Approach Life As Though Your Brain Lived in a Fish Tank.

Image generated by Ideogram AI.

"If your brain lives in a fish tank, you might as well make it a party!"

People have always said: "The environment affects you, and you affect the environment." Whatever context you consider that statement in, planet wide or just your immediate surroundings, it means that changing one aspect affects everything else. It also means that you see everything through many "layers of filtering". This view of life has always reminded me of an aquarium. One small change in any aspect of the water, temperature or inhabitants, massively alters everything. Similarly each one of these acts like a filter when you observe the animals and indeed the aquarium as whole; it's all layers of filtering. When viewing the world with this point of view we can all be considered to have brains that live in fish tanks. Reality is heavily dependent on the context as a whole.

Okay, so if that's the case, let's take it one step further. I suggest you that any one of these multitudes of layers can be adjusted at any time by you. If someone is playing music that is not to your liking, rather than asking them to change the music, consider for a moment, what "layers"you are interpreting the situation through and adjust those. Consider why you are paying attention to the music in the first place. Think about it, no one is forcing you to pay attention to it. In the moment, choose to pay attention to something else. The very process of realizing that this layer of filtering can be adjusted may be very empowering. You are using the aspects of your own fish tank to your advantage.

This is an extreme simplification of life, but the central idea remains the same and it just as valid. All the layers of your interpretation can be changed at will and usually at any time you want. It's just that we are usually too preoccupied to stop and take the time and effort in order to manually change gears.--Yes we're back to my favourite topic of turning off the mental autopilot. Perhaps in years past when life was slower people naturally and there autopilot turned off, and probably were more aware of themselves, that we normally have time to appreciate today. But dammit, if they could do it so can society and people do it today.

That's it for this short little post. I hope it gives you something positive and perhaps wonderful to think about. Feel absolutely free to act on it. If your brain lives in a fish tank, you might as well make it a party!

Take care have a great day.
Patrick

** NOTE: The picture "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.

 

Can Moods Become Habit?

 

 "It Is Never Good To Go Through Life On Autopilot." 

Can a mood become an ingrained habit? That is to say, can a particular mood or state of mind become a default reaction to a given situation. More importantly, can one afford such a knee-jerk an automatic reaction in a healthy life.

To my mind it is kind of like handing over the driver's keys will mild form of enslavement particularly if the mood is a negative one. This is going to be a very short article or note I just thought just occurred to me. People frequently say "He woke up in a bad mood." I think if that happens regularly and without reflection on what's going on to perpetuate this state is a dangerous situation. Because the person is handing over responsibility for how well they will function in life to a belief. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They wake up in a bad mood and convince themselves there is nothing they can do about it and then the sages been set for the cycle to continue. Essentially because they literally expect to wake up in this negative mood.

I would like to put forward that this is a situation which the person cannot afford. One must not give in to habit or routine. It is much better to constantly be critical of a feeling and if they find that the state they are in is part of a pattern take the responsibility and action to change it. In this way one gets to know their inner workings and ultimately who they are. As I've said many times on this blog it is never good to go through life on autopilot or to follow a routine without considering the benefits and consequences of that routine.

Often people will tell me they don't have the time to reflect on their life or situation and use this as a rationale for not taking action. But you see, no one else can change your life other than you. This journey of understanding one's moods and motivations is an ongoing event throughout life. As you think and feel events, take each one as an opportunity to make a decision. In that way you are not governed by a mood but instead learn something about yourself and indeed those around you.

So if you woke up this morning in a bad mood, take the opportunity to see what can be changed about how you are feeling. My suggestion is as you analyse, right your thoughts and feelings down. This makes it a much more personal experience and you will be surprised about the avenues to a solution you find.

Have a great day!
Patrick

Can Depression Become a Habit?

 

Author of this article, Patrick Clark.

Can the depressive state some people fall into become a habit? --That is can it become the default behaviour when facing something the individual does not want to deal with. My initial answer to this question is a gut feeling of "Yes, it can become an automatic reaction." Over the course of the coming days and months this article will expand as I find related documents and topics either disproving or proving this question. In actuality it probably will be somewhere down the middle of the road, but we shall see.

