Transformed

the meaning of the message is the response it elicits

A man is drowning in the ocean.
Another man, walking on the shore, sees him and calls out “Come this way. You’ll be safe once you get to where I am on the shore.”
The drowning man has been drowning for a while, has been struggling for so long, he has no strength left to get to the shore, and begins to sink.
The man on the shore calls out louder, “No, don’t give up. Come this way so I can save you.”
The drowning many dies and in death is transformed.
The man on the shore shakes his head and turns to walk away. The transformed man is standing there.
“Why did you stay on the shore? You could have swum out and saved me.”
“But then I might’ve drowned, too.”
So the one man, fearing death and not willing to leave his safety, never transformed, and never realized who he truly was, and who he could be.

That Th!nk You Do Chapter X+5 – Want to be Heard? See a Musician

(Another chapter in my forthcoming non-fiction That Th!nk You Do (note the clever change in the title? Gotta love those creatives, don’t you?) The fascinating chapter numbers are due to unfinished editing. I hope to share the bookcover soon)


Do you ever wish someone would just listen to you? That you could find someone who could understand not just the words but the emotions behind them? Well, it turns out that’s very easy to do.
Continue readingThat Th!nk You Do Chapter X+5 – Want to be Heard? See a Musician”

That Th!nk You Do Chapter X+4 – Can’t Be Happy? Blame Your Parents

(Another chapter in my forthcoming non-fiction That Th!nk You Do (note the clever change in the title? Gotta love those creatives, don’t you?) The fascinating chapter numbers are due to unfinished editing. I hope to share the bookcover soon)


Are you happy? Do you have a positive outlook on life? Is the glass usually half full when you drink from it?

If so, there’s a better than even chance you’re from Latin American countries, possibly the US and could have northern Mediterranean ancestry. Not so happy? Chances are your from Asia or the Pacific Rim countries.

What…did you think I was going to suggest you blame your parents for your outlook on life? Maybe in another column, but this time out we’re going to look at how ethnic origins – ancestry – often pre-determines how you’ll deal with life’s situations big and small.

According to a now long-standing study involving five dominant ethnic groups, ethnic origins play a significant role in how people view their world. These results don’t surprise me, and I’m sure they don’t surprise anyone with a cultural anthropology background.

But why is one culture happier than another? Cultures that place higher values on self-worth and self-fulfillment – as opposed to group identity – tend to promote happier, psychologically healthier individuals. But wait, there’s more…

It also seems that cultures that promote open emotionalism have happier, psychologically healthier individuals.

Open emotionalism? Continue readingThat Th!nk You Do Chapter X+4 – Can’t Be Happy? Blame Your Parents”

That Th!nk You Do Chapter X+3 – Rewarding Your Critical

(Another chapter in my forthcoming non-fiction That Th!nk You Do (note the clever change in the title? Gotta love those creatives, don’t you?) The fascinating chapter numbers are due to unfinished editing. I hope to share the bookcover soon)


Do you have a little voice inside your head that warns you about things you’re about to do? Maybe it goes beyond warning you, perhaps it out and out chides you or even yells so loudly it stops you dead in your tracks?

Congratulations, you’ve been in touch with what people studying learning models call your critic (not a surprising name considering what it does, is it?).

Do you have a little voice inside your head that makes suggestions on how to get the most out of whatever you’re about to do? Maybe it goes beyond suggestions, maybe it reminds you of what worked and what didn’t in the past? Maybe it demands this path be followed over that path?

Congratulations again, now you’re talking with your actor.

Want to learn how to confuse them or even shut them up completely? It’s probably obvious (once you think about it) that our mind’s actor and critic come from different parts of the brain. The critic comes from the front part of the brain where reasoning occurs, the actor from the rear of the brain where we process vision and memory (generally speaking).

Both are necessary. They’re part of what’s called instrumental conditioning and constitute the most basic form of adaptive behavior. Adaptive behavior and instrumental conditioning are very important to our survival as individuals and as a species. We adapt how we behave in order to maximize rewards and minimize punishments, and that process of adapting is done in (hopefully) small steps by conditioning ourselves to our environment.

The actor reminds us what happened before in similar environments and helps us predict what to do in the present environment. The critic predicts future gains and losses by evaluating present conditions and information out of our direct experience. We need both of them. They work in tandem for most of us and people lacking one or the other tend to take unnecessary risks or avoid new situations altogether.

But what if your critic-actor is too critical or too…umm…actorial?

Both critic and actor cause the brain to send hormonal signals through the body. Most often these signals are survival oriented – great for the jungle and possibly night walks in a city, not quite the same as deciding what you should purchase or whether or not to get on that really big roller coaster.

So here’s how to deal with both and let you – your hopefully rational, thinking, intelligent self – make the decisions.
Continue readingThat Th!nk You Do Chapter X+3 – Rewarding Your Critical”

That Th!nk You Do Chapter X+2 – Four Rules for Thinking Like An Expert

(Another chapter in my forthcoming non-fiction That Th!nk You Do (note the clever change in the title? Gotta love those creatives, don’t you?) The fascinating chapter numbers are due to unfinished editing. I hope to share the bookcover soon)


What is expertise? Most people know it when they see it or when they’re in the presence of someone with expertise in a given field. Talking with a friend yesterday, she admitted she hardly feels like an expert even though she’s taught at the university level.

I asked “How come?” and she answered, “Because I’m old enough to know what I don’t know.”

Would you like to play a game? Continue readingThat Th!nk You Do Chapter X+2 – Four Rules for Thinking Like An Expert”