Ex Post Facto no. 5: Skepticism, Passivity, and Smiling Alpacas
One of the hard things about trying to “think different” is the fact that once you do, you have to admit that how you used to think… was wrong.
I’ve found it helps my fragile little ego to reframe this. My old thinking is not wrong; it’s just now out of date.
Instead of invalidating my past self, I’m upgrading my present self.
Think about that one next time you confront change. On that note, here are three things I think you’ll be glad to update your thinking on—just in time for the weekend, in which I hope you’re not going to the bar to tell your friends all about all this:
One EXcellent bit of wisdom:
I’ve been thinking a lot about these wise words from my friend Rasananth Das:
“Tolerance is not pleasant. It does not let us escape, nor does it let us react. Instead, it creates much-needed space between stimulus and response, and forces us to look at things within us that we don’t want to fully own.
It makes us feel weak at the time it is being applied.
Many times, tolerance is confused with being passive. Naturally, we avoid applying the principle of tolerance.”
There are so many insights in that quote that I’ll just encourage you to let it marinate.
One POST you’ll be glad to have read:
How to be innovatively skeptical… without being a jerk <— This post will permanently “update” your thinking about thinking.
One FACT Of great interest:
Researchers who fight viruses have a favorite animal: the llama. Not because it’s cute, but because the llama’s immune system produces “nanobodies.” These are antibodies that are small enough to grab onto even the most spikey and slippery viruses, and they’re surprisingly similar to human antibodies.
Many scientists are hoping that these llama antibodies will be the miracle that gets us out of this Covid-19 crisis.
But even the ones who are skeptical about that are still following @amiling.alpaca on Instagram for moral support. I suggest you do, too. It’ll make tolerating this situation we have no control over a little less unpleasant.
Make a great weekend!
Shane