Category: Definitions

Who Do You Want To Be Today?

Each day is an opportunity: where to go, what to do, how to act, and so on. Have you given any thought to what today will bring?

The typical lifespan will include nearly 30,000 days. That’s a lot of days! And while some heavily-scheduled days may leave little room for improvisation, for most we have choice regarding the details.

You might, for instance, get up early; you might stay up late.  You could spend your time working, or maximize your personal time. Even if you have little flexibility, you can at least decide how to dress.

The decisions you make in the course of your day will help to define, ultimately, who you are. And the best part is that with 30,000 todays to choose from, there is plenty of opportunity to experiment with different choices. You are not locked in to one decision, and you can find what works best for you.

To make the most of all these choices, however, you might want to have some strategy going in. So rather than start each day wondering how you might want it to unfold, you may want to have a plan. Who do you want to be? Then make choices to make that person come into being.

For instance, let’s say you decide you are a little overweight, and in general not in good shape. You might decide to use a chunk of those 30,000 days to exercise more and eat more healthy food. Then you can make changes on a daily basis to reach that outcome.

In conclusion, who do you want to be today? And what decisions can you make this morning, to make that person come into being, both for today, as well as for the next month or more?

Related questions: What do you hope to learn today? Who are you? What is one thing you feel the need to do every day?

Good Trouble Or Simply Trouble?

The late U.S. Senator and civil rights leader John Lewis famously urged people to “get in good trouble”. How can we know, exactly, what “good trouble” is? How do we know we aren’t just getting in trouble?

Share why if you wish.

Good Trouble Or Simply Trouble?
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What Is Efficiency?

The word “efficiency” has seen an increase in use lately. But what exactly is it, and is it always a good thing?

While the term efficiency has been in the news recently, it is hardly a new phenomenon. When you were a student, you may have been encouraged to study more efficiently. At work, you may have been praised for being efficient as an employee.

The general idea is that you should get from point A to point B in as few steps as possible. If you can do it in, say, three steps, then doing in five steps is less desirable. Steps 4 and 5, then, are wasteful and unnecessary. Three steps is optimal, the most efficient route.

Of course, this is an overly simplified example, and real life tends to be more more complicated.

For example, let’s pretend that the project can be done in three steps, but you are more likely to make mistakes than if you were to do it in five. If you need to do the entire project over again regularly, then is three steps really more efficient than five?

Some endeavors are independent from the normal rules of efficiency. Let’s consider creative or artistic expressions. Is it possible or even desirable to write a poem more efficiently? Can creativity be regulated in some way? When brainstorming, might it not be more helpful to think in unconventional ways, even if they happen to be conventionally inefficient?

In other cases, a certain amount of inefficiency is fundamental to the process. In science, it is regularly impossible to predict how an experiment will unfold. A scientist might have to try dozens or even hundreds of approaches to problem solving before finding the right one. Each invalid attempt is not a waste, as it may very well illuminate a rule or behavior that was previously unknown, which obviously has value.

Doing things quickly is the right thing to do in some cases. But not all. Can you think of examples from your life where being inefficient was better? And if so, isn’t that approach more efficient after all?

Related questions: What is the value of inefficiency? How can we be more productive? What is waste?

Who Are You?

When a family member, friend, or colleague introduces me to someone, I often ask the person what many think is an awkward conversation starter. I ask, “Who are you?” I usually put an inflection on the word “are,” which apparently makes things even more strange. If it’s at a social gathering and they’ve come with their spouse, they may answer, “I am so-and-so’s partner.” Others assume I am asking about what they do for a living: “Oh, I’m so-and-so, and I work at such-and-such a place.”

Because they thought the question was odd, they usually ask, “Is that what you mean?” I reply that I had no preset notion about the appropriate answer. I just wanted to know how they identify themselves and what that means about their life.

I usually continue, “It could be, as you shared, how you are connected to the people here today. It could be about your job. It could be that you are a parent. Heck, it could be a unique hobby that you have. The person I am now with may perceive the question as really practical or, perhaps, existential. It could serve as, ‘What makes you tick?'”

Sometimes, their eyes light up with this clarification. One person recently told me, “As a hobby, I’m a woodworker. Mainly, I make cabinets.” This answer began a conversation I had never thought I’d be having. I know nothing about cabinet-making, so I had tons of questions.

So, now it’s your turn. Does your occupation mainly define your identity? Does family (including pets) come first? Do you aspire to be something you’re just now practicing–like, “I’m training for a marathon?” Do you have a proper work-life balance, so any take on the question is fair game? Or will the conversation become a chat about how you’re trying to work fewer hours so you can do something else that you feel needs your attention?

So, dear reader, who are you?

Related questions: What makes you you? What do you believe? How are you special? What makes a person interesting?

Are Generational Designations Useful?

It has become fairly common to refer to generations of people using  a nickname, like “Millennials” or “Gen X”. Are these designations useful?

It doesn’t take much effort to find articles or websites that define a generational group based on some age range. For example, the “Boomer” generation, named after the Baby Boom that occurred in the 1950s, typical includes anyone born between 1946 and 1964.

The exact dates, and even entire generations, are hotly disputed. However, regardless of the exact definition, many people find it convenient to group people together in this way. Then some broad generalizations can be drawn over the group.

For instance, the group referred to as “Gen X” is often called by the alternate name, the latch-key generation. This refers to the fact that many kids in this generation were highly independent, largely as a result of both parents entering the work force. Every day, latch-key kids got themselves home from school, made a snack, did homework, and entertained themselves without any assistance from parents.

However, it isn’t true that every single member of the generation was like this. In fact, it is doubtful that even a majority of people who are classified as “Gen X”  had this experience. Similar examples exist for any one of the defined generations.

As such, is it actually useful to draw these generalizations? While the idea of these groups might hold some appeal to our order-seeking brains, are they actually illuminating in some way? Are there actual, helpful inferences to be drawn by these generational classifications? Or do individuals defy stereotyping?

Related questions: How do you show your age? In what ways do you not act your age? With which groups do you identify?