Embrace Better

Life is an evolving progression.  There is no stasis … no parking lot … no statutorial sanctum …

To embrace life, we have to embrace CHANGE.  We change or die!  And the world around us changes, so we have to adapt.  And the speed of change is ever-increasing. 

What got you to the age of two won’t get you through kindergarten; what got you through kindergarten won’t get you through middle school or high school … college … a job promotion … etc. … despite claims made otherwise by Robert Fulghum! 

In the process, we have to embrace TEMPORALITY, the need for GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT, the reality of DECAY / DEGENERATION and the need for RENEWAL / REGENERATION. 

We have to embrace going “WHERE NO MAN – especially US – HAS GONE BEFORE.”

We have to embrace TRANSFORMATION / “Metamorphosis”

Consider the caterpillar just emerging from its cocoon, thinking:

“Life will never be the same again!”

You will echo those words MANY times in your life

(or else you will not have lived fully!)

Embrace BEING!

Embrace BECOMING!

… a new YOU … emerging from a “bubble” of youthful, unfinished business.

… YOU, Inc. … getting seriously entrepreneurial … MAKING CREATIVE LIFE HAPPEN!

Embrace different and more distant horizons:

… New opportunity (otherwise, prepare to become bored and beleaguered)

… New “Neverlands” – places you “never Dreamed” you might end up.

… Uncertainty: It’s where creativity and adventure begin.

… “Nerd-Dom”: “Specialness” is cut from different cloth; weave your own.

… Solitude (It solidifies both IDENTITY and RESOLVE.)

… Globalism – it’s where the future is and where the biggest opportunities are.

And don’t shy from embracing tougher choices and engagements … they’re the stuff from which the greatest successes and grandest fulfillment are born.  They keep us honest and vigilant, and are altogether ennobling, “enlifening” and enabling.

Embrace GRIT:  It’s the stuff that molds champions!

Embrace CRITICISM: We can’t always see or appreciate our own limitations.

Embrace INTROSPECTION: Honest self-appraisal bears much fruit and avoids many pitfalls.   

Embrace HUMILITY: Smarter, wiser, faster and more skilled individuals abound and the more honestly we own up to not “knowing it all”, the more willingly we can learn, the more openly we accept diversity, and the more enthusiastically we can contribute. 

Embrace FAILURE:  It is from Failure we learn what works and what doesn’t, what not to do, how to do better … to do different … to be more assuredly and sustainably successful. 

Embrace BOUNDARIES: Boundaries are like guard rails to keep us from straying too far into dangerous or unproductive territory.  But also look for fertile, unplowed fields ahead where there are unbounded possibilities for productive and profitable engagement. 

“A canal boat has no need of a compass.”

George R. Hewitt

Embrace GIVING STUFF UP that no longer works or never did:

… SELF-CENTEREDNESS

… TRIBALISM

… Unfounded ASSUMPTIONS

… Unrealistic EXPECTATIONS

… Unwarranted ENTITLEMENTS

… BAD HABITS

… RATIONALIZATIONS

… IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION

The universe, from whose dust you were “begotten” and through whose “ether” and workings you must navigate, will much more likely embrace YOU. 

Embrace that part of “Living in the NOW” that connects most directly to a promising future.

“I spend a very substantial amount of my time preparing for the future

because that’s where I plan to spend most of my life.”

Attributed to William James

Embrace ACTION: It’s what gets stuff DONE and what moves us most opportunely from NOW to NEXT. 

Embrace MOMENTUM: It’s the only thing that will break the stand-off between an immoveable object and an irresistible force. 

Finally, embrace ABSURDITY!   It fosters a sense of humor and reinforces the foundations of creativity.  Come to think of it, BECOME ABSURDLY GOOD AT WHATEVER YOU DO!   Extremes in the pursuit of excellence and advancement – and in pursuit of life itself – are not only forgivable but establish lasting legacies.  Quartermaster

Free Will Debate

For this one, you may want to look up “Free Will” on the internet and pick a couple of TED talks for background. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH_VG_aqwoc

INTRODUCTION: A small but hard core mix of neuroscientists, philosophers and psychologists hold that hardly anything we do is an expression of “Free Will”.  That is,  we are, essentially, “Biological Robots” simply acting out what is in our DNA, including what has been “programmed into us” by our heredity and our environment … which includes “hard-wired” epigenetic alterations to our DNA.  The main point of this debate is that our behavior is mostly predictable!  If we screwed up or MISbehaved, it wasn’t because “the devil made me do it” (Flip Wilson), it was because that’s simply – or not so simply – who we are and what we do – and the only thing we could have been expected to do in given circumstances.  

[… never mind that it likely wouldn’t hold much water in a court of law!]

What this mix of scientists has done is to make some very astute observations of selected behaviors and genetic and epigenetic imprints in rats and monkeys and humans that support their assertion, and then they have extrapolated to behavior in general. 

The “clinching argument” is that, when they do the reverse … i.e., look for evidence of “Free Will” rather than for “Programmed Behavior” … they have a difficult time finding it! 

“People are unaware of what they are doing 47% of the time.” 

