Category: culture

200

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Today is my 200th post on this blog.

As I write day after day, I realize there are two broad topics that I enjoy to focus on. Strictly interrelated, but different.

The first one is about awareness. Understanding who we are as persons. It has a lot to do with soul-searching, empowering us to deeply grasp what we are around for, what we set out to do, why that matters to us. It is a curious aspect, as most people are not really into it. We have the tendency to focus our efforts and attention on action, rather than reflection. I was definitely not into it, until a few years back.

The second one is about practice. Do what you are doing, for the reasons and with the determination you have shed light upon with reflection. Be consistent with it, not letting failures or defeats interrupt the flow. Or in case you get to interrupt it for any reasons, understanding that it is not the end of who you are, and the things you practice will still be there for you once you are ready to commit to them anew.

The two are inseparable, they are in constant dialogue: doing things without understanding the reasons why you are doing them, or knowing who you are without expressing yourself in the world in some ways, is sad and disappointing.

The real magic happens when there is alignment between awareness and practice. It is not a thing for the moment, rather something to approach with long term in mind. And yet, there’s no better moment to start than right now.

Fair price

Fabrizio2 Comments

In our days and age of uninterrupted special offers, it’s worth keeping in mind few things.

Free does not exist. It’s a mirage, an oasis of opportunities where all you can actually find is mere sand. That’s why, for example, social networks are such a disappointing experience: not only they are not free to their real customers (advertisers), they are also not free for us all, for our communities, for the society. They are fake, a mirage indeed.

Cheap does exist. And yet, you have to keep in mind that somebody is paying for the missing bit. Sometimes it is the customer, in the form of poor quality. Sometimes it is the employees, in the form of poor working conditions. Sometimes it is the community, in the form of less taxes. Almost never, it is the owners.

Expensive does scare. First, because we live in a world of cheap. Second, because not necessarily the premium price prevents the risks intrinsic to cheap from manifesting. So, you might turn out with something you have paid very much for and is still poor quality, bad working conditions, low taxes.

Fair does entice. It is the result of continuous negotiation and changing scenarios. Also, it’s not only applied to monetary evaluation. As consumers, we are empowered to ask for fairer quality, fairer working conditions, fairer taxes. Also when they do not affect us firsthand. Especially when they do not affect us firsthand.

Fair is a difficult concept, and it is often overwhelmed by convenience. It is ok if we are not ready to go for it. Let’s just be mindful about what the other options imply.

Unreal

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The expectations we set for others are often so unrealistic that would we set them for ourselves, we would immediately get stuck.

We are not in the best position to say what others should or should not do, what they should or should not believe in, how they should or should not treat us. The most we can do is picture a fictitious setting in our mind, and then play out a scene in which we are deus ex machina. Of course then, what we would do there would be perfect, flawless, impeccable. And again, unrealistic.

Everyone is the main character to their own movie. We should aim at being a gentle one, one that is freed from the hard-wired desire to judge every situation, one that would lend an helping hand rather than point an accusatory finger. In the movie that is life, that’s the type of person you want around.

Early mornings

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Of the people I get to talk to, there is not one who does not praise the effectiveness of working early mornings, late afternoons, and weekends.

Clearly, there’s nothing special with early mornings, late afternoons, and weekends. A part from the fact that it’s quite. That you have no meetings, no one calling to ask for a favour, nobody stopping at your desk to tell you about their last weekend, no system updates, no colleague Skyping that customer with a faulty internet connection, no need to sync or strategize.

Somewhere along the way towards openness, transparency and flatness, we have lost track of the importance of focus. Lack of focus is one of the main reasons why employees are not productive, creative and innovative. The way the organization structures their working spaces, their calendars, their updates, and their breaks is a major driver of all this.

Commit, don’t promise

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Committing is a personal matter. It is about dedicating one’s resources to an idea, a plan, a project. It involves going through the different possibilities and scenarios, the different allocations of time, energy, money, and picking one we feel we can give ourselves to. This is also the reason why committing publicly is so important. The moment we share our commitment with others, the commitment is still our (personal), and yet our very own personality is in jeopardy until we deliver. This is a powerful force to get things done.

Promising is different. A promise is always influenced by someone else, and that is the opposite of personal. You promise to change a status of the world because others are affected (negatively or positively) by that status, and yet not necessarily there are resources invested in the moment you are promising. Promising publicly is a pleonasm, as a promise is always done to someone else. Promising is easy, and that makes it also a powerful force to not get things done.

Commitment is about understanding what’s important and devote to it.

Promise is about grasping what’s urgent and put a temporary patch to it.