Immersion

It used to drive me nuts when our three sons would insist on doing their homework with MTV or other cacophony blaring in the background.  But they kept bringing home top grades in advanced courses, so there wasn’t much I could really say, except “Great Work” when the report cards came in. 

For many years, I rationalized that these “blunt force” sound and sense saturation vibes were simply attenuating spurious neuron firings that might otherwise have arisen from other sources, allowing greater focus on the studies at hand. 

However, I now have enough experience of my own to suggest that the superimposition of certain kinds of background activity may, in fact, facilitate and enhance “immersion” in the work being done.  It’s like working on a factory floor, simply keeping pace with everything else that’s going on.   Maybe there’s some kind of “rhythm” involved? 

In my case, the primary facilitating and enhancing “immersion” background is physical exercise.  Whether it’s walking, climbing stairs, mowing the lawn or working out on equipment, I experience an almost instantaneous sense of “Centering Down”.  This also happens during driving and flying … as though other forces at hand are part of the package – indeed, an essential part of the package.   

So what might happen if we got ALL the senses involved, engaged and IMMERSED in what we’re doing?   

Mothers, listen up:

Maybe those month-old pizza boxes mixed in with dirty underwear plus the entire wardrobe spread across the floor are merely part of the “IMMERSION” experience your son or daughter needs to feel fully engaged???    

Who knows?!?

Perhaps we could fine-tune things a bit – and maybe even vary the formulation for different purposes: One module of sounds, lighting, scents, physical engagement, and taste (perhaps sugarless chewing gum rather than chips, dip and Ding-Dongs?) for reading and a different module for writing and another for STEAM-related activities ...  

Wow!

And don’t forget your “By-God Armorall Coveralls” … and maybe some incense … maybe a trickling waterfall …

What’s YOUR Go-To “immersion” formulation for stuff YOU really need to do? 

I’m not a big devotee of Feng-Shui.  But, hey … whatever works!  

Quartermaster

Random Walk Ponderings

“[The] random walk is a mathematical [representation] of a path that consists of a succession of random steps. For example, the path traced by a molecule as it travels in a liquid or a gas, the search path of a foraging animal, the price of a fluctuating stock and the financial status of a gambler can all be modeled as random walks … Random walks explain the observed behaviors of many processes … and thus serve as a fundamental model for the recorded stochastic activity.”    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk

In chemistry and physics, the random walk describing molecular activity is often represented as the trajectory of a befuddled drunk trying to find his way home after a barn-burner night on the town.   

While life is not entirely like a Random Walk, it can have a very similar lack of trajectory and outcome if not strategically guided and purposefully engaged – by some means.  Who’s driving and to what perceived destination makes a big difference! 

As Maslow pointed out [“in his 1943 paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ in Psychological Review” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs], both voluntary and involuntary driving forces are at work in the human soma and psyche that essentially “direct” our behavior.  

But once fundamental / baseline needs are met, the trajectory becomes a bit “fuzzy”. 

In fact, “fuzziness” seems to be our preferred or intrinsic modus operandi: Unless imposed upon by external forces (parents, teachers, coaches, other “authority” figures or new and different circumstances), we tend to leave imprints in the sand that appear to be entirely random.  And WHEN imposed upon by such forces, we tend to react with more than equal force in completely opposite directions!

However, when not imposed upon by external forces, the Second Law of Thermodynamics tends to take over:

“Any system left to itself tends toward the state of greatest disorder.”

A third behavioral profile relates to the need/desire for stability: In this case, we seek out the most pleasurable pursuit with the least hassle – camping out as close to our comfort zone as possible for the duration.  Complete randomness is avoided in this profile by getting in a rut and continuing in that direction until it doesn’t work anymore. 

[Insert your own favorite “Roadrunner” cartoon here]

NOTE: Complete randomness beyond this point is further reduced by constraining factors that progressively limit our available options / open paths the further we go in our “rut”; if you haven’t gotten the certifications required for advanced navigation, you can’t navigate the deepest waters. 