A key question here is: Why?  If there IS “Free Will”, why is it so hard to find and document? 

This discussion brings to mind the words of Martin Luther as he posted his “Ninety-Five Theses” in 1517:

“ … to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.

Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me.” 

A more operational question is: Why would anyone FREELY WILL themselves to do things that are personally harmful, destructive or self-sabotaging?  Hmmm …

Two other considerations are worth raising:

1.    The automation of at least some, and perhaps many, aspects of human behavior can help maximize productivity … like problem solving while not having to think about showering, shaving or brushing one’s teeth. 

a.    It’s a good thing our heart rhythm is “automated” or we’d go both nuts and exhausted just keeping the blood flowing!  However,   

2.    The automation of human behavior can make us “slaves” to whatever the driving forces are.  “Driving Forces” are really important!  (vida infra)

We might also ask a couple more esoteric questions:

What does this debate say about “Artificial Intelligence”?

What does it say about the squirrels digging holes in my back yard?

 Two additional elements worth considering are: HABITS and CONSEQUENCES.

Our friends fronting the “Free Will” debate do allow some small fraction of latitude in such things as obeying the speed limit … because we don‘t want to get a traffic ticket.   That’s a conscious, “Free Will” decision based on a potentially adverse consequence ... except that we’ve already established a BOUNDARY – the “speed limit” in our own minds – beyond which we will not go.  Here’s the catch: By free will, we established the boundary, but what keeps the boundary in place is the threat of consequences, making it LOOK LIKE an automated response.  Practically, who cares what you call it, just keep that boundary in place!   

So now to DRIVING FORCES [see also Maslow’s Pyramid of needs].  The three most critical internal driving forces of note are NEED, WANT/REWARD and AVOIDANCE OF HARM.  These arise from hard-wired biological survival mechanisms.  NEEDS have to be resolved before we can move on to WANTS (or so one might think!), and resolution of needs is an inextricable part of the cost-of-living.  REWARD makes life worth living and AVOIDANCE OF HARM makes living more sustainable.  Where FREE WILL comes into play is where we get to choose how we resolve our NEEDS (both present and future), what kinds of rewards we will find most “rewarding” (e.g., eating as many donuts, grease burgers and fries as possible or beating the latest rage video game versus building a vibrant, active, healthy and engaging lifestyle) and what kinds of harm we want to avoid (e.g., being eaten alive by zombies versus being unable to sustain a viable lifestyle.) 

“One definition of success might be:

refining our appetites

[e.g.,‘wanting’ what is most nobly and sustainably ‘good for us’] ,

while deepening our hunger

[e.g., for vibrant relationships and inspiring and enabling enlightenment –  

far above and beyond double bacon cheeseburgers].”

Yahia Lababidi [Annotated]

Free Will is, essentially, conscious choice.  How much of it have you got, or do you routinely engage?  The defining measure of free will may well be what we WON’T do, i.e., the degree to which we control impulsiveness and willingly defer and delay gratification.  Take, for example, the now ubiquitous marshmallow experiment: 

https://www.ted.com/talks/joachim_de_posada_says_don_t_eat_the_marshmallow_yet

Summation

An innate tendency to “Go with the flow” is going to look like … feel like … and yield results like we are being driven by unseen forces of Fate.  “Free Will” is exercised most intently and effectively by challenging the “flow”, by questioning “things being as they are”, and by daring to make them better.  Having a Purpose/Mission … a BECAUSE, paying attention, discerning and adding VALUE, setting boundaries/barriers, gating and bridling, and doing things “like you mean it” will send the “Free Will Doubters” packing!  This will all take a good deal of GRIT [ref., Angela Duckworth].  But what a difference it will make in realizing a purposeful, “Free Will” Destiny rather than succumbing to a sorry, “programmed” Fate!  I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with it!  Quartermaster  

Asymptotically Speaking

“In analytic geometry, an asymptote (/ˈæsɪmptoʊt/) of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero [but never actually GETS there] as they tend to infinity.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptote

In practical terms, one can approach certain unassailable goals (e.g., perfection) forever WITHOUT ACTUALLY GETTING THERE.  However, such can still be increasingly and progressively approached … progressively distancing oneself from GROUND ZERO!  

Let’s consider the goal of owning a house with an ample front and back yard, plus a front porch, bordered by a white picket fence, on a restricted access street. 

One will likely start out – first – with a one-bedroom apartment with noisy neighbors on a busy street in a crowded neighborhood. 

Marriage – or collusion, with two or more people working, may bump that up to a two- or three-bedroom apartment in a more “upscale” environment. 

Adding children and losing one working person, but hustling a little to get a promotion, may hold things “even”.  The next promotion, combined with savings accrued along the way, may keep the momentum going.  But it’s going to take increasing amounts of “hustle”. 

In the end, one may not actually attain either the white picket fence or the front porch or both, but, all things considered, one may end up a lot further along with SOME SORT OF ENHANCED INDEPENDENT LIVING by diligently progressing toward the goal. 

