How do you stack up against other people?

Do you look at yourself and compare you with others?  Or do you look at your achievements and compare those with others?

It makes a big difference.

We are all inherently different.  Different skills. Different life experience. Different physiology. Different makeup.  Because of that our uniqueness makes it impossible for us to be all the same.  A short, chubby guy isn't likely to be a successful pro-basketball player.  A person with limited inherent aptitude for math is unlikely to be an actuary or a doctorate in physics.  When we look and compare ourselves and our innate abilities to others, we can set ourselves up for disappointment.  I am a physician and have been successful in that area, but there are countless other areas where I simply don't stack up to others.  Event though I love music and playing music, when I look at my ability, it's far inferior to many people with a lot less training than I have had.  If that's what I look at, I am doomed to be disappointed, with little chance of overcoming that disappointment.

Focus On What YOU Have Achieved

If I focus on what I have achieved, I can truly feel good.  What I have done in some areas of my life is far beyond what others have achieved in those areas.  We are all not the same, so it really doesn't matter what specific...

In a recent blog post by Cal Newport, The Lost Satisfactions of Manual Competence,  he discusses the satisfaction of the creation of an object under the tutelage of his grandfather.  The physical effort to take a hunk of metal and turn it into a functional working engine. 

Newport's post resonated with me for a couple of reasons.   First, my own father was a tool and die maker and the workshop in my basement was filled with many different tools that were used to create functional objects from raw materials.  It was there that I spent countless days "playing" with the various tools, creating something that I had envisioned in my head.  With time, my competence for creation of such objects grew to a point where I could be reasonably proficient in creating what I had dreamed (within reason). 

I could fix a bicycle.  Mend a fence.  Create a birdhouse. Make a model car or spaceship.  I could solder a broken electrical connection. Repair a broken item. And I could create objects that were within my mind.

I didn't really know much about computers until I was in high school when only the "nerds" were playing with decks of programming cards, and it wasn't until my medical residency when I had my first real experience with the first IBM PC with a green screen and a 5 1/4 floppy disk.  It was at that time that my experience as...

I have to admit it.

I have fallen behind.  And I hate it.

Self imposed goals.

Creating self imposed goals are one of the keys to effective goal achievement. I do it all the time. 

There are two types of self imposed goals.  The first has a single point in time and single goal.  For example: Fill my auto up with fuel today.  Easy. straightforward.  Singular goal and a singular time frame.  Easy-peasy (usually). Yes there are harder goals, but they all have in common the singular nature of the goal.

The second type of goal is the ongoing goal.  For me, this blog is that type of goal.  A post, every day, five days a week.  It's a goal that never goes away. Once you have completed one, the next one looms before you.  While it keeps you moving forward, it can be difficult to maintain, and if you don't, the negative elements of not meeting that goal ... piles up.

When you fall behind on a repetitive goal, it seems harder to restart.  But it really isn't as hard to restart as it was to initially start.  You know how to do it.  You know that you can do it. But for some reason, you just fell behind.  And now you don't just have your ongoing goal, you have an element of completing the unfinished goals that you missed.

It all seems so daunting.

So you delay even more.

Getting Restarted

But you just have to just...

Let's face it.  Life doesn't go smoothly all the time.  Heck, it doesn't even go smoothly most of the time.  When it doesn't, it's an obstruction to us achieving what we are attempting to do.  The degree of obstruction that it causes for us can be minor...such as something that causes us to take longer to achieve our goal or take more effort to achieve that goal, or it can be a "fatal" obstruction which we perceive as totally blocking us from achieving our intended goal.

Problems

These "obstructions" (as I have referred to them up to now intentionally) are more typically called "problems" by most people.  A dictionary definition of a "problem"  is:

• any question or matter involving doubt, uncertainty, or difficulty.

Hmmm....If you were to use these descriptions for an obstruction that you had in achieving a goal, how would you feel about the potential for overcoming that obstruction?  The obstruction that I am trying to overcome involves doubt.  Uncertainty.  Difficulty.  That sounds pretty darn hard to overcome.  It sounds like I may not be able to overcome that obstruction.  It's demoralizing.  Can I even do it?  Should I not bother, and just give up?

Yes, there is a lot of power in words.  Subconscious power that can dramatically impact...

I don't wanna go to school.

I don't wanna practice the piano.

I don't wanna go to work.

I don't wanna save money.

I don't wanna be responsible.

I don't wanna do it.

But...

I do wanna know more.

I do wanna play music.

I do wanna good job.

I do wanna hefty bank account.

I do wanna be the boss.

I do wanna see it done.

Which is it?

What do you really wanna?

Do you wanna complain?

Or

Do you wanna accomplish?

What is it that you wanna?

It's up to you what you are gonna do.

It's time to change your wanna to a gonna...

So, what are you doing?

Right now.

Is it providing value to your life?  Is it helping you achieve your ultimate goals and objectives?  I hope so, after all, you are reading my blog, and the focus of this writing is to help you stop and think about the questions and comments that I post.  Then to have you think about them the remainder of the day, and perhaps the remainder of your life.

