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  

Life'sTOUGH

There’s no getting around it: LIFE’S TOUGH … perhaps excepting for a lucky few who have had the good fortune to benefit from the grit and grind of others – but, even then, it’s often only temporary. 

The bliss and ecstasy of marrying someone, who, we fully expect, will selflessly look after our personal welfare for the entire remainder of our lives, generally ends after a honeymoon of two weeks to seven years and concludes in divorce approximately 40% of the time.   

And the mundane realities of everyday life not only don’t disappear, they can become more burdensome: 

• ·         Allowances disappear
• ·         “Discretionary” income disappears
• ·         Bills have to be paid
• ·         Jobs have to be acquired
• ·         Money has to be earned
• ·         Promotions have to be attained
• ·         Unconditional Love becomes increasingly “Conditional”
• ·         Respect has to be earned
• ·         Relationships have to be cultivated
• ·         Children, pets, careers and other dependents have to be tended
• ·         Indiscretions have to be accounted for
• ·         Misfortunes abound
• ·         Taxes have to be paid
• ·         Debts have to be covered
• ·         Equity has to grow
• ·         Savings and investments need to expand
• ·         NOTE: “Super Powers” exist only in figments and fantasies
• ·         Health and wellbeing become more challenging with time
• ·         Excuses and explanations become less tenable
• ·         Delayed Ramification becomes increasingly expensive
• ·         “Discretionary Time” disappears
• ·         Defiance of Authority carries increasing consequences
• ·         Defiance of REALITY carries increasing consequences
• ·         Opportunities disappear
• ·         “Eventualities” don’t disappear
• ·         Dreams untended become less and less attainable
• ·         Things you “couldn’t live without” become millstones

 And all that stuff you were going to do “some day” eventually has to be done – IF it still CAN be ... with added “interest” to be paid. 

And the list goes on …

People fail … Teams lose … Disappointments materialize … Regret is only a missed deadline away … Depression is hiding behind every misstep and lost opportunity … People get “passed over” for promotions … Companies downsize … Technology and skills need to be UPGRADED  … Inflation happens … Plumbing gives out … Roofs leak … Weeds grow … Politics gets ugly … Ants, termites and bed bugs invade … and the Competition has nothing better to do than be better than we are. 

 So.  Now.  Who’s up for going on a shopping spree, playing video games, doing some social media, binge-watching Star Wars, surfing the web, or going out for banana splits? 

Whatever happened to Carpe Diem!?!

“Let me repeat, things that go downward will run themselves [downward, of course].  Things that go upward have to be pushed.  Going upward is overcoming.  Notice that churches, schools, businesses – things that go upward – never run themselves.  They must be pushed all the time.  And so it is with our lives.  Real living is the conscious effort to go upward to larger life.  If you are making no effort in your life, if you are moving in the line of least resistance, depend upon it … you are going downward.  Look out for the bumps!”  Ralph Parlette in “The University of Hard Knocks” (Brownlow, Inc., p. 17)

So, to get the very BEST out of life, it’s either PUSH or BE PUSHED!  … which seems unconscionably strident, stringent, severe and completely beyond reasonability. 

And so it is for the uber-unsung … the underachievers … the lost … the foundering … the ne’er-do-wells … the self-victimized …

But there’s an interesting revelation to be discovered here:  All of the above is simply a GIVEN.  It’s not nefariously superimposed on an otherwise completely fabricated idyllic existence.  It’s just the way things ARE! 

All we have to do is accept the way things are, run with them – not against them, and we’re suddenly in the game for BETTER rather than for WORSE! 

It’s all in the expectations and strategic choices.  If we expect life to be a bowl of cherries and find out it’s really a bowl of dirt, we can either eat dirt or plant cherry seeds.  [http://lifemasterymusings.blogspot.com/2016/02/bowl-of-dirt-parable.html]

Don’t be surprised if you don’t bat 0.400.  Keep swinging!

ad impossibile nemo tenetur

[“nobody is held to the impossible”] 

We simply need to stop making it even MORE impossible with unfounded assumptions and unrealistic expectations, defiance of authority, defiance of reality and all the rest!  Run with what life gives you, keep swinging and planting cherry seeds, and you will be amazed what you can do and become!  Truth is, you’re just as TOUGH as life.  Let’s hike up our shorts, put on our “By God Armorall Vests”, eat a frog or two, and see if we can hit one out of the park before the day’s over!  Quartermaster

The GAP

One of the hardest things to decipher in life is what it’s going to take to get from where we are NOW to where we want/deserve/need to go and be – eventually … i.e., how to fill that GAP.  

