Choices,Creativity,Different,Fear,Truth

Confirmation Bias

"People are prone to believe what they want to believe.*" How much of what we think we believe is true? How much do we believe it because we want to or because it fits our previous decision on a topic, a medical issue, a political candidate, our hobbies—ANYTHING. I like to think I’m challenging myself to grow in new ways by reading different genres of novels, a variety of non-fiction books on a broad spectrum of viewpoints. But am I really? What about podcasts? How can we be sure we’re not seeking agreement with where we are now? What are...
Courage,Fear,Life,Truth

Personal Board of Directors

Do you have a "Personal Board of Directors"? I have seen the idea in the Wall Street Journal and am considering the power of same. It's also another interpretation of the phrase: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, [including yourself].” ~ Jim Rohn (motivational speaker) I chose to borrow the slight addition [including yourself] to the Jim Rohn quote (hat tip to https://personalexcellence.co/blog/average-of-5-people/) because I agree. WE are alas, one of those peeps we cannot evade, avoid, or distance from as much as we'd like to sometimes. I'm pondering a board of...
Adulthood,Chances,Choices,Fear,Life,Lucky

Changing Names

I listened to a Duolingo French Podcast today, and it talks about a young man who discovers that his grandfather changed his surname from a Jewish name to a French name during the war. The young man tried to change his name to his grandfather’s name but was told he could not because of the French laws at the time. * Spoiler Alert*: Eventually, he was able to change his name. Times and laws change. Photo by Djalma Paiva Armelin on Pexels.com Our names are particularly important to us – both our first and last names. I changed my first name from...
Fear,Starting

Alligators

Scary? Fuggedaboudit! The next time you have a massive task facing you, you are likely to see it as a swamp filled with alligators. These menacing creatures are the ridiculously sneaky (yes, ridiculously so) critters that keep you from crossing the swamp, a.k.a. finishing your task. In fact, these large-mouth bozos will do worse: they scare you from even starting.  You're not alone. We all have swamps. We certainly have fears. But what if the alligator is mechanical? Or he just ate? Or he's lazy? Or maybe, you take an alligator gun and shoot it? Yeah. Not PC, but hey....