Good afternoon one and all!
Thought it might be fun to offer a few comments on a few interesting “reads” that I have encountered over the past few years. Reading well doesn’t mean lots of pages and tons of words. It does mean getting the most out of your eyeball workout when you do choose to read.
Let’s start with “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell. This relatively short read addresses the “Cliff’s Notes” aspect of our brain that does what Gladwell calls, “thin slicing” of time, events and stimuli that we encounter.
Gladwell has isolated various clusters of nerves in our body, mainly our head, heart and stomach that quickly fuse neuronal energy to kinesthetically alert us to something either being a “go” or a “no go”. He wants to let us know that we all have what he calls “Blinks” about many things. Such as, adding an extra teaspoon of Allspice to your chili, making one more offer on the car you are trying to buy, or looking a little longer for your lost keys. We get these sensations when our nerve clusters respond to our perceptions at any given moment in time. Thus, the term “gut feeling” has some validity because the 2d largest cluster of neurons is in our stomach and another large cluster is near our heart, the solar plexus. So, the next time you get that internal vibe that says, “Hell Yes or Hell No”, you might want to pay attention. There could be an answer in that Blink. And that is my Blink on “Blink”. My other Blink is that Blinks serve a useful purpose if we will listen to them as we analyze, problem solve and decide.
Next Blink, Drive by Daniel Pink. Another one-word title that opens a useful window on preparing, performing and achieving, Pink encourages us to engage our brain and our consciousness to help liberate our thoughts about achieving goals and intentions. On preparation and performance, he introduces us to the concept of “Autonomy”, which is our ability to self-govern both our intentions and our practices aimed at performing well and improving. We are truly responsible for our own learning and our own performance results. Coaches help, but it is up to us to get it done. Pink helps with the understanding of this idea by reminding us that no one can make us autonomous. The choice is up to us and our commitment to achievement. Autonomy is ours to choose to embrace as we pursue our goals, dreams and intentions. Drive helps us figure out the consequences of catching the bus we have been chasing, like many dogs never get to do. The chase is the adventure, not the catching. We need to know in advance the answer to the question, “Now what?” That is where our spirit and our intentions, plus our prefrontal cortex fuse to visualize the outcome we desire.
As for reward, Pink believes that there is no need for carrots or sticks. Just firm intentions, supported by the patient observation of people doing their jobs as best as they know how, and letting them know that they did something right as well as falling short, in a kind and compassionate way. Of course a tangible reward doesn’t hurt if there is one available. This goes the same for kids as well as adults. So, remember to stop, look, LISTEN and speak from the heart and the head!! Enough Blinks for now. More next month. m