My kids probably thought I was a clown at times. I’ve spent the better part of thirty years coming up with cartoon gags, being silly in front of a large group of elementary kids and firing off one-liners at occasionally inappropriate times.
I have taken pride in getting someone to laugh, especially when they were feeling down. I take less pride in the times I was more immature than funny. It has happened much more than I would like to admit.
I have learned over the years that attacking immaturity with an immature attitude never works. If a child has an anger issue, striking back with an angrier, overpowering tone may appear to work. But in the long term, it only makes parents and children angrier.
Do as I say, not as I do may sound catchy, but we all know the hypocrisy of such a saying. I have been there, parents. When your kids are acting up, keep your cool. Stay mature and save the clowning for intentionally fun times. You can do it! I tip my polka dot hat with the squirting daisy to you!
Like many of us, I have a bad case of FOMO: Fear of Missing Out. I like to be in the know. After all, if I am going to blog anything, I need to have information, right? If I am going to write about a business trend or positive philosophy, I need to be in the know, right?
Copyright Kevin Spear
My wife kids me when I get alerts for Twitter accounts I follow. I get breaking news alerts for the latest doom and gloom news. Occasionally, I need to put my phone on “Do Not Disturb” in order to break my train of thought. Even then, it is too easy for that thought train to derail and spill my brain granules all across the landscape.
In the pre Internet years, we had information gatekeepers in the form of editors and television producers. They sorted through all the junk for the public. Now, anybody with a phone can be an information provider. In one alert, I see news about a homicide, SWAT standoff or traffic travesty. The next moment, I get an alert about twenty surly kittens that will make you laugh your socks off. Even if I was doing nothing at the time, that is quite a whiplash of discordant information!
I know! Just the fact that I am writing a blog contributes to this tsunami. My goal is to contribute positively and be an encouragement in a negative world. Still, Here is one more town crier attempting to make his voice heard above the crowded field.
So here is for myself and for others that are feeling the same information wave overtake them.
Take a breath and relax. While there is always something going on in the world, I don’t have to be aware of everything. If it is important, I’ll hear about it sooner or later.
I don’t have to be the first one in my circle to hear breaking news. Let someone else have FOMO while I am getting things done.
I will be discerning in my information consumption. If I am getting down because of a series of bad news, I need to either get away from the news or find some good, uplifting stories.
FOMO and bad news can affect my productivity. I choose to have more than a Breaking News! perspective.
In the story, the executive eventually finds he too is out of a job. It’s a cautionary tale of mankind being very clever while not very wise. It’s also a reminder if a leader thinks he or she can’t be replaced by the same technology, they are fooling themselves. So how do we keep ourselves from being victims of AI?
The article quotes Anima Anandkumar who proposes a solution we examine if our jobs are repetitive or and involve a large amount of data that can be used to train AI systems. If so, she says to aim for jobs that require use creativity and human intuition.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean an entire career change. For instance, for lawyers and accountants, there are aspects of the job that require human interaction, collaboration, high-level strategy, and creativity. These will be more valuable in future.”
Focusing on creativity, human relationships and intuition in a career is the antidote. If any of us are doing repetitive tasks, let’s consider how we can allow bots and computers to do the boring work, and free us up to dream, imagine and work with our fellow humans. A little compassion and wisdom is the key.
I love this quote from Robert Half because that is essentially why I wanted to make blogging a regular practice. I have learned several lessons as I have taught over the years.
The preparation to teach is almost as important as the lesson.
If I can’t adequately explain it to someone (especially a nine-year-old), I probably don’t adequately understand it myself.
It is okay to veer from a lesson plan. It isn’t the Gospel.
All learning needs a little entertainment. If I am boring, I am not really teaching.
I can learn much more from teaching elementary than adults.
Grown-ups will hide if they are not engaged.
I child will have no problem telling me if I am boring
No matter how much I know about the subject, there is always something more to learn.
New discoveries make learning fun for the teacher and the student.
I am taking a hiatus from teaching elementary kids and I am already missing it. I get so much from teaching and engaging with others. If you have never tried to teach another, I would encourage you to give it a try.
The other day, I listed to the Harvard Business Review Podcast interview James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. Here is a link to the podcast and transcript:
More or less, the author promotes using small actions to create good habits instead of going all gung ho and overwhelming ourselves. It’s celebrating the small actions and victories.
This is a novel approach to goal setting and forming new habits. Too often, I think I have to have a new goal all figured out. But the author suggests starting small habits that enable the big one is the way to go. Do you want to read more books? Start with one page. Do you want to exercise? Pack your workout clothes the night before and have them ready in your car. Do you want to write a book? Start with one sentence… or a short blog article!
Keep striving and finding ways to start those good, new habits. The results will be worth it!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