So the random walk, “fuzziness” and “rut-running” have lousy track records in getting us where we want – or NEED … or “deserve” – to go. 

Fight “randomness”, “fuzziness” and “rut-running” every step of the way!  Hitch your wagon to a STAR.  Dream BIG and don’t let Dreams and Goals go untended.  Be purposeful.  Be totally intentional!  Become the Commanding Officer of your own Destiny – the principal Driving Force in your own journey.  Quartermaster

"Riffs" and "Reps"

The person in charge of things I’m not in charge of [which represents an entire alternative universe] dragged me to the local fitness center during the holidays to sign me up for an almost limitless list of physical fitness options – never mind the fact that I have both an exercycle and a NordicTrack e9, plus approximately 200 sq. ft. of open, carpeted floor space plus lead bricks and flex-stretch bands to entertain me right at home … all of which I actually utilize to varying degrees. 

NOTE: Someone on NPR recently marveled at the uniqueness of business plans for commercial fitness centers where people actually pay good money to access equipment they never use!  The facility we visited had a capacity for about 350 people simultaneously working out on various pieces of equipment and in various classes, but had only 3 clients engaged at the time.  

However, there are more than a few personal challenges with MY new plan to use the awesome and impressive new fitness center – even though, for me, it’s FREE through “Silver Sneakers”.  

First:  Whether it’s at home or at an official physical fitness site, I get bored easily, and boredom is neither fun nor productive.  So spending an hour a day or 3 hours a week or any other permutation of scheduling – in addition to preparation, unbundling and travel – isn’t something I’m going to get really excited about.   

Second:  I don’t tolerate “mindlessness” very well and can only stand microseconds of drivel on TV.  It turns out that the fitness emporium has megabanks of TV monitors for every fitness station.    

Third:  My short-term memory is shorter than that of the average bear.   So, since exercise stirs the creative juice, I can only go about 5 minutes at a time on a machine before I have to write something down to keep from forgetting it.   

Fourth: I don’t easily do “easy” … I’ve always got to push to the max – which leads to early exhaustion and, sometimes, muscle/nerve/joint discomfort.   This causes preemptive fatigue, minimizes the benefit of sustained effort, and can be, at least temporarily, debilitating.   

Those are the realities, not excuses!  In fact, I DO my exercise, but I don’t get the maximum benefit out of all the possibilities already available.   

So what’s the solution here?  What would the certified Physical Fitness Trainer at the new fitness emporium suggest I do?  How about: “Simply work at your body’s own pace …

… and STOP TRYING TO BE AN OVERACHIEVER!”

Duh!  Then it occurred to me … jazz musicians only do short passages of high intensity “riffs” during the totality of a performance, and physical fitness gurus talk about doing multiple “reps”.  So how about mixing up the “riffs” and “reps” in much shorter and more manageable segments to achieve a much more thorough overall outcome?  [It sounds almost like “Bitesizing”, which we encountered previously on this journey (http://lifemasterymusings.blogspot.com/2014/09/bite-sizing.html)].     

So yesterday I tried it.  Instead of 30 pushups and 30 sit-ups and all the rest all at once, ending up exhausted, I did 15 of each four times over a much longer period interspersed between stretching, jogging in place, e9 and exercycle reps, writing and making lentil soup.  Wow!  I was so “pumped” I had a hard time disengaging!!

 

So now I’m going to try to generalize it.   

Nutrition is the next big challenge.  It turns out that I’ve always treated foraging just like exercise, rendering Olympian effort to get the most calories I can pack in at any given “sitting”.  Although I’m a slow eater, I generally don’t give up, in or out until the table is completely clear!  It does have downsides, including packing on pounds, creating a feeling of over-satiation and inducing lethargy.  So now I’m doing smaller “riffs” and more “reps”, as well as minimizing the calories and adding more roughage ... in fact, trying to be an “overachiever” in a markedly different sense!    