The slope of the curve early in the workings is important.  A steeper slope creates momentum such that one can get closer to the goal a lot faster.  As graphed in this illustration, the slope of the curve is increased more by “Working Smarter” than it is by working harder!   However, if you overlay the graph with a plot showing an ACCELERATED RATE of energy expenditure, everything shifts to the left, showing a much faster approach to the goal. 

Imagine what the result would be by BOTH “working smarter” and putting forth more energy! 

In a competitive environment – for example, where a PROMOTION may be at stake – ENERGY OUTPUT and “Hustle” are critical. 

There’s an ancient parable about two hikers accidently encountering a bear in the woods.  The first hiker says, “(Groan!) There’s no way we can outrun that bear!”  But the second hiker replies, “All I have to do is outrun YOU!”

Two final thoughts:

First, in politics we hear about people “moving the goal posts” … making things more difficult to achieve than originally conceived or than having any “reasonable expectation” of achievement.  This might be called “Asymptotic Meddling”.   

Second, in sports, the “league” you’re in sets the asymptotic limits of expectation.   However, some [who probably “don’t know any better”] do not consider themselves personally constrained by the asymptote, and actually go on to exceed the asymptotic limits others are up against.  These “outliers” generally go on to the next higher league and may become “elite” athletes. 

The “Four Minute Mile” was one such asymptotic barrier for “middle distance runners” from the beginning of time to the early 1950s (although no one knows how fast the early Greek athletes were). 

“[Breaking this barrier] was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister in 3:59.4.  The "four-minute barrier" has since been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all male professional middle distance runners. In the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds, and currently stands at 3:43.13.   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile

With or without “Bears in the Woods”, there is increased distancing from Ground Zero to be afforded and there are elite Asymptotic Heights to be approached that can make the journey extraordinarily fruitful – as opposed to “fitful” – and exhilarating.  Let’s get “smarter”, ENERGIZE and HUSTLE the best we can toward those Higher Heights and enjoy the view!   There are lots worse places to hang out than in the “League of Champions”!   Quartermaster

Quote of the Week

“While perfection may well be beyond realization in most circumstances, excellence is not.”  QM

Life is Like Parachuting

The annually updated book “What Color Is Your Parachute” by the late Richard Bolles has been a helpful life and career guide for multiple generations.  The basic thrust of the book is one of personally defining and designing … formulating and reformulating … a life path into which we can direct our main focus and energy with a high degree of resolve and purpose – thus creating our own unique “parachute” for our own Grand Leap into life.  [It’s available in most libraries, and worth at least one thorough perusal.]

Using the parachute paradigm, we have multiple choices in how we undertake the journey:

1)    Stay on the ground and never experience “lift-off”;

2)    Allow ourselves to get lofted into the air by whatever contrivances civilization offers (e.g., parents, schools, civic organizations, etc.), then take a Grand Leap into our own life journey from whatever altitude they have helped us attain;

3)    Never go above-and-beyond wherever find ourselves in the moment, with or without a “lofting lift”, never take the Grand Leap, and simply “hang on” to our comfort zone, living our lives vicariously thorough others;

NOTE: The forces that initially launch us will eventually run out and/or become redirected to other purposes, such that – at some point – we will be left either to fall or “fly under our own wind”.  This change in conditions may not be all that precipitous or obvious.  There may be no sudden “release of the reins” at the top.  That’s the way it SHOULD be … permitting a seamless transition from externally applied “lofting” power to internally generated “lofting” power ... except that the latter has to be fully engaged … and not only wishfully, wistfully, virtually or vicariously engaged!   

4)    Take the Grand Leap without a properly prepared parachute – or ANY parachute – and simply “wing it” all the way down.  [NOTE: “Winging it” rarely gains altitude!]  If you’re really lucky, you can latch onto someone else with a fully furled parachute and plenty of “wind in their sails”.  However, this is a highly perilous proposition with an uncertain outcome not necessarily targeted to optimize one’s personal preferences or potential.  Creating stabilizing “ballast” for smoother sailing is one thing, but becoming a “millstone” is quite another.  “Millstones” sometimes need to be cut loose. 

The personalized “color” of the parachute bears some relation to the preferred target upon which you’re intending to stake your future claims in life. 

It’s important to note that prevailing winds are subject to change in both force and direction without notice.  Thus, it helps not only to be able to “tack” against the wind, when necessary, but also to have significant anchoring or stabilizing ballast and to connect with significant others who can help catch the updrafts. 

Properly “Packing” your parachute and having intact, reliable panels – no matter what color they are – is really critical.  Consider the case of Charlie Plumb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqtUlMA3Jqo

 “Packing a parachute” is no trivial undertaking.  You may get only one “JUMP” in life … or you may need to take a dozen or more.   The landscape and seascape keep changing and we need to be both flexible and agile to take best advantage of the conditions in which we find ourselves. 

And most of us don’t have the luxury of having someone ELSE pack OUR parachute.  Parents, teachers, coaches, Scout Leaders, etc., all provide some of the raw material and heaps of guidance, but it’s really up to US to pick the right colors, get the REST of the material we need (mining the universe), fabricate the final product (masterful tools and skills are really helpful here), and get it “packed” just right to carry us through whatever “eventualities” we might encounter. 

