Forever Grateful

Remember this adage attributed to Maslow: If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail?  I may be guilty of that as I write this.  I recently came across a You Tube video interview featuring Soenke Ahrens in which he emphasized the importance of external thinking (thinking on paper, for example).  He was elaborating on Zettlekasten, a combination of workflow and method to make and curate notes as a pivotal strategy for personal growth. I found that video captivating and very influential.  As I watched Atul Gawande’s presentation about his book The Checklist Manifesto  at Microsoft, therefore,  I could not help but view checklists as external thinking tools to ingrain and foster important habits/routines. Late in this presentation, we understand the importance of checklists when Gawande reveals that the Miracle on Hudson was in large part due to the ingrained professionalism of pilots who routinely use checklists as antidote...

 I borrowed this phrase (topic of this blog) from a TED Talk by Neil Connors.  In that talk he mentions that one of his teachers directed him and his classmates to journal every day.  Connors concedes (maybe as part of youthful rebellion) that for the first few entries decried how stupid this exercise was. Gradually, however, his mindset shifted.  He had since journaled daily.  Thanks to that habit, at any point in time, he is the sum of many moments. Interesting! John C. Maxwell asserts the importance of capturing and meticulously categorizing notes/quotes while reading.  This is pivotal to his elegant speeches and volumes of impactful writings.  He always has material to chew on instead of engaging in a stare down contest with a blank page. Another maestro of the sum of many moments approach was Nicolas Luhmann, the father of the Zettlekasten system.  He created a system of maintaining hierarchical notes with a simple but robust work flow that i...

In an interview, Spence Ahrens pushes for the external thinking promoted by the slip box or Zettelkasten system.  I liked the novelty of external thinking, until I paused and thought that I was no stranger to external thinking. I am an engineer and really used to consuming reams of scratchpads throughout my school years.  No, I was not a stranger to external thinking at all. Nevertheless, I admire the way Zettelkasten helps organize notes.  I am a novice to this particular system, but I am taking it out for a spin.   I like the experience so far… will continue to evaluate it.

I was listening to the audiobook version of Joe Dispenza’s Evolve Your Brain.     In chapter 2, he invites me to visualize ourselves finally standing on the edge of an outcropping at a side of a lake.     Others had already taken the plunge and are cheering me on.     I dive; it turns out the fear inside my body was worse than the actual dive. This is an a[t metaphor and aligns with the 4Cs concept from Andrew Sullivan. Commitment: when I am standing at the edge I am committing to the plunge, the dive. Courage: as I take the dive, I am acting in courage.    I am attended by fear but fear is not at the helm Capability: the plunge is a proof that I am capable of diving.    With a single act I have transformed myself Confidence: I have now built some confidence as the result of my action Life demands a series of such dives.    No way around that!