It’s a HUGE GAP of many proportions, and the “End Game” seems so indeterminately far away. 

Besides the problem of NOW, we have the problem of everything that went BEFORE now, and then the problem of a fictitiously idealized future – wherein everything we want / need / neglect / postpone / defer suddenly gets done or fortuitously becomes either unimportant / irrelevant or unnecessary. 

Then there’s the problem of the foreboding REALITY CHECK:  If we somehow presciently suspected how much we would actually have to hustle and how much we would have to give up to get what we want – or think we “Deserve” – it would seem overwhelming. 

Let’s start with NOW.  The problem with NOW is this:

NOW … just happens to lie completely unscripted between everything else. 

It lies between rising and retiring ... 

            … Between meals … 

            … Between phone calls ... 

            … Between crises ... 

            … Between cups of coffee ... 

            … Between … well, almost everything. 

And more often than we would care to admit or have brought to our attention, we treat it as a “floating” period … something just to be filled by “BEING” before the next “happening” or other intervention on our radar.  Anything not pressing or distressing can wait an indeterminate time – at least for NOW – until it becomes otherwise. 

We just happen to be otherwisely “BUSY” – NOW!  (In truth, some of our “busyness” involves scheming about ways to avoid the imposition of purposeful engagement!)

NOW is no big deal.  We’ve been here before … just us, and here and NOW … and survived.  There’s no sense of urgency, no continuity of momentum, and very little “regenerative” or re-energizing activity.  THAT’s the problem with NOW!

The problem with everything that went BEFORE now is that many of us came from “squishy soft” beginnings – from the protective “womb” of First-World civilization with doting parents, generous “allowances”, self-esteem-building engagements and trophies, television, video games, entertainment of all sorts, heavily subsidized support systems, caring parents, teachers and coaches, and a hard-to-resist expectation that all of these amenities would continue indefinitely into the future.  (Gen X / Y / Z ?)

Unfortunately, Delayed Ramification Reality brings with it a variety of sobering “lessons” that just keep on coming … like you can’t get more out of the system than you invest ... and don’t mess with Gravity!

Which brings us to the problem with the FUTURE:  The future seems so inextricably tied to the past and the present, as though we simply pass unobtrusively from one through one to the other and keep on going … in whatever way Fate would have it.  [What GAP?]  Zig Ziglar was fond of saying: “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.”  Unfortunately, “it ain’t necessarily so”!  What got us through kindergarten (with all due respect to Robert Fulghum) really won’t carry us through high school, college, job searches, promotions, divorce, bankruptcy, and a whole lot more.  Kindergarten was heavily subsidized and filled with unconditional love.  The rest of life definitely is NOT! 

Technically, time does run everything together chronologically … the past, the present and the future … but not necessarily in any teleological progression.  The “natural order” of things only progresses with a whole lot of unrecoverable energy invested. (Check out ENTROPY and Thermodynamics: The Second Law)  Where we are NOW is not where we are going to WANT or NEED to be in that glorious place called the future (check out Maslow’s Pyramid), and time, alone, is not going to make us “all that we can be”. 

“Time is only God’s way of keeping everything from happening at once!”

Attribution Unknown

So what’s the “Take Home” message here?  What can we do to close the GAP?  First of all, we need to understand and acknowledge that the GAP exists.

Second, keep building infrastructure, putting bricks in your own “Yellow Brick Road”.  Increase your education at every opportunity.

Use “unscheduled time” as though your life depended on it – 

it DOES!.

Third, and finally (but maybe even before First!), find and relentlessly pursue your Passion and Purpose in life.  Passion and Purpose will not only fill any GAP, they will serve a “Slingshot Accelerators” to TOP DOG vistas.  Surprise yourself and amaze your family and friends.  The sheer wonder of YOU is waiting in the wings to FINALLY be realized!  Quartermaster  

Scripting

While we may profusely object to any analogy linking human behavior to robotics, our daily activities do draw heavily from a background “Script” running in our heads … like “Tapes” in continuous “Play” mode. 