So how are you doing?  Are you prepared … or in the process of preparing … for the biggest JUMP of your life – whatever that might be?  Let’s keep MINING for essential raw materials, MASTERING key tools and skills, and PACKING for the long haul and for the highest altitude we can attain.  I’ve gotta go now and work on MY next parachute.  It’s gonna have to have heavy duty, high altitude serviceability!  Quartermaster 

Epivolution

The story of human development – both individually and en masse – is one of both glorious and inglorious progression … driven by a combination of internal and external compelling forces, ideally toward bigger, stronger, smarter, more knowledgeable, more skilled, and more competitive attributes.  We don’t always get it right – and few of us make it the full distance providence would allow, but the trajectory UP is a compelling draw, though it is not for the faint of heart or weak of will! 

How far UP we can go has yet to be seen, since we’re not really there until “the fat lady sings.”  Our heritage – beginning with our DNA – gives us a basic “lifeprint” for survival, but also provides the capacity to craft, personally, the Destiny we would deign to claim.  The purpose of this offering is to suggest that the “lifeprint” we were handed can be modified to a considerable advantage – OR to a considerable disadvantage – depending on how we … combined with the forces of nature and civilization around us … shape it.

Epigenetic change is a supra-evolutionary process by which the expression of specific genes – or even of selected constellations of genes – in our already evolved genetic blueprint can be modified, either to complete normal development or to adapt to the environment in which we find ourselves.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics  Such changes go beyond normal homeostasis functions (such as hormonal changes, which only temporally and reversibly affect gene expression), involve chemical modification of DNA, and are generally permanent and heritable ... even though the underlying DNA sequence remains unaltered.   

Recent studies of behavior and addiction in rats and monkeys have elaborated details of behavioral sequelae to epigenetic change, but also suggested that epigenetic changes can be reversed ... for example by blocking the epigenetic process of DNA methylation. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/moshe_szyf_how_early_life_experience_is_written_into_dna#t-983123

The term I am using here – “Epivolution” – derives from a concatenation of the concepts of epigenetics and evolution to underscore the fact that “Whoever we are” genetically does not necessarily constrain us to “who we can become”.  And it takes only a slight “epi-metonymic

metamorphosis” in terminology to suggest an underlying “volition” … a willingness … to “morph” into something/someone more capacitized to succeed in a rapidly changing/evolving universe. 

Willingness drives the morph,

and

Inclination drives the direction of the morph.

Here’s where it gets both interesting and sobering:

“We are all exquisite reward detectors. 

It’s our evolutionary legacy.”

Anna Rose Childress

So, unless directed otherwise by our Executive Suite – or by that of some moderating external influence, we will go into default “Epivolution” toward whatever immediate, “bright shiny object” (reward) captures our fancy … and will continue on that journey indefinitely unless or until imposed upon by BOTH a change in WILL and acceptance of a “re-morphing” external influence.  

Such is the basis for 12-step addiction treatment programs.  One has to, first, admit to having a problem, then “WILL” oneself to change, and then accept professional and/or guided group therapy over an extended period to undergo a successful “Epivolution” to a more generative, more productive life-track. 

Now to a more esoteric, but even more personal challenge:  Can we self-manage an “Epivolution” toward a more generative, more productive life-track? 

I’m going to offer an emphatic YES!  But there is one catch: 

 First Principle of a Fulfilled Life

“Everything you deserve is going to take everything you’ve got.”

[But what ELSE – of any meaningful consequence – are you going to DO with your life?]

Here’s the practicality: Whether it’s epigenetic or epi-neuronal, behavior patterns beget similar behavior patterns.  And there seems to be an “organic” basis for the observation:

“Neurons that fire together wire together.”

Neuroscience Platitude

Thus, we form HABITS – generally connected inextricably to our reward system.  How do we BREAK habits that are not constructive or generative and create new habits that ARE?  Without access to epigenetic blocking agents or interloping external forces, we have to engage the higher-functioning cortex of the brain to reprogram the DNA (or the neurons that are "firing together") – at least figuratively if not literally!  So we have to invoke higher-order “Executive Privilege” to change our behavior to establish a new behavior – a new “brain wave” – pattern. 

I’m going to suggest finding or establishing a higher-order “Reward Zone” … along with more distant and more sustainably gratifying horizons of possibility, for starters.

“One definition of success might be:

refining our appetites

[e.g.,‘wanting’ what is most nobly and sustainably ‘good for us’] ,

while deepening our hunger

[e.g., for vibrant relationships and inspiring and enabling enlightenment –  

far above and beyond the horizon of ‘loaded’ pizza and double bacon cheeseburgers].”

Yahia Lababidi [annotated]

Current figuring sets the bar for significant, lasting behavioral change at around 66 days:

https://www.today.com/health/think-itll-take-21-days-make-your-resolution-habit-try-2D11826051   

Wouldn’t it be an interesting conjecture to suggest that sixty-six days may be the average time it takes for generative, non-chemically-assisted de-methylation of brain-based DNA to occur ...  ?

