Are People Becoming Resistant To Learning?

 

Image created with Vector FX
by Distinct AI.

People do seem to be less interested in learning and critical thinking.  

For a long time now I have followed the YouTube channel "Technology Connections" the host has a wonderful blend of insight and humour in the topics he presents. In the video "Algorithms are breaking how we think" he points out that people now in a large part seem to desire to just follow whatever the algorithm on a social platform or YouTube presents to them rather than deciding what to watch or read. The video is very good and I encourage you to watch it. I personally love to learn and I love to investigate but I agree with the host that people do seem to be less interested in learning and critically thinking.

This has me thinking, If this trend continues what will that mean for society in the future. Yesterday I was working with a young person and by that I mean someone in their mid-20s and I got the distinct feeling that although they were obviously very bright, that they would just prefer to do things by routine and not really have to think or consider anything. I thought for a moment that I might've been primed by watching the Technology Connections video but I can assure you that was not the case. I have seen similar behaviours in the last five or six years and it is becoming prevalent. I think we are reaching a point where some people are beginning to have difficulty in breaking apart concepts and really understanding the impact of what those ideas mean. This is a critical point because this is the essence of innovation.

 I don't want people to become mere consumers of data. I want them to grow from learning. As I write this, I am undertaking a mathematics course at brilliant.org some of it has been very challenging to get through. I usually spend at least an hour every morning, and currently it's closer to two hours just working on grasping the concepts. I really want to learn this, not just the mechanics of getting to the answer.

I think one of the reasons we are seeing the current trend of people just following whatever algorithms present to them in their media is because they have never learned the process of actually understanding and learning. (Related article on this blog: Learning and knowledge in the shadow of AI) Or at least knowing why some bit of information works. I went searching the other day for methods to improve my sites ranking on search engines. I've done all the basics but I also see that Google and presumably other search engines are not picking up many of the articles. When I investigate the Google search console one can see that there are many "redirection errors" and there shouldn't be. I volunteer in the IT sector specifically related to webpages. Something about the site is really throwing off Google's smart phone crawling robot. As I dug into the whole topic of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) I only came across scads of articles and websites recommending that I use, blindly, various AI tools. There was only one YouTube video which presented facts that I could check related to various HTML tags and I was able to verify that they were all correct in my site. So my quest will continue... But my point here is that what is happening to critical thinking?

I have nothing against AI (Artificial intelligence) to be clear. But I am very concerned about people's eagerness to avoid knowledge and just go for the answer blindly. They are indeed missing out on the fun of learning! When you really understand something your mind expands and the knowledge becomes applicable all over the place. It is a very empowering experience. Learning however does require you to slow down and maybe that is part of the issue here for people. They don't know how to slow down and develop extended attention spans.

Society needs to refocus on some core activity's especially for children so that the mind gets a chance to develop the skills of attention and builds the framework necessary for enjoyment and knowledge. When it works new knowledge is the ultimate "high".

This is what I suggest and please be aware that these are my opinions not necessarily backed up by empirical data.

• Children should not be given their own unsupervised smart devices like tablets and smart phones until about the age of 10. This would keep them off the train wreck of rapidfire media and allow them to develop an attention span beyond the one minute mark.
  
  
• This in turn would allow them to develop some thoughtfulness about their world and investigate in the real world. With other children and people.
  
  
• They would also get a chance to deal with difficulty on a real-time scale. Not all problems can be solved instantly.
   
• Side Note (March 8, 2025): *CBC Marketplace did a segment on "How gaming apps use your private data to track you" and part of the piece deals with how video games affect children. Running time 21 minutes.
  

Now I know that technology is everywhere and that some of these points are far too idealistic but they should be implemented in some way and indeed the adults can take this advice as well. Consider for a moment how you use your technology. Are you using it to open doors and expand your horizons or are you using it as a shortcut around thinking?

Bring back the joys of pondering something… Consider again the idea of sitting with a group of people and going at a problem saying "What If We Do This?… Will that work?" Think of all the great adventures that are brought us to this stage in societal evolution. We could not have arrived here without them. The skills they had were critical for them. These are skills we must rediscover.

This article may grow a bit larger but for this moment I will leave it there and look forward to your comments either here or on YouTube. Let's get into this shall we and expand our knowledge and understanding. 😄

Take care Patrick

*  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster. CBC produces "CBC Marketplace" Canada's consumer watchdog series since 1972.

Overthinking and Hidden Habits

 

Many years ago I read a book called "Using Your Brain for a Change" (I've mentioned that book previously on this blog because it is so good. See the article: "Do we all live in our own abridged reality?") One of the things it pointed out was you don't normally react to a situation it self, what you react to initially is your perception of the situation. That is, if you think a particular food is going to taste bad then it very likely will.

Using Your Brain--For a Change:
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
By Richard Bandler

Publisher: Real People Press
Year : 1985
ISBN numbers: 9780911226263, 9780911226270, 0911226265, 0911226273

• Listing on WorldCat Library index
•  Listing on Google Books

People tend to bring their reality into alignment with their belief system. And one's belief system can be very, very powerful. But many of us don't realize it, because our belief system is not often scrutinized. For the most part it's on autopilot and doing what ever it likes. It's also very fast, especially when taking the form of an emotion. In such a case, your conscious mind has been conditioned to just follow along. Whether you like it or not.

So the first thing to do is pay attention to how aware you are of your surroundings. This is the beginning step of taking your self off autopilot. Just stop right now for example, and take stock of what there is to notice. Do this a few times throughout the day. Then consider if you have any opinions about what you've noticed:

•  Is there anything you would like to change?
• Are there any unexpected reactions to your environment when you actually pay conscious attention to it?

Just this simple act of taking yourself off autopilot can yield so much information. I recommend you don't go overboard but just pick one or two things to modify or perhaps make notes on.  