Then there’s actual productive “work time”.  I’ve started doing more “reps” with more definitive intervals between “riffs”.  This helps eliminate dead space within and between projects, and maximizes “fresh approach” possibilities with greater focus and more energy.

Now the biggest challenge is STOPPING a given “riff” before the full statute of limitations on endurance has run out; knowing I could do more and not doing it seems patently unconscionable!  It’s going to require a different kind of discipline as well as a greater awareness of when each “riff” has run its most productive course, thereby needing to get out of the way.  I already know there’s been “riff-creep” on exercise – a tendency to extend the riff cycle.  But I think that goes with better “conditioning”, so I’ll try to be “attentively permissive”.   

I don’t know exactly how the Silver Sneakers deal is going to fit into this new lifestyle management plan.  One possible advantage would be to limit the overall time spent on physical fitness to a specifiable interval and to explore riff/rep options I don’t have readily available otherwise.  I’ll give it a try and hope to keep an open mind.  For now, I’ve gotta move on to another “riff” and do some more “reps”!   Quartermaster

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

Robert Frost

“The Pasture”

To Be Human

What differentiates the “human being” from non-human beings?   

Reason enough to ask comes from both historical record and the daily account of man’s blatant inhuman behavior, reflecting an unchecked rush toward satisfaction of “animal appetites”.  Consider the “seven deadly vices” as ingrained animal kingdom characteristics which are, of course, markedly advanced in the human:  

* Lust                                       * Pride                  

* Avarice (greed)                    * Envy

* Sloth                                     * Anger

* Gluttony

Perhaps VIRTUES differentiate the “human being” – when they effectively override animal instincts?  Let’s take a look …  

Articulation of “virtues” has been a central occupation of philosophers since earliest civilization [NOTE: “Civilization”, itself, being a cornerstone human invention, creates an expanded need for all the “humanity” we can muster!]  Commonly held Virtues are summarized in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtues  and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues  

“Virtue (Latin: virtus, Ancient Greek: ἀρετή "arete") is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being.” 

Ancient Egypt             Plato/”Cardinal”           Theological                  Heavenly

Truth                            Temperance               Faith                            Chastity

Balance                       Prudence/Wisdom      Hope                           Temperance

Order                           Courage                      Charity/Love               Charity

Law                             Justice                                                             Diligence

Morality                       Piety                                                                Patience

Justice                                                                                                 Kindness

                                                                                                            Humility

Or how about the Boy Scout Law?  A Scout is:

Trustworthy                 Loyal                           Helpful

Friendly                       Courteous                   Kind

Obedient                     Cheerful                      Thrifty

Brave                          Clean                           Reverent 

And how do these differentiate the human from other animals?  Is “Man’s Best Friend” not trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, obedient and brave?  Are squirrels not thrifty in collecting and burying nuts for the winter?   Is a singing bird not cheerful?  Is a stalking/preying animal not patient?  How about an Emperor penguin being faithful, diligent, loyal, trustworthy, patient and obedient in balancing an egg on his feet for up to 66 days in sub-freezing cold without food?  Are preening birds and cats not clean?  Does a hungry bear not have hope of finding food and faith in being able to do so?   

Perhaps ulterior motives or innate instincts merely create the appearance of “virtue”? 

Here we also encounter another curious and potentially defining characteristic: Perhaps humans are merely better – and/or more creative – at “skirting” the virtues and turning virtues into vices!    

But there’s also an underlying, overarching defining characteristic of humanity here: 

The inclination/willingness and capacity to act unilaterally on others’ behalf.

Call it “Altruism”?  

Whatever you call it, the most defining expression of humanity doesn’t seem to come “naturally” – at least not to everyone, or at least not until “unlocked”, “activated”, mined, refined and distilled ... which explains why definition and articulation of the Virtues has been such a longstanding, relentless pursuit by those who think it matters.   