Brain plasticity is a growing, though still murky, area of investigation.  So we don’t know all of the “Ifs” or “Whys” or “Hows”.  But we know enough to start exploring ways we can take advantage of any brain plasticity we’ve got to engineer some positive “life plasticity”! 

Let’s “plasticize”, “de-methylate” and consciously … intentionally … re-engineer our way out of “same-old /\ same old, stuck-in-a-rut” foundering to a Destiny worth everything we’ve got.  You have a choice.  Run with it!  Quartermaster

Hand In A Vice

A fundamental conundrum in 21^st Century life is finding something of intrinsic, compelling, ultimate value into which we can unreservedly pour our time, energy and “unbridled spirit” for the duration.  Life is changing so fast, and there are so many superficial diversions/distractions to navigate through and around, that we remain largely adrift and unanchored in a sea of immense but untended possibilities.  Captain Ahab, adrift in the seven seas looking for an elusive white whale, perhaps reflected the angst of such condition best in “Moby Dick”:

“This is a cogent vice thou hast here, carpenter; let me feel its grip once … I like a good grip; I like to feel something in this slippery world that can hold, man.” 

                        Captain Ahab, Moby Dick, Chapter 108.

Herman Melville

Despite some evidence to the contrary, I believe one will find no shortage of youth who are both interested in and willing to commit to becoming “Ninja Warriors”, “Jedi Knights” and “Captain Ahabs” of the 21^st Century, but they don’t have any tangible “grab bars” – or a proper “vice” – they can clamp their hands into that will firmly connect them to that vision or goal. 

Crafting or capturing a Vision, Goal or Dream big enough

to serve as a worthy lifetime pursuit is probably JOB # 1 …

to be explored with all due intentionality

in the course of gaining basic knowledge and skills. 

But, besides having a worthy vision or goal and “grab bars” or a “vice” by which to latch onto it, there’s the challenge of “fleshing it out” to actionable execution.  Our best resource for both “Visioning” and “fleshing things out” is the disarmingly mundane matter of managing our UNSCHEDULED TIME. 

In the intrepid world of True Champions and Difference Makers, most especially including “Ninja Warriors” and “Jedi Knights”, there is no such thing as “Free Time”. 

Time not otherwise scheduled

is for building our “yellow brick road” to the future,

else we’re simply “killing time” … and losing critical ground.

One might dare to ask:

How much is wasted time going to cost in compromising MY future possibilities?

…

[Whatever it is, it’s much more

 – with accumulated interest –

than I’m going to be willing to pay retrospectively!]

An even more veiled challenge is that the high standard of living in first-world countries, most notably in the U.S., markedly subverts both the drive and sense of urgency for “fast-tracking” our way to a more profitable future … [it’s already HERE, isn’t it? (!)] … until it isn’t.  Competition in the rapidly growing global economy has had a markedly sobering impact on the formerly formidable U.S. business and industry enterprise.  What has become starkly evident is that:

COMPLACENCY IS NOT PART OF THE WINNING FORMULA

FOR DURABLE SUCCESS!

But, even if we are not “complacent”, there’s the recurring problem of “what to do” with our unscheduled time.  What a tragedy that youth are so frequently and easily BORED!   And what a tragedy that adults so soon feel the crushing and often irreversible impact of lost opportunity. 

It’s a very real challenge to figure out … 

what – most profitably – to do NOW … (in the next five minutes!)

where – most profitably – to go

who – most profitably – to look to for guidance

what – most profitably – to study/research/invest ourselves in NOW

If only we had “Something like a star … to stay our minds on, and be staid.”  [Robert Frost]

Finding a “Star” and defining the Mission, Vision, Goal, Dream, Purpose and/or Passion for one’s lifework can a daunting search.  But such will be both a strong, firmly-gripping, anchoring element and a supreme driving force.  The judicious use of unscheduled time to envision, define, reinforce and “flesh-out” such elements will make an incredible difference in how life plays out and in where we end up.  If you don’t yet have your hand "in a vice", with a Mission, Vision, Goal, Dream, Purpose and/or Passion for your life, find someone who does – or who at least has noble ideals and intentionality – and help that person / organization carry their lifework forward.  It will serve you amazingly well until you can “come into your own”.  Grab hold and Forge Onward!  Quartermaster

Demon Busting

"The Devil made me do it!"

Flip Wilson

“I fight my demons every day,

so I’ve got to continue to work at it.”

Jared Lorenzen

[en route to a goal of losing 100+ lbs.]

“Demons” seem to permeate our lives.  They show up nearly everywhere we turn. 

But they’re not just “out there” – many of them are embedded in our own constitution, making us our own worst enemy!  The apostle Paul – seeking Divine intervention – possibly said it best:

“... the good that I would, I do not,

and the evil which I would not, that I do!”

Romans 7:19 KJV

Paul understood that we can’t leave everything for the Almighty to keep bailing us out, especially when we keep selling our souls to the devil in “Faustian Bargains” … e.g., for that one, very last piece of cheese cake … for late nights out with the partying crowd … for indiscriminate tweeting and twittering … for not doing our homework … for immediate gratifications of all kinds.    