Now, for Those Hidden Habits:

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you have a straightforward task to perform and yet even before starting you fear that you will fail to complete it?

Taking an initial great idea and becoming overly worried about it because of perceived fear some aspect is going to have a greater impact in reality than it usually does. This habit has an effect that I bet you never thought about.

It keeps you from taking a risk, and risk is built into all new endeavours. Even though you may become this frustrated as hell. It is possible that subconsciously part of you is relieved. The trouble is unless you address what you are feeling and begin to deconstruct it, this automatic "kill switch" will just keep firing whenever a new endeavour or idea wonders by.

I talked with many people were very frustrated because in their own words "I can never get anything off the ground. The more I try the more frustrated I become a mineralogist give up." After a little more investigation most of the time it is revealed that they start with the initial idea and then they keep building requirements on to it. Before they know it may become overwhelmed.

The thing to do in this situation is take the first simple and thereby doable version of the idea and implement that. Instead of trying to get the concept perfect. This is one of the best ways to start things. Frequently, my article start with the simplest of ideas and rather than waiting until I got some sort of Mangum openness, I type the first sentence into the online editor of my blog. That gets me going, and because it actually creates a draft entry of the article on the site it makes it just a little bit more real. Now, not all ideas come to fruition. Sometimes I find other sites covering the same topic and doing much better job. In which case I may simply reference them in an later article. Sometimes what seemed as a great idea doesn't hold water the next day. It's is all part of my creative process. The big point here is that you start with whatever you've got.

This also conditions you to not overthinking everything and actually getting something off the ground. Over 12 years ago when I started this blog it sat dormant for many years and then one day boat four years ago I just decided to start adding content and now we are at 165 articles. They are not all by any means literary masterpieces, but slowly and surely I am getting better at this and the monthly views are following suit. At this point in time I can't even remember why I started the site and that doesn't matter. What matters is I enjoy what I'm doing and I know in a small way I am adding content and value to the good old Internet😀

So don't think too much about a new idea but take steps toward a small goal as fast as you can. That helps keep it real and gets you going on whatever the adventure is.

The other thing I hear a great deal when talking with people is ingrained automatic habits that they are barely aware of . These habits can have great effects both positive and negative. Here's an example:

A coffee lover who has an important event in next day. Normally they enjoy their Java throughout the day. But in this case the night before and have to be alert at their event they drink double the amount of coffee. Because that is what to do when they're nervous. Of course but they don't always realize is that they are guaranteeing themselves to have a bad night's rest. Breaking this little habit for them is very challenging. They have relied on this mechanism for a long time. Even though it is totally counterproductive and works against them ultimately.

This same scenario can take different forms but you get the idea. Small little habits that don't seem to be harmful at all and yet if you're not totally aware of what you're doing these little routines can spell a guaranteed scuttling of your ship. So start tracking what you're doing will you go throughout your day especially when you're in stressful moments. I have a feeling you are going to find a few of these little habits kicking around and actually ingrained behaviour can become someone conscious that the only way you know it's there is because of your emotional reaction.

Take care,and as usual feel free to leave comments.

Patrick

To benefit from Challenge, Is the Meaning of Life.

 To benefit from Challenge, Is the Meaning of Life

In the last two days I have had several people sitting me things like "oh this is too hard..." or "this was supposed to be easy." and "I hate ' XYZ' because it is hard." (Implying that they won't even try doing the task because they perceive it to be difficult.)

Challenge and difficulty are essential components of life. Without them, a person over time will in some sense literally de-evolve, they will lose basic skills. This is a self evident statement. People were much better doing basic mathematics before the calculator as an obvious example. But we are now entering a time in society where people expect things to be easy all the time. This has me worried and honestly surprised.

Now, I understand the natural desire to take the simpler road, especially if it makes your life smoother, but just not all the time. The default choice must not be the path of least resistance. Difficulty has its benefits and they are usually long term. It keeps you engaged with the idea of growing, whether the perceived difficulty is undertaking a new field of study or doing something that is different and perhaps slightly uncomfortable, as most new things are.

It is not so much what you learn or experience, it is the tools you discover along the way which can be used in different contexts to solve other challenges. One can only be a good problem solver if they have run into a few problems in the first place. Personally I love a good challenge and my boss knows this 😀. Sometimes he will just give me a task and let me dig through it. I am very lucky to have a volunteer job which has the latitude built in to do this. That does not mean there are deadlines, it  means there is the breathing room to explore. 

I totally admit that, I like difficulty, with the qualification that said difficulty has to be meaningful and have a goal. At the very least there needs to be a possibility of resolution. The process as always is a learning process and that is what I really personally enjoy. I'm taking a computer science and Python course on Brilliant.org and I must admit I'm having a blast. It is nice to feel the brain cells "stretching" and hopefully multiplying in the process.

What I don't understand is why people now seem to be averse to learning and working through the process of gaining new knowledge. But some people really are reticent on this point. I have seen people get very angry and I honestly don't get their reaction. The human brain is ment to learn, but we appeared will learned a weird lesson, that the act of learning itself is not good… "What is going on?! " is my usual reaction. Where is this behaviour coming from? More importantly how can we turn people back on to learning and undertaking challenge?

Here are some answers that have occurred to me and of course, the list is incomplete and I may be totally wrong. Let me know in the comments.

• People need to take some time to get to know their reflexive behaviours. To question why they are having said reaction. In short get to know themselves a little bit better. This does not mean they have to become a Buddhist monk or undertake some grand therapy. Just not be so externalized. Stop reacting instantaneously to everything around themselves and ask is the reaction doing anything positive for themselves. Then they can understand why they are resistant to undertaking a challenge.
  
