Spring Cleaning

It’s that time of year again!

… time to get rid of all the encrustations and encroachments … time take stock of all the things we’ve hoarded whose purpose may have lost luster, and whose presence may have become more of a hindrance than a help …

Some of it we’ve probably cleaned out many times before and it keeps coming back, only to need clearing away again. 

It’s sobering – and a little scary – to own up to the fact that we’re NOW living at the dawn of the Third Millennium AD / CE!  What’s most sobering is that what served us well in the Second Millennium will not necessarily serve us as well in the Third.   And, what didn’t serve us well in the Second very likely needs to be summarily jettisoned.  We’re already losing the battle against robotics, and Artificial Intelligence is only in its infancy.  And here we are trying to muddle through with our Neanderthal heritage reigning supreme!

 

Here are some things we might consider unburdening, for starters:

• ·         Unrealistic Expectations
• ·         Unfounded Assumptions
• ·         Unwarranted Entitlements
• ·         Confining Tribal Truths
• ·         Prejudice
• ·         Contrarianism / Cynicism
• ·         Superciliousness
• ·         Superficiality
• ·         “Alternative Facts”
• ·         Conspiracy Theories

It will also help to find out what ELSE is not working, and maybe make some changes. 

I wasn’t getting much exercise, with the weather being so persistently cold, so I started going to the Seniors’ Fitness Center.  Positive results followed!   

I was also hung up on having a suffocating routine in lunch preparation, so now I’m stockpiling fewer “lunchables” (I found I was trying to cash in too many coupons!), and eating out different places at least a couple times a week to help “clear the cobwebs”!

And I’m finding that exhaustive commercials are killing my news briefings and educational and entertainment program viewing, so I’ve started limiting passive, commercial-laden audiovisual electronic feed, reading more books, recording things I really want/need to watch, and fast-forwarding through them during my “low energy” times.  I’m also watching more uplifting, enlifening, educational and inspirational public television programs.   

It’s also time to clean out the pantry and clear the deck of all the hibernation and comfort foods and time to recycle the contents of the freezer!   

Certainly not least of all, it’s probably more than half-past time to make some SPACE – both physically and mentally – for anything and everything that will enhance PROBITY … well-groundedness, “agency” and efficacy.  Both infrastructure and perspective tend to get soft, sag, cloud over, and crumble when not well-tended and regularly fortified.   

It will help to simplify, streamline, systematize, organize, and optimize our time, space, holdings and personal and professional obligations. 

We can start by sacrificing non-necessities that can sabotage our “best laid plans” and overall wellbeing … like social media, double-dipped donuts, and perseverations about inconsequentials.   

My friend, Peter Thompson, uses the term “Significance” as his touchstone for purposeful planning and productive engagement.  I’m gravitating toward more “Significance” in 2018.  You can, too!  Quartermaster

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

I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):

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

Robert Frost

“The Pasture”

Adversity

“Coping with adversity

 is an inextricable part of life and living.”

Life Lesson #1

If you happen to be a biological organism on planet earth, you’re going to face adversity. 

However, the paradoxical thing about adversity is this:

“That [adversity] which does not kill us,
makes us stronger.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

… not that we need to go looking for adversity, so as to acquire MORE of it …

            … or maybe we DO go looking for adversity, so as to find ways to AVOID it!

In any case, we’re certainly not always the innocent bystanders we’d like to claim to be when adversity happens.  The truth is, we can – and often DO – make adversity worse … or even create it “out of whole cloth” … by our actions or inactions; like being a “drama king or queen”, by procrastination, by obstination, etc.

And we’ve developed masterful “escapist” strategies for avoiding confrontation with adversity … playing video games, watching TV, surfing the web, immersing ourselves in social media, doing drugs … (well, some strategies are more “masterful” than others) … generally delaying and compounding the inevitable.  And we’re fantastic at making mountains out of molehills.  [Having to get up in the morning to go to school or work, do our homework, or clean up our mess in the kitchen, garage or bathroom is not adversity!  Like a whole bunch of other stuff that doesn’t max out our reward center dopamine receptors, they are merely part of the “cost of living”.]

The question for consideration here is:  How many degrees of insulation can we put between us and adversity, and how can we continually upgrade the insulation … not necessarily as protection from ever encountering adversity (it’s GONNA happen!), but for managing adversity and minimizing the impact once it inevitably arrives?   

Our “insulation” against adversity early in life has multiple layers that include: A) Parents, B) Teachers, C) Coaches, D) Business/Community/Associates/Religious Organizations, E) Government (profuse apologies for the crude rendering!):

  

As we grow older, we tend to test and push the boundaries of those insulating “bubbles” (they’re SO confining!), putting ourselves closer to the edge – frequently OVER the edge – of adversity:

***** NOTE: These “bubbles” are ultimately going to burst anyway! *****

Finally, once we’ve cleared all the formative / early development “bubbles” and find ourselves (YOU, Inc.!) in the mainstream, we need to create/evolve/adopt our own modes and means of insulation … at least against any catastrophic impact of adversity.  Recommended options include A) Market-Salient Knowledge, B) Market-Savvy Skills & Credentials, C) Notable Accomplishments, D) Alliances & Associations, E) All of the “Soft Skills” / Essential Skills:

The “catch”, of course, is that we’re supposed to get a running start on developing Level III Adversity Insulation while still covered by Level I protection … so there’s much less of a “rude awakening” when the initial bubbles collapse. 

Level III “bubbles” are more like packets and pockets of a hot air balloon that needs to keep rising … with constant fortification of the packets and pockets as higher level adversities are encountered.  There are no parking lots!  Once you’re aloft, you’re aloft for the duration.  So keep on packing those packets and pockets for maximum buoyancy and ballast!  Quartermaster