Fact is: We have “First-Responder” accountability for our own welfare

in dealing with our own “mini-demons”.

“Who’s driving?” is the first issue to be settled.  “Who’s in charge?” 

If we let the “demons” in our over-sized “Pleasure Center” have full reign, they will not only run rampant through all the vices and victimizations in short order, but will grow the Pleasure Center to an unwieldy predominating influence ... if they have not already done so!  

So we have to establish boundaries and keep ahead of the demons, who are experts at moving the goal posts. 

It helps to keep a “loaded” agenda in play, with postings that correspond as closely as possible to our intrinsic values and ultimate goals. 

And it helps immeasurably if our intrinsic values and ultimate goals are both unassailably noble and impeccably articulated.  Establishing and committing to meaningful “stretch goals” – both daily, hourly and life-long – is a great way to keep demons out of the loop.  

Finally, channeling our energies toward the most transcendent Mission, Purpose or Aspiration we can muster will leave most demons in the dust.  Only then can we leave it to the Almighty to take care of the rest! 

Let’s take full charge of our own welfare!  Be brutally intolerant of personal “demons” and unassailably committed to making YOU and YOUR WORLD the very best they can possibly be.  The alternatives are not nearly as attractive as one might think … or as the “demons” might have you believe, particularly compared in retrospect to “what mighta been”.  You’re gonna like the way you feel, and you're gonna like the more favorable space(s) you get to inhabit :: I guarantee it!  Quartermaster

Who ARE You>

Looking in the mirror and having it talk back to you is an unnerving experience: 

“What have you got to say for yourself?”

 “ Are you of any salvageable earthly account or not?”

“ And by whose measure or reckoning?”

[While there may be higher “Callings”, the very least we can do is become members in good standing of our own breed – homo sapiens … human beings … worthy “Earthlings”!] 

What we DO – how we behave – reflects a great deal about who we are.    

“People will never consistently do who they aren’t.”

Peter Thompson

PT takes up the challenge of explaining how and why stuff happens or doesn’t in a recent video posting [https://peterthomson.wistia.com/medias/ni65kf53eb ].  The two polarities of consideration are that stuff happens … or doesn’t … 1) because of the person presiding over circumstances, or 2) because of the circumstances themselves.  Often, of course, it’s a combination.

But the main element we can control is US!  We can’t always control circumstances … although we CAN to some degree in many cases – if we judiciously IMPOSE who we are and what we do upon the circumstances unfolding. 

SOBERING NOTE

It’s entirely possible to make circumstances WORSE!

In his video, Peter references a series of business books by Chip and Dan Heath, including one, “Switch”, in which they make a cogent case for personal IDENTITY being the preeminent factor in durable CHANGE and masterful NAVIGATION … over, around and through circumstances. 

While one can alter “behavioral doings” circumstantially with various rewards and penalties, it’s not until one’s IDENTITY takes the shape of mature, commanding “ownership” of one’s Destiny … and of related projects and processes … that good-to-great things begin consistently to happen.     

So what comprises a “Good-To-Great Things Happening” IDENTITY?  Here are a few things to consider: 

• 1.    Creed, values, principles, morals, beliefs, integrity, purposefulness
• 2.    Skills, knowledge, mental and physical acumen, creativity
• 3.    Emotional and relational “groundings”  
• 4.    Positive driving forces: Mission, Purpose, Passion, Goals
• 5.    Total Intentionality and CARING about things that matter

Building our IDENTITY is a lifelong pursuit.  Those who have had the good fortune to experience scouting – either Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or similar organizations – have had a great start. 

Boy Scout Motto

On my honor, I will do my best 
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; 
To help other people at all times; 
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Boy Scout Law:  A Scout is:

Trustworthy,

Loyal,

Helpful,

Friendly,

Courteous,

Kind,

Obedient,

Cheerful,

Thrifty,

Brave,

Clean,

and Reverent.

Boy Scout Motto

Be Prepared!

Boy Scout Slogan

Do a Good Turn Daily!

I found it helpful to create a Personal Manifesto that reflects the IDENTITY to which I aspire.  You may wish to do likewise for quick reference when things get tough.  [I’ll be happy to share a copy of my own upon request.] 

In any case, let’s continue building a “Good-to-Great-Things” IDENTITY for the duration.  You’re gonna like the way you look in the mirror … I guarantee it!   Quartermaster

A Rising Tide

PREFACE:  This entry is one of an increasing number related to the challenge of living without a GOAL, MISSION, PURPOSE or PASSION in life – a privation with which I’m finding so many are unfortunately saddled.  Most entries on this topic are about practicalities, though elements of philosophy creep in.

The most important first principle of successful journeying is getting a grip on how life works – take it or leave it … and most of us are a lot better off TAKING IT!  Sustainability is a prime issue.  And “Hard Truths”, FACTS, VALUES and PRINCIPLES have to be FACTored in.  This entry was originally going to be entitled “Time, Energy and Place” (“Place” meaning circumstances or “Station in Life”.)  Let’s see how it turns out!

