Circus monkeys. Technology as mirror. Fixing things. Good enough. Boredom FTW. Learning FTW. Complaining FTW.
Speak when you are angry – and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.
-Laurence J. Peter
1. “Not my circus, not my monkeys”
The Dichotomy of Control – Steve Makofsky – (Makoism)
I love the circus/monkeys quote, and use it often when deciding whether to worry about something. (The answer is almost always no.)
Makofsky delves into a little Stoic philosophy. Quoting Epictetus:
The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control.
We control our thoughts and our actions. All else is outside of our control. We can choose (thought) to do something (act) to maybe influence things outside of our control, but those things remain outside of our control. It’s a difficult concept for many to absorb.
It’s a very helpful measuring stick when deciding what’s worth our mental energies.
Do this: Focus on what’s in your control.
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2. “It’s a mirror, not a window”
The Original Sin of Everything – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
This is a topic I’ve been thinking and reading about a lot lately. It’s almost a societal equivalent of a movie trope.
Every major communication technology has been met with the same basic criticism: it’s changing how humans interact in ways that will destroy what makes us human.
Westenberg takes a different perspective. These technologies expose or amplify some already existing characteristic of humanity. Think about the last 12 years of the internet, and what kinds of people have come to light. They were always there. The internet exposed and enabled them.
When we criticize our technology, we’re really criticizing ourselves.
I’m not giving tech a pass on its impact, not at all. But knee-jerk reactions just don’t help.
Do this: Don’t use technology as an excuse.
3. “You were bearing more pain than you knew.”
Fix Three Broken Things – David Cain – (Raptitude)
We all live with small annoyances; things that are broken. Rather than living with them, no matter how small, what if we took the time to fix one? Or two? Or three?
Fixing a broken thing usually takes a one-time effort, and immediately creates ongoing returns and ends an ongoing tax.
It’s one of those simple things you can do to make your life, and perhaps the lives of others, a little less annoying. With so much seemingly out of our control of late, this feels particularly grounding.
Do this: Fix something.
4. “The capacity to act without certainty is essential even just to get through the day”
Seventy per cent – Oliver Burkeman – (The Imperfectionist)
In an essay that certainly lives up the blog’s name, Burkeman lays out the “70% rule”, that acting (publishing, making a decision, so on) at 70% confidence and avoiding perfectionism is “good enough”. He makes an interesting assertion:
Moving forward at 70% takes more guts, more strength of character, than holding out for 100%, because it entails moving forward amid uncertainty, anxiety, and the disagreeable feeling that comes with putting less-than-perfect work into the world.
Getting stuff done, whether that means publishing your latest work, completing your latest project, or any of a number of other things … is more important than ever in today’s oh-so-uncertain world. Waiting for perfection will have you waiting forever.
Do this: Do the thing.
5. “People obsess over some hidden path to success”
The Hidden Power of Being Boring – Justin Welch – (The Saturday Solopreneur)
“Boring is good” has become one of my catchphrases in recent years. Mostly it’s in reaction to … well … everything. As the supposed Chinese curse goes, we seem to be living in “interesting” times. I’ve had enough of interesting for a while. Boring would be nice.
But boring is an important concept in business or personal accomplishments. Most seem to want anything but boring, looking for some kind of magic hack or secret that will put them on the fast track to success.
Most successful people aren’t doing anything revolutionary. They’re usually just doing boring things with an insane level of consistency.
If there were one piece of advice I’d share with anyone looking to become successful in almost any realm of life it’s exactly that. Be insanely, and consistently focused on the boring fundamentals of whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.
Do this: Embrace the boring like a long lost lover.
#boredom #consistency #success
6. “So what’s your next challenge?”
What New Skill Are You Learning Right Now? – Darius Foroux – (Blog)
One of the things I appreciated about my corporate days was the ability to every-so-often take on a new role. One of the measuring sticks I used when deciding what to do next was the question “what could I learn?” Even as I transitioned into entrepreneurship that question is one of my fundamental measures of success.
Growth doesn’t happen by accident. If you don’t actively push yourself into new territory, you’ll stay exactly where you are.
In our early years, learning seems forced on us. It’s frustrating because that often gives it negative baggage we then carry with us throughout our life. Refusing to learn, or at least not being interesting in learning, becomes an act of rebellion, often at exactly the time it’s the most valuable. In reality it’s a skill for a lifetime, and a skill for success.
Do this: Keep learning. Always.
7. “The best way to complain is to make things better.”
“Can’t complain” (but it might be worth considering) – Seth Godin – (Blog)
It’s no secret I’m not a huge fan of chronic complainers, particularly if they simply complain to hear themselves complain without offering concrete, practical solutions.
The obvious reason to complain is to make a change happen.
If that’s the goal, though, we ought to focus those complaints where they’ll do the most good, and be prepared to do the work to have an impact. Organize the others, take consistent and persistent action, and market the complaint in a format and with a focus that will lead to action.
While that may be the “obvious” reason, it’s rarely the actual reason. Godin lists several less altruistic reasons that feel more commonly accurate. It’s a list worth reviewing, if only to suddenly realize that some might hit a little too close to home.
Do this: Complain, constructively.
Random links
- Do you need religion to be a moral person?
- Bank of Mum and Dad: why we all now live in an ‘inheritocracy’
- Almost one in 10 people use the same four-digit PIN
- “Starting on January 19, 2025 Facebook’s internal policy makers decided that Linux is malware and labelled groups associated with Linux as being ‘cybersecurity threats'” – WTAF?
What I’m reading
In progress:
- Cajun Fried Felony – Jana Deleon
- A Little History of Philosophy – Nigel Warburton
- The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century – Steven Pinker (audio)
A full list of my common sources is on the sources page, and I list the books I’ve read on my Reading List page.
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-Leo
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*) FTW: “For the Win”. Has its origins in gaming, as I understand it, and is an expression of approval.