Prosperity”? 

I’m going to define “Prosperity” NOT in terms of accumulated wealth – although it could be a significant component of prosperity in many cases – but in terms of having a sense of CONTROL. 

“… the most successful marines were those with a strong ‘internal locus of control’ – a belief they could influence their destiny through the choices they made.”  Charles C. Krulak quoted in Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles Duhigg, Random House, NY, 2016, p. 23

A person who has an intrinsic sense of control over his/her individual circumstances and over the major forces impacting those circumstances should, by all rights, feel a justifiable sense of prosperity. 

Donald Trump – who owns at least 1% of America (by his personal account) – has both an extrinsic and an intrinsic sense of CONTROL and prosperity.   (Some of it may be justified and some of it not!)  Mother Theresa owned very little and worked in deplorable circumstances.  But her immersion in her Mission to serve a Greater Good gave her a sense of “manageability” akin to a sense of CONTROL. 

Perhaps a sense of MISSION is at least as good as a sense of control, and may be even better in many circumstances where great numbers of things are essentially uncontrollable. 

A sense of control for most of the rest of us remains elusive much of the time. 

It’s tempting to limit … and even keep decreasing … our sphere of engagement until we have absolute control of everything within our grasp … except, of course, for everything and anything outside that sphere of engagement on which everything ELSE often depends! 

Gaining the upper hand in manipulating video games can give one a euphoric feeling of control – even of superiority – that carries absolutely no water in the grand scheme of things. 

Perhaps the most utilitarian way to define base-line PROSPERITY is this:

Wanting only what you need,

            needing only what is “Good for you”,

                        and having a more-than-reasonable chance of attaining it.

In that sense, one probably CAN “Have it all!” 

An obligatory component of prosperity is sustainability; one can hardly feel genuinely “prosperous” without a reasonable sense of continuing … perhaps even increasing … favorable circumstances.  HOPE for a bright(er) future is an integral part of a legitimate feeling of prosperity.

A sense of VALUE – of being valued – is important. 

BELONGING is important.  If you are part of a “going enterprise” … be it family, church, business, school, club, profession, etc. … you’ve got access to a breadth and depth of resources that can add and continue to grow in value.   

Finally, having the capacity and inclination to CONTRIBUTE to the wellbeing of others, including time, energy, finances, goods and services, is a measure of prosperity.  Wealth of any kind without generosity is a hollow and unfulfilling condition!  Maybe that’s why MISSION is so important. 

So, we’ve defined PROSPERITY and established the importance of CONTROL, but we haven’t yet answered the riddle: Why is PROSPERITY / CONTROL so elusive? 

Unfortunately, we can’t blame all of the shortfall on our parents, “The Government”, teachers, coaches, the education system, the economy, the “Devil”, or some far-fetched conspiracy theory.  

We’ll explore the underlying factors further in future blogs.  In the interim, let’s look for – and work like Ninjas on bringing to fruition – everything we CAN control, and it will be amazing how much else becomes so much more manageable … not to mention how eminently prosperous we can legitimately feel about it!  If all else fails, take a moment out of your stress-filled life and count your Blessings!  More “countables” are definitely on the way for the Ninja in you!! Quartermaster