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Popular Aphorism

Example:

When the national economy improves,

more and better jobs appear, and

 life gets better for everyone.

NOTE: If all you want is a “job”, there are many to be had at the lowest level that offer no sense of challenge, dignity or fulfillment. 

 SOBERING FACT 1:  The “TIDE” of life doesn’t work the same as the tides of the oceans.  One will find sooner or later that the tide of life doesn’t naturally ebb and flow with phases of the moon so you can hop on and off the boat indefinitely, always returning to some prescribed point of entry or departure.  The tide of life “rises” only with applied effort, and “falls” of its own accord without applied effort!  If you happen to be enjoying a “high tide” moment toward which you made no personal contribution, you’re living on “credits” provided by someone else.  This is rarely a sustainable condition!  It happens early in life for a reason: so we can develop – without drowning – to a point of generating a critical mass of our own steam.  Thus, other-generated “credits” diminish over time as we are expected to begin pulling our own weight.

SOBERING FACT 2:  All our boats are “leaky”!  And they’re not anywhere close to “seaworthy” at the beginning of our journey.  A lot of safe-harboring is provided by significant others early in the game (see “credits” above), but “motorizing” and moving from rinky-dinky paddle boats to outboard motor boats to inboards with enough fortification and horsepower (“shark power”?) to get us through rip tide currents and buffeting winds and waves without getting swamped becomes a significant engagement for much of the duration.  It’s the largest part of the overall COST OF LIVING. 

“I never saw it coming!”

Plaintive Cry of the Woebegone Inattentive Sailor

*****************************

“The time for taking all measures for a ship’s safety

is while still able to do so.”

Admiral Nimitz

************

[“That would be NOW!”]

Quartermaster

So, while there’s no absolute requirement for a grand GOAL, or VISION, or MISSION, or PASSION, or PURPOSE in life to move us toward getting our ship in shape for the journey, the clock is running, the tide is running, and they’re both running OUT! 

And, while we don’t need to take on noble causes and/or sacrifice life and limb for others, or for humanity in general, we’ve eventually got to float our own boat!  This WILL mean sacrificing indulgences along the way, as well as living well beyond the moment ... building, investing, accruing our own “credit”, and making ourselves USEFUL to others … almost as if we DID have a Mission or Purpose … e.g., like avoiding getting “swamped”! 

The 21^st Century is an interesting time in the development of civilization.  Early in social evolution one did “hunting and gathering” solely for one’s own purposes.  However, at this much later date, one can hardly gain anything (legitimately) for one’s own purposes without enriching another: You work to provide goods and services for OTHER people and they reward you with negotiable currency.  Work harder to provide more and better goods and services, and you may become more richly rewarded.  And the tide keeps rising! 

Wait a minute:  Why would anyone want – or ever feel compelled – to do any or all of that? 

In Peter Thompson’s words, it is simply “to be able to live a life of choice.”   The more negotiability and navigability one can acquire, the higher denomination choices one has.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that! 

So what if the choices one already has are more than enough?  Sad to say, many are unrealistically content … in the moment … with small choices – up until they have too many Defining Moments / Moments of Truth and/or NEED choices they can’t have and couldn’t foresee but unknowingly covet: 

“All I want is a warm bed,

a kind word,

…

and UNLIMITED POWER!”

Ashleigh Brilliant

In his book, “DO IT: Let’s Get off Our Buts”, Peter McWilliams says it takes an average of two hours a day to prepare for the future while we’re scrambling (or NOT!) to make it through a 24 hr. day.  That’s 14 hours a week … perhaps 7 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday if you can’t do it during week days.  That’s actually not a lot compared to an average of 30+ hr. per week that Americans spend watching television, not to mention unnumberable hours of immersion in social media.  Take a week off, and you’ve lost more than half a day in building a strong foundation for the most promising future possibilities. 

So let’s take a couple of hours today – steal it if you have to, a couple hours tomorrow, and make it a daily habit to keep the tide rising under our own boats.  Yes, it will also help float the boats of others, but we’ll all get dividends, and maybe create a “tidal wave” of even greater possibilities for an even brighter future.  Quartermaster 

Ambition

Dateline:  July 10, 2017

DEAR ABBY: My son, Allen, is 27 and a pretty good writer, mostly fantasy stuff. I don't like that genre myself, but I have enjoyed reading some of his work. He writes not only short stories but also entire books.

I have tried to convince him to submit his work to publishers to no avail. He has a college degree, but doesn't use it. He's content working a minimum-wage job when he could be doing what he loves and possibly make a living at it. Oh! And he still lives at home and does very little work around the house. Advice, please? -- FRUSTRATED FATHER

https://www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/lifeadvice/dearabby/s-1974313

NOTE: This “Dear Abby” writer leaves out some key information … like whether or not the living-at-home son is paying back college debt, paying rent, or sharing other expenses.  If not, the price tag on household “Cost of Living” expense and associated effort should be assessed, according to his fair-market value ability to pay … which may mean cutting out any “discretionary” income and/or possibly getting a second minimum-wage job. 

am’biSH€n  noun

“A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work :: determination to achieve success.