As we found in the exploration of “Character”, educational institutions are increasing their fundamental emphases on instilling/embedding the elements of Virtue.  (http://lifemasterymusings.blogspot.com/2014/12/character.html) 

And it’s extending to colleges and universities: 

“An education that exposes students to higher ideals — such as love of mankind, concern for the larger world and the common good, and respect and empathy for others — can help young people develop the moral character necessary to recognize the spuriousness of using usurped power to destroy others. 

The Roman philosopher Cicero suggests ‘we need every art to become human.’ “

Seamus Carey, President, Transylvania University http://www.kentucky.com/2014/12/29/3614872_education-helps-civilize-us-the.html?sp=/99/349/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

So how does one – or a civilization … a society … a nation … a world – put Virtue, Character, Morality, Empathy, etc., into practice; how and when do we start realizing our full potential as human beings?  

There’s a simple formulation here: 

JUST STOP ACTING LIKE ANIMALS! 

The sooner and higher we can rise above our debauched animal-instincts and vested self-interests (politicians take note … ), the sooner and more accomplished our “humanity” will become.  As Cicero suggests, the arts – which help shape and articulate the vision of a brighter and better world, and which advance our constructiveness and creativity – are crucial accessory occupations. 

 

Final Points to Ponder

“Animal instincts” are not all bad.  They evolved to provide a survival advantage!  When debauched and debased, however, they become “Vices”.  But if they are productively directed, they can become assets.  A key Life Mastery pursuit is figuring out how to do that.  Pouring all of one’s “animal instincts” into an identifiable PASSION – be it a career, the arts, a missionary enterprise, sports, etc. – not only provides a survival advantage, but can take one to “Top Dog” status! 

FINAL NOTE:  Exercise helps tame the “lion” and “tiger” within and fosters the emergence of virtue.  Don’t short the A-I (Animal Instinct) BURN!   Quartermaster

Odd Fellows

Perhaps I was doomed to be an “Odd Fellow” from the start.  My father was a card-carrying member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  (Yes, it’s a real organization!  http://www.ioof.org/)  But, quite apart from this formal association, he did a lot of “odd” things informally … like keeping two sets of books as an insurance agent for Appalachian farmers and coal miners and accepting “in-kind” payment or deferred payment or, in some cases, no payment for insurance premiums so that families could be protected from abject ruin, should the bread-winner of the family become disabled or lost.  He raised his family in a foreclosed bank building, taught Sunday School, was a Boy Scout leader, served on the local School Board, had one of the largest organic gardens in the region, supported an exchange program for students from Nigeria, and provided scholarships for aspiring local students who would not otherwise have been able to attend college. 

Either from inheritance or from default of association, I have also become an “Odd Fellow” … though not card-carrying, and not nearly on such an expansive scale.  Among other lesser things, I take shopping carts into grocery stores.  I pick up trash off the street.  I visit nursing homes.  I write an “Odd Blog”.  I don’t watch much television, can’t tell you much about Tailor Swift, and don’t go to movies.  I’m abysmal at Trivial Pursuit.  I don’t text and drive.  I shop at Good Will and the Salvation Army.  I cook “odd” stuff, eat leftovers, recycle and have a compost pile.  And it’s downhill from there: Yes, I even sing in a barbershop quartet that serenades unsuspecting public in unlikely places! 

Among other “odd” traits, I also struggle to down an entire beer in an afternoon, while many more "normal" folks can go through an entire case of brew on any given weekend.  I was, thus, intrigued by a discussion on NPR about regulating binge drinking in fraternities at the University of Virginia in an attempt to straighten out and sober up an entire campus following the Rolling Stones article on a fraternity-associated gang rape.  (http://weku.fm/post/uva-looks-ways-curb-drinking-its-frat-houses). 

When I was “coming of age”, such blatant opportunities to “waste” oneself didn’t occur often, but those that did seemed “juvenile”, at best, unrewarding, in general, patently “foolish” in the main, and exhaustively debilitating; my particular journey seemed plenty tough enough without seriously compromising my limited ability to cope with life’s vicissitudes when I had all my faculties intact.  To a significant number of fellow travelers, that was just ODD – and completely unnecessary!   