  
• Think about what the end goal is. If it is too vague like "I want to make money easily." Then it would be impossible to start because there is no central idea and thereby no way to know when you're at the end of the goal. Keeping a task vague guarantees to keep it difficult. If you find yourself in this situation take a look at why you are being so big in the first place about the idea. This point relates to other points in this list but it cannot be understated.
  
  
• Getting over their biases against difficulty. Yes, some things are just difficult and rather than complaining about it being difficult one just has to undertake what ever the activity is. Sometimes to discover that once started the perceived challenge is not such a big deal. But they do have to start the process.
  
  
• Things take time to accomplish. Especially if it involves changing preconceptions, and one may have to start with very small steps. The trick here is to keep one's eye on the goal. If the goal is to vague then I suggest putting it down to something definable.
  
  
• Lastly make a plan on what to do if something interrupts this process. 

 

Often it's as simple as making a promise to yourself that should something get in the way temporarily that you will just pick up where you left off. It may take a few tries before you see progress toward resolving the challenge. All good things are worth fighting for.😀

 

I had a friend who for many years wanted to write a science fiction story and had aspirations of selling thousands of copies of their literary masterpiece. The trouble less than ever sat down and went through the above list, rather they always spoke about the ultimate outcome. This went on for years until eventually they just gave up. When I reflected on this memory it was obvious that they never told me what the story was about, and I didn't realize it at the time because of all the enthusiasm they showed.

So if I had to boil all this down to one point, I would say: "Embrace the Difficulty!"

 

 

I have made the following 21.6 x 27.94cm (8.5 x 11 inch) poster which prints nicely on a standard sheet of paper. Feel free to download and print it. Clicking on the image will download the 9 MB JPEG image file from my Google Drive. It is detailed enough to enlarge well beyond that paper size as well

Okay that about does it for this article. Feel free to watch the included video it covers essentially the same thing.

Take care Patrick

How Do You Make Decisions?

 Have you ever considered the nuances that make up your decision-making process? Particularly the subtler influences, mood, personal biases, and perhaps the time available to make the decision.

This idea occurred to me while I was working on some course material for of all things in computer science class. Some of the exercises I would solve an entirely different way and what was given as the official answer. This really got me thinking about all the factors that go into the thousands of decisions everyone makes each day. We all have our own. Background routines at run almost unconsciously as we approach each situation. Most of the time we are blissfully unaware of the machinery it gets us to the answer.

On those days when one feels exceptionally focused and together the quality of the decision-making process also improves. It is surprising that more emphasis on what goes in to a person's process isn't talked about early in school. Because after all one's decisions are the fundamental building blocks of one's life.

Being aware of what makes up your own decision-making processes is a very powerful thing indeed. Especially if you take control of the subtle emotions and biases. Fiat the next time you find yourself faced with a decision. Look at what is really being brought together in your mind. Have you ever had this happen to you:

You are put in a situation abruptly (usually something new and unexpected) and for whatever reason you feel that you cannot deal with it successfully and therefore a mental block is produced. It becomes a self-fulfilling situation. But if a similar circumstance occurs at a moment when you're feeling really good about the day somehow a solution is arrived at or at the very least you are not so negatively impacted by an unsuccessful outcome.

What are the differences in those two situations? I think basically the answer to it is understanding the influences particularly emotional ones. I do know that the more present you are in any given situation the better the outcome is. The other step to take is turning off your personal autopilot with familiar situations. Just because a particular situation is very familiar to you doesn't mean that you shouldn't review and be aware of your emotions and actions for that circumstance.

Just food for thought. As always let me know what you think in the comments.
Patrick

Promoting optimism: The Glass Is Half Full!😀

This article is about optimism of the individual, but the ideas can be applied to groups.

Have you ever considered that the way you feel at any given moment is the way you think you should feel in that situation?

Think about this situation: Unexpectedly a dear friend who you haven't seen in many years calls you up. Instantly there is a feeling of joy and excitement. Now when you think about it, that feeling of happiness is not occurring due, to the fact that your dear friend is calling you up. It has to do with the decision you made when you realized who it was on the phone. You decided it was a good time to feel joy. On the other hand, if a bill collector calls, you may feel the exact opposite and again it is not the bill collector's call, it's your decision on how to feel in that context. 

It is amazing when one begins to realize how much control you really have over emotions. But we are not taught to think of it that way. Most people behave as though the reaction it's outside of their control. But the reaction and indeed the interpretation of any given situation is fully within your control. So why not promote optimism as you go through your daily life. It not only will improve your well-being, it will also deepen your understanding of other people and indeed society.

 

"The reaction and indeed the interpretation of any given situation is fully within your control."

You are the decision-maker of interpretations.

Consider "political correctness" movement and its variants, it is not the words that are the issue, it is the value and interpretation you give to the situation. So you might as well put a positive spin on it or simply ignore whatever words are used and look for the intent of the message. Society can either choose to promote positiveness or it can go down the other road. The choice is really up to the individual and the group they are involved with.

Promoting a state of being positive it's really about taking the time to get involved with your self on an intimate level. Turn off the autopilots and consider what attracts you or repels you in any given situation. Once you figure that out you might as well start selling an optimistic outlook to your self and others. I live in an assisted living building and many people here lament that they were once able-bodied and are no longer. I remind them that rather than focusing on what they lost they should when possible look at your new situation and embrace it. They may have lost mobility but they have gained support (Our building actually has a doctor who makes house calls) The staff here would do almost anything in support of the people they work with. I know this because they have moved heaven and earth when it comes to enabling me to do various projects like repair a computer. Physically I'm slow and my coordination is in great. One day I had a computer here the needed a new Bluetooth card. I was able to direct the staff on how to put the cart in the machine and everything turned out wonderfully.

