INTERESTING: Heuristics; my ROTs (Rules of Thumb)

Friday, August 20, 2010

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/07/reconsider-the-rules-of-thumb-you-use-in-everyday-life.html

Re-Consider the Rules of Thumb You Use in Everyday Life.

from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

*** begin quote ***

My adventures in the lands of happiness research led me to the concept of heuristics. Heuristics are “rules of thumb,” the quick, common-sense principles people apply to solve a problem or make a decision. They aren’t “rules for living” that you consciously try to apply; rather, they’re deeply embedded, often unconscious, rules that you use to make decisions, answer a question, or decide a course of action.

*** and ***

My children are my most important priority.

Exercise every day.

People don’t notice my mistakes and flaws as much as I think.

My husband is my top priority.

“Yes” comes right away; “no” never comes.

Get some work done every day.

Whenever possible, choose vegetables.

I know as much as most people.

Try to attend any party or event to which I’m invited.

My parents are almost always right.

Ubiquity is the new exclusivity.

If I’m not sure whether to include some text in my writing, cut it out.

When making a choice about what to do, choose work.

I’m too busy to do that.

There’s no wrong decision.

Always say hello.

People in business, small or large, will take advantage of you if they can.

What would my mother do?

Actually, this is good news.

Say yes.

This is the fun part.

Do nothing, go nowhere.

Do everything all at once.

*** end quote ***

MINE:

  1. Frau is Job #1.
  2. Doctors and nurses are educated and experienced resources; they are not the Pope and this ain’t matters of faith and morals.
  3. Fool me or make a fool of me once; no second chances.
  4. Stop lights are the Universe telling me to slow down and look around.
  5. In a decade, will I care? Will anyone? So, why do I now?
  6. MYOB!
  7. Go for the gusto; go “big” or go home.
  8. I am not my “job”. I am not who I was or am; I am what I will be.
  9. Focus on Quadrant 1 activities: “Important” and “Urgent”.
  10. Your priorities are not NECESSARILY mine. Your lack of planning doesn’t constitute n emergency on my part.
  11. Begin with the end in mind. Planning is everything; plans are meaningless.
  12. 7 P’s (PPPPPPP)
  13. There is no such thing as “over communication”. There is ALWAYS someone who is out of the loop thru NO fault of their own.
  14. There is no substitute for good written DOCTRINE; there’s no excuse for failing to do “LESSONS LEARNED”.
  15. Don’t get mad; get working.
  16. NEVER assume that the organization’s objectives are aligned with yours; figure them out and protect yourself.
  17. There’s no substitute for accurate written records; remember the hearsay rule.
  18. Can’t cheat an honest man. Live life as if you’re going to explain your conduct to your Mom, Grandmom, and the Creator.
  19. Life is not like Jeopardy. There’s no extra credit for rudely shouting out the answer.
  20. The only “dumb” question is the one that you don’t ask. If you’re thinking it, someone else is too.
  21. The Shouldas, couldas, and wouldas will make you miserable; discard them asap. One year amnesty on mistakes.
  22. Set up systems that are automatic; your intentions have to be backed up with actions.
  23. You are neither as smart as you think; nor as dumb as you act.
  24. Do quick tasks; partition and schedule big ones. Do something to advance the ball. Dispatch the long running tasks quickly.
  25. Multiple “top priorities” means you have no priorities.

What are yours?

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POLITICAL: Troops out of Iraq?? Completely!

Friday, August 20, 2010

On Aug 20, 2010, at 9:29 AM, XXXXXXXXX wrote:

*** begin quote ***

Isn’t this like the “Mission Accomplished” banner? ‘We no longer have combat troops in Iraq’….but….there are still 50,000 there. And I have a crisp $100 bill that says they have guns on them!

*** end quote ***

If they don’t, then they are victims.

How dumb does BHO44 and his media think we are?

Is this like Germany? We’re going to have troops there for eternity.

Argh!

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PLINKY: Shoulda, coulda, and woulda!

Friday, August 20, 2010

August 12, 2010

Describe the one who got away.: Going, going, gone

http://www.plinky.com/prompts/504/answers/new

This is an encouragement to delve into “shoulda, coulda, and woulda!” thinking. That’s always a disaster. You can’t win from that POV.

“… checked the Eternal Possibilities Machine, which generates all the possibilities for use in creating the alternative worlds. In all those probability lines …” CHURCH 10●19●62 (Vol 1) 978-0-557-08387-9 page 45

It’s not like you can examine the “eternal possibilities machine” that will tell you what the results were from every choice. No matter how small. How trivial. Perhaps you become a millionaire if in the third grade, you’d have picked Wheaties as opposed to Cheerios that morning before you went to school. (Yeah, I know there’s no relation possible between the two. But how do you know for SURE?)

See, there have been so many “decisions” that I made, had made for me, made by default, or even made by failing to make a decision. And, I could drive myself crazy by trying to second guess those “decisions”. Off the top of my head, where I lived, where I went to school, who I dated, where I went to work, and choices made about jumping to another job. Countless decisions, large and small, that like Gulliver, those are the tiny Lilliputian threads, which bind us down.

Who’s to say which thread, which if loosed, would make a huge alternative possibility into a reality?

Even later in life, I made decisions that I know regret. For example, when my MBA classmates decided to go together to law school at night as a group, I was burnt out from schooling. I knew I’d never finish that path with my mind in its state at the time. Too bad! Maybe it was just too much school. Another six years. Argh! I had four years of VA benefits left. But it wasn’t the money, the tax deductability status, or even the commute. It was the time! Funny because after a few years off, I went and did a four year program in CompSci. Crassly, my motivation was to collect my last VA benefits. (Hey, I was being robbed by Uncle Sam so this was just my attempt to mitigate my damages.) Turns out, it was a useful credential. When I was young enough to exploit it.

So, consulting the EPM (i.e., mythical Eternal Possibilities Machine in CHURCH 10●19●62), I can see the “law school” track, leading to failure, alcoholism, divorce, or even death. (That was a traffic accident when rushing home from school tired and after a night cap!) But you never really know, one track might have led to “world peace”. (Hey, if beauty queen contestants can wish for a great result for which they have absolutely zero impact on, so can I.) Maybe I could have a degree and a license. Maybe I could have a future. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

But it is fun to wonder in an idle moment to wonder what might have been.

Where in the world is Virginia Barry?

ROFL! (Only a really kool girl, like her or Frau, would go to a College dance called the “Engineers’ Balls”. ROFL

Maybe the “shoulda, coulda, and woulda!” exercise is valuable to demonstrate all that we have.

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