However, it did occur to me that significant numbers of folks appear to need the positive reinforcement of negative experience.  From that perspective, it seemed that a “permissive” policy on alcohol use is probably helpful: a person who needs a “near death” experience from overdosing on alcohol before sobering up should probably have that experience early in life. 

Which raises the fundamental question:  Why is doing “sensible” things – never mind anything that would be perceived as personal advancement or social beneficence – “ODD”? 

 

I think it has a simple answer:

Base-level self-esteem requires external affirmation – particularly from a peer group.  And the more brazenly risk-taking we are – the more “shock and awe” we can generate, the more “credentialed” we become as club-worthy, particularly among the ostensibly defiant.  In fact, defiance, either overt or covert, carries its own mark of distinction in most quarters.  It’s why we elect politicians – to thwart the “establishment”!  Bravado/machismo – as opposed to being a “wimp” or a “Goody, Goody Two Shoes” – i.e., “ODD” or “UNCOOL” – is the name of the base-level game.  

More genuine, more mature, more sustainable and more “legitimate” self-esteem comes from internal affirmation … from becoming comfortable in our own skin … from knowing who we are … from taking pride of ownership in who we are becoming … from building capacity … from creating something(s) of intrinsic value … from seeing our OWN unique enterprise and “stake” in the world emerging … from being creatively “different” in the most positive way(s). 

Here’s a secret: It’s OK to be defiant in becoming “creatively different”.  Defy the odds.  Defy “average”.  Defy mediocrity.  Defy failure.  Defy any person who says you can’t accomplish what your passion dictates.  Defy convention.  Be ODDLY UNCOOL.  Be the ODD GUY OUT.  Do stuff that “ordinary” people don’t, won’t or can’t do.  It’s the CRAZIES … the ODD FELLOWS … the Out-of-the-Box Visionaries that make the world go ‘round – and they have a lot more fun in the process!  Become an “Odd Fellow” in a “club” of your own making … follow your own star.  It can be one of the most exhilarating, enriching, satisfying and fulfilling pursuits of life.  TAG: You’re now IT!!           Quartermaster

Choose Something Like a Star 

“... not even stooping from it’s sphere,

                                                It asks a little of us here.

                                                It asks of us a certain height,

                                                So when at times, our paths unblazed

                                                Allow us to digress too far,

                                                We may choose something like a star

                                                To stay our minds on and be staid.”

                                                                                    Adapted from Robert Frost

Colonization of Space

There is an increasing concern – at least an increasing discussion – about the fact that earth has finite dimensions and finite resources while its population – at this cusp of the 21^st century – is threatening to exhaust both available space and resources within a foreseeable future. 

More than a few scientists and arm-chair wizard wannabees have suggested it’s time to seriously consider colonizing other planets – like Mars.  More refined minds are suggesting the development of de novo, free-floating “Space Settlements”, as described in the following clip from NASA: http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Basics/wwwwh.html:  

“Space settlements will be a place for ordinary people.  

A space settlement is a home in orbit.

·         Rather than live on the outside of a planet, settlers will live on the inside of gigantic spacecraft. Typical space settlement designs are roughly one half to a few kilometers across. A few designs are much larger.

·         Settlements must be air tight to hold a breathable atmosphere, and must rotate to provide psuedo-gravity. Thus, people stand on the inside of the hull.

·         Enormous amounts of matter, probably lunar soil at first, must cover the settlements to protect inhabitants from radiation. On Earth our atmosphere does this job, but space settlements need about five tons of matter covering every square meter of a colony's hull to protect space settlers from cosmic rays and solar flares.

·         Each settlement must be an independent biosphere. All oxygen, water, wastes, and other materials must be recycled endlessly.”

This is a theorist’s/purist’s view, completely unencumbered by real world challenges.   