The point is, you can choose your outlook and interpretation of almost everything. Promoting optimism seems like a very useful thing to do. In the next few moments it will probably be an opportunity for you to choose how to interpret a situation. Analyse the reaction or the decision made and decide with you can put a positive spin on it. These opportunities occur many times each day and often we are barely aware of them. Treat these events as opportunities to see the glass half full rather than half empty. It is an amazing and ongoing journey.

Don't you agree?… Let me know in the comments.

Patrick

N.B. Due to technical issues, this post was written literally live online between December 29 to the 31st 2024 inclusive. The text was subject to change between those dates. 

How to Cultivate Patience: A Personal Journey.

Image generated by Ideogram AI.

 First, let's define what I consider "patience" to me:

1. It is not just the willingness to wait for something to complete or happen.
2. It is about being comfortable and open to the passage of time.
3. It is about understanding that people and things occur at different rates.
4. It is also about understanding one's self and others around you.

That last point  (number 4 ) is really interesting and important. If you find yourself in the state of being impatient. That means that something about the situation you are in is bothering you and it is not usually as apparent as you first may think.

When I was in my mid-20s even though due to a disability I was physically slower, I would frequently get angry at people who didn't understand concepts as quickly as I could. This was missed place frustration at the physical limitations imposed by my condition. It took a long time, but what I finally discovered was the key for me is that you must be willing to go beyond your personal perceptions and consider for a moment the larger picture. Once I properly understood my physical frustrations, the impatient situations began to decrease.

So when you feel impatient about something, take a moment to look at your bigger picture. I bet you will find that there is some other component not being addressed. This is actually a very big lesson to learn: To continually alter the way you look at things. It is actually a good habit and one worth developing.No one likes to go outside of their comfort zone, so this lesson did take me a long time to really "get".

Judgements about people can also manifest as impatiences. To cover the fact that we are judging someone we simply feel impatient. Here, the answer is to look inside oneself to see what is motivating any particular feeling.

Learn not to take things personally. You are not the centre of the universe. Adults and children are spending far less time with each other in social activities. So we get used to dramatic feedback in everything from games to YouTube and this can result in a very insecure personality. Emotionally such individuals develop a need to be focused upon all the time. This is a recipe for disaster. Conversely if one understands that they are part of a larger community and that communities go through various cycles and changes you will find that there is no need to get an "Attention-Hit".  So turn off the computer and spent some time with your fellow human beings. The insecurity will disappear replaced by a healthy sense of balance.

The more you understand about your self, the more you will grow and the more you will learn. The ability to be patient will grow and grow. You will also know when on occasion to not be patient. The point is you will know what true patience is.

As with all things in life, cultivating "patience" takes effort and commitment. For some of you it will not come easily because it will inevitably involve challenging yourself and your belief systems on some level. To truly understand what patience is, is indeed a journey. I can guarantee you that as you go through life your definition will change. But it is well worth the ongoing undertaking.

As always, feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think. Take care,
Patrick

** NOTE: The pictures "Image generated by Ideogram AI" displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

 

Is difficulty what keeps you going?

Image generated by Ideogram AI.

 This is going to be a very short post because it is essentially just a question which hints at an answer.

Literally, if you can appreciate it, is difficulty in itself the thing that keeps people going and engaged with the life?

It seems that whenever people make their lives easier or more convenient there is ultimately a long term loss either physically, mentally, or emotionally. On the other hand whenever healthy challenge is present the human being tends to stay engaged and be more resilient. To give you an example:

Before voice dictation existed I would happily spend days at the typewriter. However I made a decision at some point that in order to increase my output voice dictation would be a good idea so when it finally matured sufficiently to be useful I switched. Now I find myself being very uncomfortable whenever I have to physically write something even if it is typing. It feels like a rusty skill. The same goes with basic mathematics, we all use calculators of one sort or another now. As I look at the modern world I begin to wonder if in making things to easy we have lost much more than is apparent. I have also discovered that climbing back up the proverbial mountain is much harder once you let go of the skill.

I challenge you to spend the day doing math manually, or pick a skill of your choosing. I would really like to hear your thoughts on this. I don't know if I'll do a video for this because I think at this point the text says it all.

Feel free to write some comments on this one. I have a feeling we are about to find out that it is indeed worth keeping some difficulty in your life.

Patrick

** NOTE: The pictures "Image generated by Ideogram AI" displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

Too Used to Feeling Comfortable

 

The debating team

Have you noticed in the last 10 years or so that people are becoming very uncomfortable with being "Uncomfortable"? I mean people seem to want no controversy in their life at all. While this sounds good from a philosophical point of view, I believe it has a very negative impact in the long run.

It is through conflicts and uncomfortable situations that we often have a chance to learn about ourselves. People get to ask those questions "Why do I feel this way?" That simple short question can lead to a lot of self-discovery. When you deal with the feeling or uncomfortable situation you get to confront and no the deeper aspects of the self.

It is human nature to want to feel comfortable and safe. But taken to extremes we are robbing ourselves of the opportunities to grow and mature. When I was very young I remember hearing my parents talk about debating teams. (The "debating teams" link will take you to https://debatingmatters.com/ a website where you can find all the information you need about setting up your own team. This was just some quick research I have not fully reviewed the destination site but it looks very informative.) These would be groups of people that would get together and they would deliberately take opposing views on any issue. Then they would spend the night trying to win the debate. Sometimes it would get quite heated. But always in the spirit of exploration and understanding. Regardless of who won the debate.

People and indeed society seemed to therefore be going backward. Rather than embracing challenge and being uncomfortable when necessary we seem to be demanding that we are never made to feel awkward or to go outside of what is considered politically correct. This is a great disservice to our mental health and growth in the long run because we are not preparing ourselves for change, the natural evolution of things.

This is going to be a very short post simply because the point of this text is so straightforward and clear. Challenge is needed in everyone's life, and let's face it, no one can really escape feeling uncomfortable all the time. What bothers me is that we have made being comfortable and politically correct and end goal he knew of deeper consideration and thoughtfulness.