My family, especially the males in my family, have all suffered bouts of serious depression, occasionally becoming clinical. So I'm very familiar with the question above. Currently I'm going through a mild depressive state and it annoys me because there are things I must do in life. Yet I have noticed that whenever I approach the actual task my emotions tend to tank. Today is no exception, and I have a large amount of paperwork waiting for me on my other desk. I really feel of resistance yet and I will get this done today. But it does annoy me having to go through this mental brick wall. Even five shots of pure espresso to didn't help the matter.

Just a thought on the spur of the moment... I decided to ask Chat GPT this question. Can Depression Become a Habit. Here is its response verbatim. Note remember this response is generated by an AI. To make it clear in the text is a different colour.

 Depression is a complex mental health condition influenced by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. While it's not accurate to characterize depression itself as a habit, certain behaviors and thought patterns associated with depression can become habitual over time. For instance, persistent negative thinking, social withdrawal, and avoidance of activities once found enjoyable can reinforce depressive symptoms, creating a cycle that's challenging to break.

Understanding these patterns is crucial in addressing depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and modifying negative thought patterns and behaviors. By recognizing these habits, individuals can work towards developing healthier coping mechanisms and breaking the cycle of depression.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, it's important to seek professional help. In Canada, resources such as the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) offer support and information. You can visit their website at https://cmha.ca/ for more details. Additionally, consulting with a healthcare provider can provide personalized guidance and treatment options.

Remember, reaching out for help is a vital step towards recovery, and support is available.

The following is most definitely my personal opinion. Depression can become a habit. A knee-jerk reaction, if you will to any sufficiently distressing situation. After all is the ultimate disconnection a method of letting go of all issues and responsibilities. Your subconscious doesn't care however if this hasn't any negative impact on your conscious mind. The subconscious just knows this is one way of immediately resolving the situation. Especially if it is something you truly don't want to do. Your mental circuit breaker has just blown wide open and you stop and so to speak.. Even if that means falling into the sea. You have changed things.

If an hypothetical "Operations Manual for the Human Brain" was ever written, it most certainly did not take into account the current environment the human brain and mind are currently in. It may be, trite to say but, life and society are moving so fast and there is so much information needed to be filtered and processed that evolutionarily it is just not prepared. Like a Commodore Vic 20 compared to a current smart phone it has not yet acquired the processing power meeting to keep up with things. Yet, in society's race to discover new things we have not considered this fact. Now, I am not saying we should slow down progress, what I am saying is we need to consider the impact before we bring something new to the party.

By not considering the impact of new technology and social change we end up overwhelming our minds and brains collectively. I remember many years ago I was working with a gentleman who was very excited to look up a new laser printer to his computer. Initially I got a phone call from him saying that the print out from the brand-new printer was very slow. When I took a look at the computer it was obvious what the problem was, the machine was ancient I think it actually might've been an early Pentium and of course whenever it needed to produce his company logo the amount of data he needed was just beyond what the old computer could produce at a reasonable pace. To be clear it worked, but you could have a coffee break in the time it took to print a single page.I believe this is the situation some people find themselves in now and it is no wonder that depression appears more frequently in modern society.

A partial solution to this is then not so much to slow down, rather it is to realize the impact life is having on the individual and make appropriate adjustments. Depression can show up when one least expects it but in my experience that means that things in one's life need to be paid attention to. "Timing is everything." as they say. 

An Aside: Artificial Intelligence Does Something Interesting with a Photograph. 

While trying to think up an image for the top of this article I decided to use a photograph of an atomic bomb exploding and render it through some AI software I have. What it came up with is so unusual that I just have to posted here

Image created using Vision FX 2.0  software 
by Distinct AI.

 I did give the AI a little direction saying that I wanted it rendered in a comic book style with saturated colours. My idea was to create something which depicted the "explosion/implosion of the mind" a person sometimes feels with depression.

Unfortunately I cannot display the original photograph due to copyright restrictions. Of course the above picture has no such restrictions, so feel free to download it and use it as you wish.

 

Even though that the feeling of depression can become a reaction to any sufficient the negative situation, this does not mean it set in stone. Reactions can be altered by changing a routine and the first step to that is to recognize that something has become a routine. Sometimes this is not the easiest thing to do in the moment, so we visited when the situation is different, perhaps later in the day. There are always ways to alter one's interpretation.