First of all, de novo can’t happen in a complete vacuum – other than by some incomprehensible “Big Bang” occurrence.  Thus, creation of such new settlements would require the extraction of enormous megatons of resources from current earth – where resources are already nearly tapped out.  Space settlements would, thus, be limited by the resources available from “mining” the earth.  While the sun can provide solar energy and can generate vegetation, at least the initial raw material would have to come from sources all too familiar.  Perhaps mining the moon, Mars, asteroids, and other celestial sources could provide eventual replacement and expansion possibilities.  But construction of a “flying flotilla system” for heavy duty transport of raw materials around and about the universe is imponderable with currently conjecturable reasonability.   

Second, if we have even half a thought that we can create such a tightly controlled life-support system in space, why can’t we do it on earth? 

·         Because we don’t have the WILL? 

·         Because we don’t have the DISCIPLINE?

·         Because we don’t have the RESOURCES? 

·         Because it’s already too late?   

Third, we can’t hope to establish something sustainable in space that we haven’t made sustainable here on earth.  To think that we would leave all the “unworkable” and “unsolvable” challenges here on terra firma is naïve at best.  Let’s set up a model system HERE and see how it works.  How would it work politically and economically, and how closely would it be tied to current earth-based systems?   (Some would say that democracy is the best we have to offer but it’s no longer working as it “should” … so what’s next and what’s better?) 

Fourth, we grossly underestimate the interdependencies we have on earth-based sources and systems that cannot readily be transported into space.  Try replicating the Pacific Ocean or polar ice caps which act as diverse climate control reservoirs, not to mention the former as a major life-support system.  Or consider earth’s “atmosphere” … which is a lot more complex than a bunch of “hot air”.  Among other things, it protects us against meteor showers and small asteroids.  Try replicating THAT!  And replicating gravity (actually reverse gravitation) by creating centrifugal (rather than centripetal) force in a rotating enclosure would have an unknown and potentially deleterious effect on natural biologic propensity.   

Speaking of the Pacific Ocean, why don’t we consider “colonizing” the two-thirds of the planet earth covered by water that are currently “uninhabitable”?  It would seem a lot less challenging to float large watercraft than to create inordinately large space craft.  NOTE: Vast portions of earth’s oceans are currently “deserts” – because plankton and corral do not easily grow over deep trenches and cannot support “edible” fish.  How about creating “floating corral reefs” or floating “continental shelves” to support the microscopic and macroscopic infrastructure for expanded life-support systems? 

If we’re going to use space, why not use it to dump toxic waste?  We could dump all our toxic chemical and radioactive waste on the moon and then mine it back as needed for recycling for future use, or set up reprocessing centers THERE.    

To think that we can create a completely independent replica of earth – not to mention a “better” earth – in empty space … on any fully functional scale … is an exhilarating thought.  But it’s based more on the fantastic notion of running away from our problems – most of which we’ve caused ourselves – rather than on fully understanding and making the most of what we’ve already got – which is pretty fantastical already … if we’d only put the same amount of time, energy and money into doing it sustainably right.  Quartermaster

 

Character

“… the students who persisted in college were not necessarily the ones who had excelled academically …; they were the ones with exceptional character strengths, like optimism and persistence and social intelligence.”

“Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification”

by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman 

This 800-page tome was developed to help understand and explain what it takes for successful matriculation through academics and beyond, and has generated a wave of follow-up exploration and commentary from multiple sources since first published in 2004.

“Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.  They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on – each of which exists in degrees.”
 http://www.amazon.com/Character-Strengths-Virtues-Handbook-Classification/dp/0195167015  

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

A more in-depth review, focusing on related work by Dominic Randolph, headmaster at Riverdale Country School, was given by Paul Tough in the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0  

“The most critical missing piece [for success], Randolph explained [echoing Peterson and Seligman], … is character — those essential traits of mind and habit that were drilled into him at boarding school in England and that also have deep roots in American history. “… that if you worked hard and you showed real grit, that you could be successful,” he said. “Strangely, we’ve now forgotten that. People who have an easy time of things, who get 800s on their SAT’s, I worry that those people get feedback that everything they’re doing is great. And I think as a result, we are actually setting them up for long-term failure.”

