Information and Self Awareness

In the interest of full disclosure: I work in the IT industry, I have 4 working PC's and 2 laptops in my apartment.  I have a smartphone.  I am CONSTANTLY connected.

Now, all that being said, I question the emotional intelligence of being that "on" all the time.  What are we doing to ourselves?  An article on NPR "Digital Overload: Your Brain on Gadgets" references a study by some neurologists who decided to study how they'd react to a "no-tech" vacation in a remote location in Utah.

What they came up with was more questions (go figure).  However, they noticed something they termed the "Three Day Effect". Basically on the third day they felt more relaxed and less inclined to reach for their cell phones.

According to a study conducted at UC San Diego, the average person today consumes about three times as much information as the typical person in 1960....

{DING!} Sorry, that was my Twitter alarm going off.....

The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day!

{BEEP!} Hold on, that is my Facebook.....

All this information may be important to us.

{GONG!} CNN Breaking news....be right back....

But is it REALLY necessary to have all this thrust upon us?  Why are we choosing to learn about all events of the day, as they happen?

The globalization of the human experience is important.  Knowing what is happening in the world is our responsibility if we are ever going to make our experience on this planet better. 

I believe in The Butterfly Effect, however I question if it possible that all this information is causing us to be so involved in events happening half way across the world that we lose sight of our localized environment and the "Butterflies" that are in our own backyard.

I am not calling for isolationism, I am not saying we shouldn't be aware of news in all our radiating spheres of influence.  I am saying that (for our own health) we need to have the emotional intelligence to realize those things that we have the ability to change and those things that are beyond our reach.

Information awareness is much like that 1978 video game "Space invaders".  We have to pick off those invaders that are closest to us while being aware of the ones that are further off. because the remote ones will get closer as time passes!  Occasionally, there are larger issues that can't be ignored, but we can't stop aiming at the closer targets either....

Is this tough?  Sure. 
Is this possible?  {RIIIIING!}  Gotta go....that is my phone.

(You can play Space Invaders HERE! )

"You're a Big Boy now!"

I don't know how many times I heard that from adults as I was growing up.  Generally it was a way to get me to act more responsible, do homework, do chores, etc.  So here is my question: 

Am I a big boy NOW? 

I really don't think size has anything to do with that statement.  I have seen some huge 3rd graders in my lifetime.

Maybe "Big Boy" has more to do with responsibilty than age or size.  Taking out the trash without being told.  Doing the dishes.  Washing your own clothes.  All the things that the "grown ups" do.  OK.  I can buy that.  But if it is such a good thing to be a "big boy" (or responsible adult) why is it that we spend so much time trying to get those "grown up" things done FOR us?

I guess I am a "Big Boy" by necessity....I don't have anyone else willing to do those things for me.

But ask yourself honestly....wouldn't you like a housekeeper?  A money manager?   A secretary or assistant?   If we are able to get all those things done for us, isn't that a little bit like having parents again?  Cleaning for you, awarding you an allowance, reminding you of important things/items and picking up your dry cleaning?  The only thing different is that you are old enough to work, drink, vote, and get into an "R" rated movie!

We start life in diapers and eating pureed food and we end life in generally the same condition.  Why do we fight SO hard to be "grown ups" or a "big boy"?

See if you follow me on this theory....

1. Lets say that life is like the Earth and the horizon is your age.....
2. That horizon is coming at you whether you like it or not.
3. Now, the effort we make at being grown up expends a lot of energy, climbing the ladder, JUMPING ahead... all effort.
4. So....if you JUMP really high while the horizon is coming at you, what happens?  You miss a LOT of the little things that happen on the ground because you were SOOOO busy up in the air.
5. If you still take your jumps, but take time to come down every once in a while......maybe you won't miss so much.

Before you get upset and say that I am endorsing a model to society that says we shouldn't achieve, know that I pay my bills, I finished a post-graduate degree, I do dishes, laundry, and take out the trash.  BUT I still harbor that "little kid" inside.  I like roller coasters, I play video games, and I watch cartoons.  Doing the balancing act between "big boy" and "little kid" is a growth experience within itself. 

