If you touch a hot pan, you’ll yank your hand away instinctively. Incessant noise makes you feel just as compelled to react but you have nothing to yank away. Be mindful that noise will set off the best of us. Yourself included. Of course that doesn’t justify flipping out and attacking someone that’s making noise. Instead it should help you…
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One of the first things I learned when I moved to New York City is that people don’t follow the signs. People go when other people go. And people stop when other people stop. It doesn’t matter much what traffic is doing. I’ve noticed, if I don’t go when the light turns to walk, that other people will often wait…
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I LOVE these new light fixtures we found this weekend. What do you think? A few days ago I stumbled upon several light fixtures missing covers in our kitchen. Turns out Jonathan removed them because there “wasn’t enough light.” At first I was repulsed, they appeared unsightly. Then I wondered, what if we had bought these fixtures from a high…
Have someone observe what you do
If you really want to identify waste in what you do, have someone observe what you do. Of course, be mindful of the Observer Effect. You’ll be surprised what is plain as day to someone else but that you’d never suggest yourself. The key will be to prepare yourself to hear things that you don’t want to hear. It’s normal…
Wasting time is normal
Every day we do things that we shouldn’t do. We sign in to facebook and share a story that we didn’t read. We keep track of ideas that we’ll never get to. We rewrite what we write because we don’t think it is good enough. We think we need to make complete lists, like this one I’m making right now.…
Stop putting up signs
We like to think that rules are all we need to have a functioning society and that if we simply put up signs, with the rules, that people will obey them. And if people don’t, well then, there was a sign, so shame on them. But, if you ever watch people, for the most part they don’t look at signs…
Who should change?
When something is bothering you, and you assess your options to deal with it, don’t forget to consider what you can do about it. All too often we look at options for how others can fix the situation and we overlook the ways in which we can fix it without the help of anyone else. For example, say someone is…
Interview: You Know It But Don’t Believe It (youtube link)
EP65. Wesley Higbee: You Know It But Don’t Believe It
Petty morality is the reason you’re not happy
If you let go of right and wrong life becomes much easier to deal with, and much happier. I’m not saying that you never shun certain behaviors, but if you understand the fluidity of morality, you see that in most situations you don’t have to get worked up anymore over petty things. You can simply change your beliefs, in real…