Let me know what you think
Patrick

FYI: In the title of this post I use the verb " Used to". I've always wondered about the use and spelling of this phrase. Well, if you too, have been confused here is the answer about how and when it should be applied

** NOTE: Some of pictures in this article were generated by Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Disability from an optimist's point of view

 

 "Don't seek comfort and conformity in your world. Seek to engage  the world."

Most people spend a fair bit of time and indeed their life, trying to differentiate themselves from what they perceive as "The Rest of Us". Sometimes this effort works out and sometimes it does not.

Now if you're born "disabled", and feel free to insert whatever terminology you want to put in there for whatever condition or situation you are in. We are different from the get go. "A limited run", "A one-of-a-kind… The descriptions and labels could go on and on.

But for me, and I really mean this,  disability is an opportunity in disguise. I look at the normal world and I see most people not taking advantage of the great options that are right there in front of them. I speculate, and this is only my speculation, that they never had to think outside of the box. They never had to become good problem solvers. Whereas being different, and having challenges forces you to engage with the world as it is. The world is not going to adjust to me for being different. So one must be very creative, and stretch whatever boundaries exist.

As I have grown older I have become very aware of the benefits inherent in challenges.

I don't want things simple and I don't want things easy. However I despise meaningless effort. If something is going to be difficult and it darn well better be difficult with a good goal. This is an important point because as long is there is a positive goal inherent in the challenge then the individual will be given an opportunity to grow. Whether they take advantage of that opportunity is another matter entirely and probably an additional article on the blog at some point.

Now, I know there's an infinite range in regards to disability, from the minor to the utterly devastating. I don't want to reduce any condition or state of life to an overly simplified point of view. But that being said, if you are different or see yourself as disenfranchised in any way, rather than falling down the stereotypical black hole of disadvantage and/or despair. 

Take your differences and work with them. This is where ideas truly come from and thereby so does opportunity.

At almost 65 years of age, I can say unequivocally that I would never want to be normal and that is especially true in the 21st century. People who are born now, may not have the early exposure to the effort needed to expand their horizons. Young minds who simply go online to find a predigested answer to a question. They may never get a chance to really explore and find out why something is the way it is. That puts them at a great disadvantage because a person must learn to think at a fairly early age in order to really take advantage of life. Yes, one can do it at any age but it is so much more effective the earlier one undertakes these challenges. Same goes for the amount of time invested in some undertaking. I myself have to fight my own shrinking attention span. Yet look back less than 100 years and you find people undertaking complex disciplines and working of the answers using only their minds and paper. That means that they truly understood the concepts they were evolving and in that process they gained resilience and depth in their understanding.

Use the gift of technology and the coming artificial intelligence revolution in the best way possible. If automation has make your life easier then use that freedom to continue to explore other avenues. Do not just stay a consumer of technology and or the environment. Seek a little difficulty. Make it something slightly uncomfortable, so that you have to work at it. This will help keep you alive on so many levels...

In short:

"Don't seek comfort and conformity in your world. Seek to engage  the world."

One of the things that really surprised me when I moved into my assisted living facility was the lack of motivation of all the tenants. I on the other hand treated as a godsend, rather than being tied down with the various energy sapping necessities which are required to make it through the day, the staff greatly reduce my physical strain. Leaving me with a lot of free time to explore all sorts of avenues. Which is what I've done and will continue to do till the very last day of my life. So apparently I'm a bit of an outlier because I thought that everyone who has their burdens of life reduced would naturally explore what ever interested them. However are stuck in a rut of their own making. Bizarrely they use their own intellect to maintain the status quo. This is something I really do not understand…

Well I will keep trying to motivate everyone around me because life is just too short to waste. Hopefully the articles that I now post will leave some of my audience thinking and the other us smiling. I would like to publish more articles however time and energy just do not permit at this moment of my life. My ultimate goal is to increase the quality of these articles a great deal. That however takes time which is why I am not publishing is much as I used to compared to early last year.

There will be a video with this post but I can't tell you exactly what it will be because I am just about created it and at this very moment there are lots of ideas along the vein of "Disability from an Optimistic Point of View." So let's see if I can surprise myself.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. And come back to this article in the next day or two because I will be adding or reediting parts. It's just that kind of weekend. (In other words I'm running out of time.)

Take care Patrick

** NOTE: Some of pictures in this article were generated by Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Do you notice the times when you're happy?

Some of my father's wood carvings.
Circa 1995.

My father would often cloister himself away, to work on his many art projects, be it carving, drawing, painting, creating figurines of the Plaster of Paris etc.… He definitely knew when he was happy.

We often go through out our day noticing when things are not going right and usually are very aware of the impact it has. How often are you aware when you're happy throughout the day? Do you actually noticed the moments when you are happy as much as those times when you are negatively impacted? If the world is so busy counting the negatives, perhaps it is time to take pause and count the positives.

I am guilty of this as well. Although I do my darndest to catch these darker moments and events and balance them out with a clear perspective. Here's an example:

When I bought a bottle of wine, even if it's a screwtop, I am very aware that usually getting it open takes a little bit of planning. This is due to a disability I have, Cerebral Palsy, usually I put on rubber gloves to increase my grip and give the bottle a few tries before the lead cracks open. But occasionally the bottle opens without effort and I am instantaneously very pleased. But how long do I hold onto that memory?-This is the question. So today I'm going to make a conscious effort to notice the things that go right. At the end of the day I will look back and see what I feel about things. It is also very appropriate that it's Friday. That in itself always brings a smile to my face. This particular file goes way back to when I was a child and it meant the end of the school week was near. Even though I liked school, the weekend was always much better. Full of adventure 😌.