Synonyms: aspiration, intention, goal aim, objective, object, purpose, intent, plan, desire, wish, design, target, dream, drive, determination, enterprise, industry, initiative, eagerness, motivation, resolve, enthusiasm, zeal, hunger, commitment, sense of purpose 

"her ambition was to become a diplomat"

https://www.google.com/search?q=ambition+meaning&oq=Ambition&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.4032j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Curiously, this posting includes an analysis of the usage of the term “ambition” in surveyed writings from 1800 through 2008, showing an 83.3% DECREASE in mentions of the word “ambition” during that period.  Stated in the reverse, usage of the term “ambition” was SIX TIMES as prevalent in 1800 writings as it was in 2008!  

But “ambition” is no less a challenge in 2017 AD than it was in 1800 AD or in 500 BC. 

“Whatever you do, do with all your might.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero (428 BC)

“Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression.

No man is free who cannot control himself.”

Pythagoras (560 BC)

In fact, it may be MORE of a challenge in the 21^st Century, due to the fact that there’s more of everything to be had – and it’s all more easily accessible with less effort, there is less “hunger and thirst” for a better world, more diversions, and fewer readily “graspable” new horizons to visualize.  In addition, the “lowest hanging fruit” has already been plucked, and there’s no sense of urgency to climb a ladder that many in the third world would consider to have already breached “reasonable possibilities”.   

But AMBITION still matters!  If we’re not “DRIVEN into action” by someone or something above and beyond ourselves, our personal world tends to become gray, small and shallow with increasing echoes of disappointment, regret and a feeling of betrayal … that this wasn’t really what we “bargained for” … and “nobody ever told us this could happen”! 

Ambition cures many ills, including depression, despondency, hopelessness, haplessness, helplessness, apathy, depravity, desperation, and orneriness. 

Some believe there is greater nobility and “peace of mind” in being satisfied and content with what “is” and with what one “has” rather than being discontent with what isn’t or could be. 

From this perspective, it is felt by many that the Almighty will supply whatever they need.  But there is a big disconnect at the interface between heaven and earth where man is given the charge to pull himself together and cultivate what he needs – with everything the Almighty has already GIVEN him – “by the sweat of his brow”. 

The story is told of a man of great Faith caught in a great flood.  Found clinging to the chimney of his house as torrents of water rush by, he sees a guy in a row boat come by to offer assistance, but he cries out, “God will save me!”   Shortly after, a Coast Guard rescue boat comes by, but, again, the man cried out, “God will save me!”  Finally, as he is about to go under, a helicopter shows up, but, once again, he cries out “God will save me!”  When he finally goes under and ends up at the pearly gates, he throws a fit because God DIDN’T save him.  He then hears a ponderous voice: “I sent you a row boat, the Coast Guard and a helicopter.  What else could you possibly have expected?”

We acknowledge the fact that ambition can easily bleed into becoming the Eighth Vice. 

But Dreams are not the sole province of kings and conquistadors.  They are the most democratizing forces in human development and in civilization at large!  If America has become less “Great” than it was in the past, one might conjecture that it has become so largely due to a loss of DREAMS and a shortage of AMBITION!   Further, much of the ambition in America is now imported.  But, to be fair, most of the ambition that made America GREAT in the first place was imported! 

What DRIVES you?

What DRIVES ME …

·         To make my mother proud!

·         To BECOME everything I CAN become

·         To KNOW

·         To UNDERSTAND

·         To be IN CONTROL / COMMAND of as much of my own Destiny as possible

·         To be RESPECTED / certifiably “Esteemable”

·         To “OWN” some corner of the universe

·         To justify other’s high EXPECTATIONS

·         To justify MY OWN EXPECTATIONS

·         To expand NAVIGABILITY

·         To expand NEGOTIABILITY

·         To MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE than it was when I came into it

·         Simply to BE OF USE … to be of SERVICE … to offer some level of PAY BACK

“Winning” certainly isn’t the end all and be all in life.  But winning SOMETHING is really important … even if it’s “winning” against abject failure.  Our sense of wellbeing, control, navigability and negotiability are all at stake.  But we have to be circumspect about faux winning strategies … like simply trying to “Beat the System”.  The “System” can be “beaten” any number of ways in any number of microcosmic “battles” – up until the entire macrocosmic “war” has been lost. 

One of the most disconcerting circumstances is not having opportunity – nowhere to meaningfully direct ambition.  It is moderately alarming that, even in increasing numbers of “first world” countries, it can be said:

"… life offered few opportunities for young people with ambition."

But here is where we must look beyond “givens” … beyond the obvious … beyond “low-hanging fruit”.  Thank goodness for Dreamers who are constantly looking for new frontiers in science, engineering, medicine, social justice and the environment – along with many other areas of engagement.  If you can’t find and formulate your own Dream, latch onto somebody else’s Dream that’s more than big enough to share.   While opportunities in the orbit you now inhabit may be extremely limited, it’s neversomuch too soon to begin moving toward a higher orbit.  I expect to see you heading toward the stratosphere in the near future.  Make your mother proud!  Quartermaster