Mirror

A good friend asked me what are my top three pain points, and how do I deal with them.

I've never read Schiller, but Isaac Asimov in "The gods themselves" quotes him as saying that: "Against stupidity The gods themselves Contend in vain."

My nominees are:
Third place: Stupid peers that are so stubborn to open their eyes (and ears) to understand my point of view. Stupid peers that don't support my hidden agenda.

Second place: Stupid bosses that do not express themselves with enough clarity that I understand what they want me to do. Also stupid bosses that freely (of their own free will) believe that I want to do what they want me to do.

First place. Me.

How can I get around the pain point which is me?
By looking inside and laughing at what I find.
Once I solve this small problem, I'll tell you what to do about the other two pains in the neck.

Fungus

Humor

We all agree that the right kind of humor is right, while the wrong kind of humor is wrong. In short, good humor is good, while bad humor is bad.

The ancients believed that several humors flowed inside our bodies, and had to be kept balanced. Some of these were: blood humor, phlegm humor, black bile humor and yellow bile humor. Imbalance of the body humors would make you sick.

I believe that good, healthy humor is sparked by discovery. The detailed description of the neuro-chemistry involved if out of the scope of this discussion, and I couldn't describe it if I tried, so I'll keep it simple.

In my theory, when you learn (or discover) something new, there is an exhilarating feeling. You feel fine. You laugh, or even better, you smile. You want more of the same drug, and that's what we call humor.

When you discover something that is not new, at least to you, you feel frustrated. The best way to keep people in a good mood (or humor) is to keep them creatively discovering new and interesting things. You can call it the Eureka effect, but you don't have to.

There are also substitutes that can spark good humored responses, like a respectful and interesting joke (when you discover the punch line, you learn something and you laugh).

A disrespectful joke may also make you laugh, but it awakes dark humors (fluids) that are destructive and unhealthy, and are better avoided at the workplace and elsewhere.

And remember Homer Simpson's wise words.
"It's funnier when the joke's not on me."

Fungus

Motivation

Long term vision keeps me up when I feel down.

I know what I want, and I know I'll never reach it. I like to feel that I am moving forward. "The wind in my face".

That's why I keep going. I try to laugh at my mistakes. That way I change my mind to a different level (as in Einstein's famous quote) and perceive the obvious opportunities.

After that, it's a "Just do it".

Fungus