Month: August 2013

Who knew the stories we read as kids, might actually be true? Whaa!?

It’s now a scientific fact that if you think you can do it, you’re more likely to be able to do it.

“Psychologists Ulrich Weger and Stephen Loughnan recently asked two groups of people to answer questions. People in one group were told that before each question, the answer would be briefly flashed on their screens — too quickly to consciously perceive, but slow enough for their unconscious to take it in. The other group was told that the flashes simply signaled the next question. In fact, for both groups, a random string of letters, not the answers, was flashed. But, remarkably, the people who thought the answers were flashed did better on the test. Expecting to know the answers made people more likely to get the answers right.”

If someone launches a “suits” radio station. I would listen! Wait, SoundCloud is my friend 😛

The transparent speaker? Very cool.

Soooo would have done something unmanly.

^{Source: https://www.youtube.com/}

Yay! Even more talk about the introverts. Amazeballs! It’s needed in todays world, to talk about people that are thought to be 1/3 the population.

But what about this… Ambivert??

No set of rules

There are no full set of rules, regardless of what articles say. But, if these are really the menus…

Then an ambivert could be Introvert 1,3,4 & 6, with Extrovert 2,7,8 & 10.
[ I think that’s more like me. FYI. In case you want to care. Thank you. ]

It takes work but you can take a pile of shit and turn it into anything else. It’s a matter of perspective. I think there are a few key ways of looking at it to change your outlook.

The arrow of time.

Past: I can’t believe this shit happened to me
Future: Shit Happens. Wipe it off.

Looking ahead. I’ve always thought it’s not about the mess, the trouble or the mistake. It’s how you get out of it.

The arrow of centricity

Inward: Ahhhhh, Fuck me!
Outward: You can go fuck yourself!

Probably not the best example, but the concept being “the world is happening to me” vs. “I’m making my world.”

The arrow of size

Smaller: All I found was a dollar
Bigger: Think of all the penny candies I can buy with this dollar!

Size is what you make of it. This can be done with time, or money, or anything. When it’s important, you make it bigger. [ yes, there’s a sex joke in there, but I’ll let you say the words ]

The arrow of open..ness..ness??

Closed: Can I have a car?
Open: What kind of car can I have?

Ok… the metaphor might be stretching a bit thin, but I think I’m making my point. It’s all in the words we choose. Take a look at your tweets and facebook posts. Take a read though the posts of people you intently read and through the ones you actively avoid.

Pay attention to these arrows.

Perhaps it might change your perspective.

^{Part of Art is Trash, from Francisco de Pájaro}

where is this island, this thought? to find the shore i’ll seek its waves, the ripples
as it moves about like a weighted freighter
spewing rusted ruffage, powdery rouge

that red whale! for others white
and when my toes can bleed across its shores
i’ll finally break it down, smelt it, smash it to the deep
watch it writhe as it drowns, caked in its own vomit

i’ll do the back stroke above a watery grave
looking to the blue sky and whistling with a smile
the sound of silence, of wind, of breath
a calm night to finally rest my shoulders on.

It’s nice that introverts are getting more attention.

In the recent slew was this one from the Huffington Post about signs of introverts. Here are the ones that most jumped out at me:

• You go to parties -– but not to meet people.
• Downtime doesn’t feel unproductive to you.
• Giving a talk in front of 500 people is less stressful than having to mingle with those people afterwards.
• When you get on the subway, you sit at the end of the bench — not in the middle.
• You’re in a relationship with an extrovert.

There are, of course, more that I connect with than others. And yes, one or two that I don’t think relate to me at all. Either way – sounds pretty damn close.

^{Creative commons featured image courtesy of roberttellier}

I recently had an opportunity to hang around brilliant folks in their fields. Mainly it was wine and food – and ooooohhhhh such good wine and ammmmmazing food.

But there was something to their brilliance which had me think about this little quote.

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”

Excluding the non-verbal aspect of tasting the fruits of their talents – when I spoke with them, they easily got me to grasp what they did. No fancy language, not bells and whistles, no references to 18th century chefs & techniques that didn’t mean anything to me.

They had taken the time and could write a shorter letter.

Perhaps the leaders of tomorrow should remember that. Perhaps we’re already heading there with the infinite blogs and content creators leveraging skimming behaviours, smaller paragraphs and brevity to stand out in the crowd.

Perhaps it’s a tone we’re getting used to and looking for the more we head into a tribal state.

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Originally written about a year ago in an old defunct blog of mine.
I am blowing off the dust and giving this a new home.