So, that's it then, let's all take some time to notice when we are happy and then reflect on that at the end of the day and see how we feel. The video with this incredibly short article goes into more detail and I can tell you that by the end of it I was feeling pretty darn good 😁!

There may be a follow-up video because I intend to keep this positive idea of being aware of my own positive events going for at least a week and then I will report back. So this article will get longer.

For now take care and enjoy the video. May it bring something nice to your day.
Patrick Clark

The Art of Being Happy.

There are of course many articles written on the art of being happy. This text however will be different it is a much more personal journey as I attempt to look at what happiness is for me and perhaps for you. There will of course be a video at some point. (It'll probably be just below this paragraph as Google loves videos to peer near the beginning of a piece so that users don't have to scroll very far😁

Step 1: Get Real, Stop the Mental Autopilot

I did an article and video almost exactly a year ago dealing with just this.-The article is called "Presence of Mind". To summarize the article you have to pay attention to what you are doing mentally. When everything is done by routine we almost immediately stop listening to the internal dialogue but we don't stop listening to the overall message. If that messages negative or in other ways untrue we still accepted as fact on an emotional level and that of course impacts everything.

Step 2: Stop Saying "Yes." To Every Task; Pair down Your To Do List.

I have a tendency to say "Certainly, I can do that.", because I like to accomplish things and help people in the process, or at least that's what I like to tell myself. But I think the truth is closer to something like this is how we validate ourselves or temporarily make ourselves happy. Well, the second step is to stop doing just that. A single person can only do so much and even though you and I may love to be involved in everything. In order to accomplish anything the tasks must be manageable. They must allow you to have breathing room. So since the goal is to be happy, let's say for today you must have the room and time to do it. If you look at very creative people they guarded their time jealously. (See the article "Intuition and the Curious Mind" )

 Step 3: Happiness Is Not External, it's internal And You Have To Own It.

This one a big one, which must be clearly understood. Happiness does not come to you. It is something you'll create by being involved and taking responsibility for how you feel. Yep, you have to work at it and it is only temporary. Which means you have to keep working at it and be willing to put in the effort. The details of this sobering paragraph are that you have to figure out your own personal mechanism to find happiness. Start with identifying why you may be unhappy. Separate the things you cannot change from the things you can. It may be necessary to change your self. Many people think they can attain something without changing themselves. Humanity was literally built on the idea of constant change. If you are unhappy at this very moment and then you manage to make your self happy you will not be the same person.

Click picture to view/download full
resolution printable copy.

This artwork is hereby placed in the
public domain and is based upon material
in the public domain. Patrick Clark

So happiness is really a voyage of discovery and effort. It has very little to do with external things. You definitely cannot buy happiness; you could only buy distraction at the end of the day you must deal with your self. Therefore embrace change and effort.

Step 4: The Discovery

So happiness is really a voyage of discovery and effort. It has very little to do with external things. You definitely cannot buy happiness; you could only buy distraction, and  at the end of the day you must deal with your self. Therefore embrace change and effort.

Very often as you get closer to feeling happier, and you find with some astonishment that there is resistance. Human beings don't fundamentally like to change regardless of how miserable or positive there are normal is. The key thing to remember is that you are not trying to win an achievement. There is no plateau. More accurately, what you are doing is making minor alterations to your outlook one step at a time. Be prepared to practice and be very honest with yourself during this ongoing journey. At some point you will be astonished how happy you are.

Step 4.5: Keep Track of Your Discoveries

Most often a "lack of happiness" can be defined as a lack of knowing one's self. The more you understand about the person you are, the more you can address and make changes. Following the above steps will literally make you a happier person. Because you understand more about your self and it is an ongoing journey. It is not a simple task to be happy it is much easier for some people to be miserable because all they have to do is ignore the things that would make them happy. Which is to change what they are doing in some way.

So start digging around and considering the particular situation you find yourself in. You may not feel the change a lot of things but at the very least you can change how you interpret and react to any given event.

Take care have a great day Patrick

Finding motivation… It can always be found at the "Start".

Mont Blanc seen from Les Arcs in 1950
Untouched  photo by  Dmottl
Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed

Have you ever had one of those moments when you just can't get motivated? Of course we all of had this happen it can often initially be a very frustrating thing. What people in North America and indeed the modern world forget is that when you are in this state of not being able to be motivated there are often preconditions you are placing on your "Motivation". In other words you are putting blocks in the way waiting for a certain set of conditions to be true before allowing yourself to be motivated.

Sometimes we think too much. We can get caught up in thinking so much that we never allow ourselves to just start the project. Or allow ourselves to start any activity. Indeed that is one of the tricks, if you can't start the big item that you want to be motivated about. Start something smaller or different. Actually this is why I created this short video attached to this blog post. I was having trouble getting motivated this morning so I decided to start with a video and sort of talk myself through the process. Four minutes later, because that's all it took to make the video, I am now feeling motivated 😀 and ready for the day.

The video simply says this in a nutshell: If you're having trouble finding motivation for your big idea, start on something different or smaller and that most likely will give you the motivation and momentum you need to work on the bigger idea.

And with that said I will now start my day! Hopefully this very short article and video will be of usefulness to you or at least allow you to start your day with a smile. Because you and I can do it. Whatever it is we need done, can be done!

Have a great day Patrick

 

Intuition and the Curious Mind.

This is got to be one of the most important aspects in doing well with life. By doing "well with life"I mean your own personal satisfaction from your own unique point of view.

The curious mind is a brain in which you are consciously engaged with. It is almost a discussion, a positive feedback loop. Sometimes it can be very quick following a train of thought rapidly down the tracks, while at other times, it can be deep pondering perhaps only one aspect of a greater thought. It can become quite euphoric. Especially if one experiences some insight. The classic "Ah Ha!" moment. It makes you feel like a kid again. Einstein said it best and I'm paraphrasing here "Genius is childhood rediscovered.".