I guess without growing up, we can't appreciate the fun of being a little kid.  But AS grown ups we sometimes forget to BE that little kid.

FOR GOODNESS SAKE, become an acheiver!  We still need cancer cured, clean energy, and World peace!  Just don't forget to take joy in your life as well.

21st-Century minimalist

It used to be that being a minimalist meant that you kept your belongings to a minimum.  Just the things you absolutely needed.  Some clothes, maybe a bed or cot, to live as spartanly as possible.  After reading an article published by the BBC about a person who had chosen a minimalist lifestyle, but still owned things, I was curious.  (You can read the article here.)

This person chose to keep all his possessions in a virtual state.  What do I mean by that?  Everything was digitized.  In today's land of huge hard drives, e-readers, laptops, and smartphones people have begun trading in CD/Movie colletions for digital files like MP3 or MP4.  With sites like flickr.com and photobucket,  photo albums no longer need to clutter bookshelves.  Books are downloaded to e-reader devices.  Save for some clothes, the article decribes the life of someone who is homeless, yet owns everything he wants.....an interesting concept.

The article really made me think.... How much of your life is online?  How much can you "give up" to minimize your footprint on the earth?  The answer is that I could stop buying actual paper books or newsprint no problem.  Music would be a little harder.  Movies....ok....  Nothing but you, a laptop, a hard drive, an e-reader, a smartphone, and only as many clothes as you can carry?  

I look around my apartment.....and I see more than possessions.  The picture of my grandmother that watches over me from her place on the wall, a bookcase my dad made for me.  A set of kitchen canisters that sat on my grandmother's counter for as long as I remember.....  Sure I could declutter and get rid of stuff.  It will be one HELL of a yard sale.  However, I am not ready to part with the memories that tie me to my past. 

Since I am a self proclaimed nerd, the thought of being able to live electronically is very exciting.  The ability to own everything you want but not have to store it is amazing. 

But what happens to the smaller pleasures of grabbing a favorite novel and being able to flip the pages?  Reading the liner notes on your old vinyl records or the CD jacket?  Thumbing through a photo album that someone painstakingly put together for you.....maybe over your lifetime (Thanks, Mom).

Will it mean the same when a couple of clicks of a mouse does it for you?  Read the article....and ask yourself if you can live this new '21st century minimalist' style.  I already know I'd fail.

Fear vs. Worry

This week I finish my Masters in Business. This is a big jump for me. I feel like I have accomplished a huge feat! The majority of my adult life has been spent in school.

Whilst discussing this milestone in my life with a friend, I mentioned that I have a fear of what will happen next. He called me a "worrier" and gave me the platitudes that most good friends are required to give when discussing such things.

During this conversation, I couldn't get him to understand that my "fear" did not equate to "worry" and that they were two very different things....

According to (The All Knowing) Wikipedia: Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.

I equate my FEAR of life-after-school with a general uneasiness of what the future will bring.  But isn't that true of everyone's life?  We are always looking forward wondering what will happen.  We can plan for things, we can have good intentions....but regardless of how prepared we are....the future is a'comin'!  I have no clue what this change in my resume' will bring.  I have no real life experience to base a decision on.

Merriam-Webster says that Worry is (amongst other things) to feel or experience concern or anxiety: in other words to fret.  Now we all fret from time to time, but generally it is because of things we have experienced.  I might worry about my nephew breaking his arm if he climbs that wall. Why?  Because I've done it.  I might worry about a  friend about to make a HUGE mistake.  Why?  Because it has happened to me.

I guess my point is that I have nothing to "worry" about.  I have no experience in life with an MBA.  What I do have is fear of the unknown...will I get a job?  Can I use my degree to better my life and the lives of those around me?

As long as I keep in mind that fear is the only thing standing in my way, I'll be OK.  Worrying about it has no basis in my reality.....but "my reality" is another post entirely.

I know some of you will argue that this is semantics, but understanding how you work within yourself helps you to navigate the world a little more deftly.

Understand your fears.  Realize they are different than worry.  Fear you can work though.....so don't worry about it!