As always, feel free to leave comments. 

Take care, Patrick.

 

 

When Nothing Matters… Find Something That Does.

Imagine, that you are in the life situation where all your basic needs are met. All of the following items are optional, work, buying groceries, medical care, a place to live and money to spend. From my point of view, 99% of the people on earth would be overjoyed to have such a situation. When you think about it it would be the solution to most of life's problems. You would be absolutely free to do what ever you wanted, and let your creativity fly!… 

But what if a person was born into this situation? I have met people recently who are in this exact situation, and to be clear these are bright people, but they seem lost. These are adults in the ranges of 27 to their early 30s, who at the slightest problem will blow it out of proportion and are unable to conceive of the way to begin to address the issue. They just don't know where to start. They have no faith in themselves and there is a tendency to panic immediately. With all the free time available to them instead of taking advantage of the multitude of opportunities out in the real world they have become reclusive and overthink everything. I find myself saying to people in this situation:. "Just start. Don't try to be perfect in your analysis of the issue. Just begin with what you think might work. If it doesn't, try a different approach."

Human beings I fervently believe, need legitimate challenges and problems. To be clear, this is not a negative. By overcoming and going through the process of understanding what works for oneself the person inevitably grows. For this to work however, one must have some procedure for dissecting and understanding parts of the issue. This comes usually early in life dealing with small problems and slowly over time tackling bigger ones. If it all occurs at the correct time the individual is not even aware they are learning the skills to coping with life's "curveballs". People who learn these lessons later in life tend to be very resistant because it does take effort and getting used to coming out of one's comfort zone. To some degree everyone has to learn to be somewhat comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is not adverse to challenge. While I was thinking about this the simple statement in the poster below occurred to me "To Benefit From Challenge, Is The Meaning of Life."...

 

Click the picture to download a printable
version on your computer.

 

Please feel free to download and print out the image if it inspires you. If you would like a unique hard copy version of this printed on steel as a poster it can now be purchased at "Displate" in several sizes. Full disclosure, I do receive a percentage of every sale.

Click here to view the versions available on my Displate page 

... You may have discovered though that depending on the person, as they get older their resistance to breaking routines becomes entrenched. This is the situation I find these people in. To be honest it has driven me to my own distraction, as the same issues come up over, and over again. It really makes me appreciate what my parents and others in my early life did. They made sure I faced challenges. Most of them want planned, I think my parents just really resisted the urge to over protect me. I am not perfect and of course have many foibles but being fearful of challenge is not one of them. To be honest I actually like a good bit of difficulty now and then thrown at me. Nothing reminds you you are still alive and engage with the world and an unexpected issue you must resolve! 😀.

I am reminded of one of the early "Matrix" movies, in which everyone is living in a simulated life, here the protagonist Nero, asks (paraphrasing) "Wy did you make the simulation, so dystopian, why not make it pleasant?" The answer he receives is that without challenge people just give up. -If you haven't seen the movies by the way they are well worth the watch. I believe they are available on YouTube as a rental.

If you have difficulties in your life, try to reframe them, they may not all be problems, you may get some benefit from dealing with issues. People are always learning, but not always aware of what they are learning. Just understanding that can change your outlook. Reality is not perfect and that's probably a good thing because it always means there's an opportunity and a chance to grow.

For all the negativity that the words Problems, and Challenges receive we must all remember that without a problem, in the first place people would not be inspired to create a solution. It is frequently that very process which results in positive discoveries. Human race initially needed to find a way to generate heat to avoid freezing to death and that resulted in the understanding of fire and which way down the road led to the steam engine and the industrial revolution. So make sure something in your life matters and don't take anything for granted. Life goes in one direction and it cannot be rewound. 

If you find yourself in a situation where "Nothing Matters" and it is time to extend your boundaries and explore a little of your unknown. But to get out there and continue to sample whatever you find. Below is the companion video for this article.

This article was written in pieces over a lengthy amount of time so I apologize for it being a bit of a patchwork but I think the general idea still comes through. If there are any typos in the text I will address them shortly but I am bound and determined to get this post out today! 😄

I am so in several thankful to have the life I have had and continue to have.

Feel free to leave a comment and have a great day.

Patrick

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 (NLP)
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

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