So how do we cultivate this; what are some of the things we need to ensure are in place so that the curious mind and intuition flourish?

 

The following ideas are strictly for my own perspective.

• You must be free from the burden. That is you must have a place both physically and mentally where you are not distracted or thinking about other responsibilities. It is actually a healthy requirement that you set aside a period of time or days when the rest of the world does not need your attention. No answering the cell phone or checking anything online unless it has to do with whatever project or idea you are delving into. Preferably this free space is a long enough that you can really indulge.
  
  
• No distractions. This one is very important, there can be no interruptions. Interruptions break the train of thought and can seriously derail inspiration. Inspiration occurs when you give it space.
  
  
• Ensure that your environment is comfortable and stimulating to your way of thinking and feeling. It is not easy to get into the flow of creativity if you are in a dark cave ( unless that is what you're into).

Follow these three steps and I have a feeling you will not only find inspiration. Your brain and body will be also in better health. Simply because you will allow yourself to be your self. For me it kind of synchronizes things. It changes my hold state of mind and mood. It definitely brings back any lost energy. Almost by definition intuition will tend to spontaneously occur if you can create the right environment.

Have a great day! Patrick

Which came first, "The Word" or the "Message" it conveys?

Image based on photo by  Lauren Mcalary
under CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed license.

This is a very spontaneous, and probably very short article. It is so off-the-cuff that I really don't know how long it will end up being.

Over the last few years I have noticed people becoming more and more for lack of a better term "Phrase Sensitive". I had been involved with a few meetings lasting several hours each debating which terms are more appropriate for a given situation. Now before I go any further please do not misunderstand this is not the standard rebuttal about being overly politically correct. However, I do want to question why people seem to be so transfixed and often uncomfortable about terminology.

To my way of thinking the totality of the message you are conveying is much more important than the words you used to convey that information. In other words, it's the message that is important and not the phrasing. When I think about it by making things completely acceptable we are in danger of creating a society which does not know how to deal with diversity. Diversity is the very engine which drives evolution and change. People should not be afraid of this aspect of life. Indeed they should embrace it, because that is where new things are found out.

Do not pay attention to the individual words and phrases used in any monologue; rather look at the greater message. That is what you hold society and people accountable to.

I have a challenge for you. 

Spend a day saying exactly what you mean. Of course you can tell your friends and colleagues ahead of time that this is an experiment. You don't want to freak them out, but you do want to get them to pay attention to the complete meaning behind your words. Being blindly politically correct only serves to introduce ambiguity into communication. While saying specifically what you mean not only clarifies it for those around you but makes you pay attention to the message itself.

This could also have a very beneficial effect on everyone who engages with you, because it tends to lay bare routines we have for communicating quickly which are not very effective. It is an opportunity to really look at meetings and words.

Taking this a step further you could record your conversations and dialogue throughout the day. When listening to it back, pay particular attention to how you phrase things and the words you used. Did they match the idea you were trying to convey? Did you feel an emotional impact?

We are all so busy. The art of conversation and really conveying I thought is getting lost to some extent, because of two things essentially: 1. We tend nowadays to use the word that is appropriate but not accurate. 2. We make assumptions that are definition of the word is the same as the other persons. This is especially true when we deal with politically correct phrases. Have you ever been in a meeting and heard a phrase used over and over again which has never been truly explained to you. You have a "general idea"… And if that's the case other people may be in the same boat. This is not a good situation for clear communication and cooperation.

So which did come first, "The Word" or the "message" it conveys?

Take care Patrick

Is your physical health somewhat directed by your attitude?

(Updated May 23, 2024)

 Is your physical health at least partially determined by your attitude towards your situation in life?

If we assume the answer to that question is: "Yes" then we must consider the degree to which that is true, and I believe that the influence one can exert on one's body is far more nuanced and adaptable then maybe many people consider.

 I'm not talking about your mood here, I am talking about your expectations of health. To present a real life example, right now I'm 64 years old and when I grew up everyone assumed that at that age it was the beginning of the decline in life. No one ever stated it specifically but it was definitely implied. So with that pre-programming I find personally that there is a physical adaption going on to bring those perceptions and reality. How do I know that I am in control of this to some degree? The subtle symptoms tend to appear after a thought and not before. It really makes you wonder "How You Are Driving Your Own Bus And Where You Are Driving It to." This, indeed is one of those topics that is so subtle in some regards and so hard to convey. (I feel a video coming on and it will be linked below).

It really makes one consider what our expectations are of society and roles and how far we may go to bring ourselves into accordance with those accepted outlooks. This is definitely one of those discussions you could have with a group of people and the answers would be diverse indeed. Right now I would love nothing better than to get together with friends to really hash this out.

The abilities of the human mind and body continually astounds me. But an included instruction manual would've been nice. To put it more directly, "There Is More to Being Human, then we first thought."

Indeed, I think that in modern society anyway, one's emotions are more in control of the body then the intellect is. I suspect this is due partially because we are just not taught too much about the emotional side of being human. If you start to explore this question for yourself it can be a double edged sword because as you get in touch with your emotional side you can both positively and negatively have an effect. Depending on what your core beliefs are deep down. This can make things much more complicated and I can say personally I have been there and done that. In the video I touch on this but not to the extent I now think it deserves. So there may be a part two in the works at some point. That has to do with feedback and how much time I can allot to the project.

There are many aspects to a blog and a video which take big chunks of time and considerable research even if the video ends up looking a little unprofessional still. I am on a learning curve and in dealing with hardware that wasn't quite designed for this purpose. Anyway let's get back on track…

Actually now that I consider it I think if one were fully "synchronized" with the conscious and emotional sides, share would pretty much disappear. At least as far as predicting the future of one's own life. You would be okay with the person you are because you would have explored a great deal throughout your life.