This question, What Are You Doing? is an extremely important question that you should be using all the time, and at any time.  There should be a good answer to the question each and every time you ask it.  And don't just accept any B.S. answer.  If you are on social media and you ask What are you doing?  You might be able to answer, I am actually building my relationships with others who I may be able to help me in the future when I am in need of resources for a project.  That's great if it's true.  But if you honestly have to answer, I am just checking out what people posted last night... and you realize that you are doing that just to delay working on what is really important that you need to do, but don't want to do, then you have made yourself aware.

It also can be situational. Out to dinner with friends, but your mind is elsewhere, what are you doing?  Reading a junk magazine, ...

Are you an Entrepreneur?  Are you a physician?  Are you a human? You may not realize it, but you have an extraordinary talent.  You are a juggler. 

You, The Juggler

So what does a juggler do?  The have a series of items that they are managing. They are managing to keep those various items moving.  But there is one catch....there are more items than hands, so they have to quickly move from one item to the next, giving each just a small critical slice of time. Just enough time to keep it moving and in the air.   Not a whole lot different from you, the entrepreneur.  The greater the skill of the juggler, the more items can be kept in the air.

What Are You Juggling?

Most juggler entertainers juggle items like balls, bowling pins and other harmless items like knives, fire and chain saws.  Yes, they are quite entertaining.  But you, the entrepreneur, juggle different things.  And it seems that you have more and more items that are added to the stream of juggled items as you move forward.  You worry about dropping one of those items.  What will it mean?  What will happen if I drop one?

You WILL Drop Juggled Items.

 Unlike entertainers, we are not typically juggling the same thing.  Each item is unique. Each it different.  And each has different ramifications.  Here is how I like to think...

Did you see it?  It just happened.

The Shift.

The shift goes by many different names.  The one that I like is inflection point.  Others call it a trend.  Or the disruption. And others.

Regardless, they all signal the same thing.  A shift.

In some cases it might be small.  In other cases large.  It may be invisible or it may be obvious.  It may impact just you, or just others, or everyone.  

This current shift has massively impacted everyone, as well as our entire planet.

Wuhan Coronavirus (AKA COVID 19)

The shift due to the Wuhan Coronavirus (AKA COVID 19) has caused a massive shift to nearly everything on the face of the earth.  I don't believe that is an understatement.

Think of all of the changes that we have seen.  A lot of them will become permanent new ways that we do things.  Others will partially revert back to the old habit.  Others will go back to the way things were. But a large part of our world has shifted, permanently. 

So what are some of these shifts that we have seen?

• People will be more aware of touching and personal hygiene. 
• Wearing masks in public will become more commonplace.
• Large groups will make more people nervous.
• More people will continue to have groceries delivered to their houses
• Telecommuting and video conferencing will be widely accepted.
• ...

Is it worth getting...

People ask me all of the time...was it worth getting an MBA?  Did it help me get to where I am?  Should they get an MPH?  Should they do another residency? What fellowship should they do?

Sorry Folks...You Have It All Wrong.

Imagine you are walking into your workroom. You look around at the tools you have and then you ask one of these two questions:

What CAN I make with these tools?

Or you can ask...

What do I WANT to MAKE?  

The Tools Come Second

There are times when you ask the first question and make something that is based on the tools you have on hand.  There isn't anything wrong with that if your goal is to just do something.  But if you have something specific in mind, such as a need to make a shelf but you only have the tools to make a wooden kids toy, then how does that help you?  It doesn't.  

When you go to the tool store you don't go there with the focus of buying a tool because it looks cool, you are buying a tool to achieve an objective.  An objective, like drilling a hole or sawing some wood, because it is what you need to create the project you have in mind.  You buy the tool that performs the function you need.  A hammer to drive nails.  A drill to make holes.  You don't buy a saw to put in screws. 

This brings us back to the question, what is more...

What Are The Right Answers?

Right now, especially in the middle of this COVID19 Pandemic, we are looking for answers. Answers to questions that we have.  Answers to questions that other people have put forth....

• When will this COVID pandemic be over?
• How many people will die from COVID?
• Are there enough ventilators?
• What did some dope reporter say about this crisis?

Answers To Pressing Questions

These all seem like great questions.  They are things that are immediate and seemingly important questions. And the answers that you get can tell you a bit about some small factoids about COVID.  Factoids that only provide a bit of information that you have no control over.  Even if you learn or know the answers to these questions, it's likely you have no ability to impact the answers.  It's simple curiosity that you are satisfying. 

Did YOU Ask The Right Questions For YOU?

You only have so much energy.  You only have so much time.  So use it wisely.  What is better use of that time and energy...to ask questions that you have no control over?  Or questions like these...

• How can I use this time at home effectively to better myself?
• How can I change my life now, to provide for a better one once COVID is passed?
• What can I do for myself and my family to protect us from COVID?
• What are the best ways for me to use this...