In fact, we operate at a base level very similar to a computer, liberally using “If …, then …” statement processing against whatever background reference program we have on board. 

The challenge is to get the background reference scripting right so that the “If …, then … “ processing doesn’t track us to places we don’t “belong” or don’t want to end up!  Compare the following scripts:

“If I go to the mall with my friends …

            … then I will become better connected to my friends …

                        … then my friends will like me more …

                                    … then my friends will ‘have my back’ when I get into trouble.”
            [… as though “getting into trouble” were de rigueur for “happening coolness”!]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Alternatively * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“If I go to the mall with my friends …

            … then I will miss doing my homework …

                        … then I will get grades less than I am capable of getting …

                                    … then I will risk losing out on scholarships for college.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *or … Alternatively * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“If I do my homework …

            … then I will get better grades …

                        … then my friends who are worth having (who also do their homework) will respect me more …

                                    … then, together, we will become eligible for more scholarships and better jobs.”

The good news is that we come with some species-preservation hard-scripting already on board that we really don’t need to think about.  We get hungry, we look for something to eat.  We get cold, we seek warmth.  We get alarmed or threatened, we go into “Fight or Flight” mode. Etc.  The bad news is that we’re also “hard-scripted” for all the VICES! 

As life has evolved, our options for “Becoming all that we can be” have tremendously expanded, but we have become increasingly dependent on continuously advancing the scripting – both editing and adding layers of “soft-scripting” – that will get us there.   

Points to Ponder

Habits arise from background scripts. 

Attitudes are directly derived from background scripts. 

Our “inclinations” and directionality (i.e., “Vectoring”)

are closely integrated with our background scripts.

“Self Talk” is a means of overtly engaging our scripting to keep momentum going when things get tough. 

Meditation (rather than medication!) can be extremely useful in getting our soft-scripting aligned with priorities, goals and Dreams.  Mindful meditation (an excellent device for unhinged script editing) has, in fact, been implicated as an effective accessory in advanced brain remodeling: 

“According to MRI scans, the hippocampus – the part of the brain in charge of learning and memory – thickens after only a couple of months of mindful meditation.  Brain-cell density also decreases in the amygdala (responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress).” [Reader’s Digest 05-2016, p. 62]

Quakers used the term “Centering Down”, which they appeared to apply to considerable advantage. 

Long walks are also an excellent means for script development and editing.

Mozart picked up his early scripting from his family’s immersion in music.  His personal narrative began as early as age 3, and his first original compositions were emerging by age 5.   

Where are you getting YOUR scripting?

• ·         Family/Tribe
• ·         School
• ·         Job/Career/Professional Association
• ·         The library
• ·         People Magazine
• ·         The Internet / Social Media
• ·         Talk shows/Sit-Coms/Country Music
• ·         The Daily Show/CNN/Today Show …
• ·         Political Party
• ·         Religious Organizations/Associations
• ·         Sports
• ·         Brute force experience

At any one time, we may have more than one script lurking in the background.  Different circumstances may call out different scripts.  We need to practice and perfect the art of LICENSING the particular scripts that will get us the best outcomes for those circumstances. 

Our DEFAULT SCRIPTING is extremely important.  In facing a block of “unscheduled time”, for example, we might “default” to a script of watching television or playing video games, but we might better “license” ourselves to dig out the script for meditation, exercise or planting seeds for the next big project.

LISTS are extremely important accessories in life-scripting, and can be particularly helpful in capitalizing on the unscheduled moment.    

At some point, we do well to ask: “Whose script am I following?”  And “Does this script make sense for ME and for where I’m going?”  And the “If …, then … “ components of script reference background need to be consistent with fundamental goals, values and principles.  We can hard-script certain maintenance activities via “rituals” and routines to gain efficiency and preserve sanity.  But let’s get the higher-order scripting right … or ELSE … the narrative will end ajumble! 

Finally, Scripting doesn’t need to be complicated.  Simply defining and “owning” (i.e., “Being True” to) who you are and want to be sets the stage for everything you do and how you do it.  Consider the fact that Abraham Lincoln did not become “presidential” after he was elected President; he had developed a “Presidential” script early in life and stayed true to that script throughout.  Quartermaster