... And I bet there would be health benefits. As a matter fact I'm sure of this and I usually don't come out this forcefully without considering a great deal of detail about what I'm talking about. I think it could be said that the exploration of one's emotions as it relates to one's physical life is indeed the process of writing one's own instruction manual.

The video on this post goes into more depth on the topic.

What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment. Take care and have a great day.
Patrick

 

** NOTE: Some of pictures in this article were generated by Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Things that get in the way of efficient use of your time.

Photo © by Mark Cartwright, Text added by Patrick Clark.
Copyright holder has published this content under the license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.

Before I moved in to my current supported living residence, which is actually great in terms of the physical and emotional supports, I took something for granted. When I was living on my own I didn't acknowledge or really appreciate what a grand gift large blocks of uninterrupted time were. Enough time and quiet environment to fully indulge in whatever activity the creative mind was drawn to.

Now my day is segmented into relatively short blocks, at the most three hours long. What a difference those divisions make especially when you're researching something or problem-solving. Which is in my book the number one thing that can get in the way of productive use of your time. So if you have such an asset, don't squander it. Rather appreciate just how powerful such a serene environment can be. Every once in a while, usually by accident I get a larger than normal block of time and it definitely brings back memories of sitting at my desk building a project at four in the morning. I may have started it in the early evening but I knew then that I could just go fulltilt at whatever my goal was. That knowledge was liberating.

The second thing that can get in your way is having too much on your mind. To be truly creative and "in the zone" one has to be able to let go of the other aspects of their life for a while. As much as I would love to be able to do 10 things at once, in order to be effective and produce quality results I must not try to do everything. So number three on the list is that you have to choose your goals and commitments carefully. If you try to do everything, nothing will get done, and most definitely not to a good standard even if you manage to succeed in all your undertakings. This is probably going to be a new lesson for the next generation as well. Nothing can replace the investment of time, mind and energy. So recognizing that fact, in itself, can free up more of your creative mind.

As one gets older, you realize that your time is not infinite so that anything you apply time and investment to needs to be of real value, either to you or the society at large. You must get something out of it. I watched a brief video in which Neil DeGrasse Tyson was being interviewed about his early educational experiences and although some might consider him a polymath it was very clear that he made choices and considered the weight of each with respect to his ultimate goals.

This does not mean you have to miss an opportunity. But what it does indicate is that you must have each opportunity in acceptable proportions in your life. You can't do it all, but you can definitely sample and decide how much of your finite energy and effort you want to apply to that particular aspect of experience.

Getting to know a little bit about your own personal psychology is also very useful. Many people never take the time to really look at their own personality and the way they actually deal with themselves. In North America, at least the society tends to be very reactive or very introspective. The extreme in either direction is not useful ultimately, you need both to anchor each other. One of the best things I ever did was take a year-long cognitive therapy course in which the group met once a week. Just learning to pay attention to oneself and what is going on within you and the external environment. Taking that perspective and bouncing it off others tends to give one a far greater understanding of society and humanity in general. This cannot be overstated and developing this awareness is one of the most powerful and rewarding tools you can ever undertake to learn.

I find it rather amazing that the educational system does not have this built into every child's curriculum at some point. If you take one thing away from this short article this last paragraph about cognitive therapy, outward and inward perspectives is the most important in making an efficient use of your time and life. Because it will allow you to identify ultimately the inefficiencies and things in your way which you might not have otherwise understood or seen.

Take care Patrick

Perceiving Your Perception: It is under your control.

 

For many years, and in hundreds of books there have been countless words written about "Perception" and how it is all important especially with regard to you and the rest of the world. To put it simply it is, how you see things. But there is very little consideration on what you consider perception itself to be and to what degree you can mould the construct of perception itself.

I first this may seem like cyclical thinking because, is not perception the very act of perceiving? Yes it is but like everything else under your control. It can be moulded, adjusted if you like, and it just knowing this that allows you to consider it on a much deeper level. What is perception to you? And just how often in your daily routine are you aware of perceiving something? If you are aware of the process as it actually unfolds you can begin to really zoom in on the origins of some of your emotions as well as physical factors you are experiencing.--- Are you aware of the experience right this moment as you read this article?

Most people in North America look forward to their morning coffee. Some may even smell the aroma as they think about what coffee is to them. The very fact that they can do that is due to their perception of what the perception of coffee is. Now you can start to take this apart and look at the various stages you go through as you think of something equally wonderful. What I'm really talking about here is developing the ability to take any experience and subdivided down to smaller levels, smaller degrees and in that process consider your relationship to the event by looking at pieces of the experience. This can give one the ability to really focus in and slow things down so that what was once invisible now begins to show itself. Whether your reaction is positive or negative this way of looking at things can allow you to really take the various stages of a reaction apart and by doing so alter future reactions.

Of course you can go overboard on this and start literally "splitting hairs" going down to finer and finer details well beyond the point of being useful. Don't get that distracted by this idea. Use it only to the point where you are getting some insights out of any given experience. It might be a good idea to write or record your thoughts as you consider some aspect of perception. Then revisited a few hours later or sometime down the road. Because then I enough will happen to you in the intervening time that you are perception will be different.

This short article is only the results of myself a few days ago while waking up realizing that my perception is my own making and that like a fractal image there is infinite detail and I can take it apart as long as I find the results useful. I wish I had been recording at the time this thought occurred to me because here I am five days later and I can remember the idea for this short article but not what I was considering a moment earlier which brought the to the idea of Perceiving One's Own Perception.

Hopefully this has made some sense, and cause you to pause and reflect on something.
Have a great day.
 If video is your preferred format, then here you go. I expand on this topic a little more. As always please leave comments or ideas below or on YouTube.

Patrick Clark