Additional excerpts …

“The list included some we think of as traditional noble traits, like bravery, citizenship, fairness, wisdom and integrity; others that veer into the emotional realm, like love, humor, zest and appreciation of beauty; and still others that are more concerned with day-to-day human interactions: social intelligence (the ability to recognize interpersonal dynamics and adapt quickly to different social situations), kindness, self-regulation, gratitude. 

Angela Duckworth … notes: ‘The problem, I think, is not only the schools but also the students themselves,” she wrote. “Here’s why: learning is hard. True, learning is fun, exhilarating and gratifying — but it is also often daunting, exhausting and sometimes discouraging.

Duckworth’s early research showed that measures of self-control can be a more reliable predictor of students’ grade-point averages than their I.Q.’s. But while self-control seemed to be a critical ingredient in attaining basic success, Duckworth came to feel it wasn’t as relevant when it came to outstanding achievement. People who accomplished great things, she noticed, often combined a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission, whatever the obstacles and however long it might take. She decided she needed to name this quality, and she chose the word ‘grit.’  

Levin and Randolph …settled on a final list: zest, grit, self-control, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism and curiosity 

One eighth-grade girl … said that, for her and her friends, the biggest issue was inclusion — who was invited to whose bat mitzvah; who was being shunned on Facebook. Character, as far as I could tell, was being defined at Riverdale mostly in terms of helping other people …

K.C. Cohen: ‘When I think of good character, I think: Are you fair? Are you honest in dealings with other people? Are you a cheater?’ 

‘Sure, a trait can backfire,’ [Mike] Witter said. ‘Too much grit, … you start to lose your ability to have empathy for other people. If you’re so gritty that you don’t understand why everyone’s complaining about how hard things are, because nothing’s hard for you, because you’re Mr. Grit, then you’re going to have a hard time being kind. Even love — being too loving might make you the kind of person who can get played.  So, yes, character is something you have to be careful about. Character strengths can become character weaknesses.’ 

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T., involves using the conscious mind to understand and overcome unconscious fears and self-destructive habits, using techniques like ‘self-talk’ … “The kids who succeed … are the ones who can C.B.T. themselves in the moment,’ 

Randolph wants his students to succeed, of course — it’s just that he believes that in order to do so, they first need to learn how to fail [and how to recover from failure].” 

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

A more general exploration of the core elements of character through “moral stories” was given in “The Book of Virtues” by William J. Bennett (Simon and Schuster, 1996, 818 p.)  Perhaps reflecting his own personal struggles with a gambling addiction  (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0306.green.html), Bennett opens the compendium with the importance of Self-Discipline.  Other elements include: Compassion, Responsibility, Friendship, Work, Courage, Perseverance, Honesty, Loyalty, and Faith.  In a 1973 review of “Virtues” (Newsweek, November 13, p. 75), Jerry Adler laments Bennett’s slighting of self-esteem and creativity.  

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

Here’s the “Cliff Notes” version:  Do the most “right” thing you can do, keep being creatively better than you were yesterday, and make it a habit.  Why?  Character is the currency of preferred citizenship; it’s the collateral we carry for credit we’ve already been extended and for credit we’ll need to open doors of future opportunity; and it’s the core element that allows us to live with ourselves “in our own skin”.  Ultimately?  Nobody on their deathbed ever said “I wish I’d made a bigger fool of myself!”  A few have said “I wish I’d gotten away with more!”  But that pretty much nails the point home, doesn’t it?  It’s about “getting what we deserve” from the investments we make, and Blue Chip investments with total intentionality – including investments we make on others’ behalf – leave the fewest regrets.  Quartermaster