Jim Brumm: Long-Term Thinking for a Short-Sighted World

Overcomplicated prescriptions discourage individuals from taking action to improve their lives. Through the years, I have read a large number of health books that offered unworkable advice.

The theories that they espoused were confusing and often contradictory. Their recommendations proved, on many occasions, too impractical or expensive to implement.

As a result, from each of those books, all that I retained were a couple of conclusions. The effort of reading hundreds of pages was not wasted, since I have implemented many of those ideas with good success.

The following twelve habits have served me particularly well. I like to think that I owe them, at least in part, the good health that I enjoy.

To be continued in Part 2

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When you were a kid at school, you probably endured lots of preaching about the virtue of flexibility. Most likely, the moral speeches you heard were accompanied by fulminating diatribes against rigidity. Imprecise is right and exact is boring, you were told. Weightlessness is strength and fragility is solidity.

In terms of ethics, this approach leads to the enthronement of relativism as a moral absolute, which is of course absurd, since when anything goes, fuzziness is portrayed as sharpness, ignorance as information, and confusion as wisdom.

On the other hand, look at what happens when we turn our attention from theory to reality. When values and commitments lose their contours, life becomes chaotic. If you doubt my words, talk to anyone who has lived for a while in a country where basic principles have been abandoned:

* CONTRACTS ARE IGNORED. The stories that you read in newspapers about doing business in unstable countries only reflect a small part of the horror. Without people's willingness to keep their word, society simply disintegrates. Without enforceable contracts, all that remains are shady transactions and an extremely high cost of living.

* INSECURITY BECOMES DOMINANT. Once ethics become dispensable, life turns into a race of cheating and abuse. If people begin to question fair, well-functioning agreements that have been long established, everything is up for grabs. When psychological manipulation becomes the currency of the day, any sort of purchase turns into a nightmare.

* MISTAKES GROW WITHOUT LIMIT. Productivity is always the first victim of moral decay. Without honesty, agreements on time, results, and compensation lose all meaning. Reliability and credibility are the best cost-reduction tools in business. When those two disappear, the effort needed to complete any task grows exponentially

All this is, at the same time, bad news and good news. Even if some people advocate moral relativism, you are not obliged to adopt vagueness as personal philosophy. Even if someone persons around you behave dishonestly, you can decide to stay dependable and truthful.

A wise man seeks compromise in negotiations, but only when essential moral principles are left untouched. Reality is forgiving of innocent mistakes, but merciless with those who twist facts and corrupt their soul.

Your peace of mind and self-confidence depend on your rational principles. Stick to them and they will show you the way. For the sake of your present happiness and future health, reject temptation and pass the test. Your decisiveness will be enhanced and your results will improve.

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There is a cure for stress. It is not a drug and it is not a fantasy. It won't cost you money, but it is not for free. From those who try it out, some feel born again, others rejuvenated. Experience has shown however that many cannot cope with the freedom that the medicine brings.

The remedy is known under many different names. You may call it simplification or reduction, downsizing or streamlining, selection or choice, reshuffling, refocusing, elimination, or termination. In any case, the concept will be much easier to name than to implement.

In order to be able to concentrate our energies on the essential areas of our lives, we must first establish clear priorities. The latter, of course, is what makes some people shun simplification. What they dread, like mice running in circles, is to stand still for a minute and question their contradictions.

Rational decisions are impossible for those whose life lacks a sense of direction. Overloading one's days with senseless activities is a psychological defence mechanism against the terror of taking responsibility. Too much to do is an excuse to avoid facing indecision. A hundred random acquaintances cannot replace conversation with one true friend.

Newspapers often report of companies that collapse due to excessive debt. Stress is heavier for the soul than indebtedness for a business. Efficiency begins with clarity. Selection enhances results. Resources are limited in all endeavours, but the time of our lives is the most scarce resource of all.

* LESS COMPLEXITY RESULTS IN MORE ENERGY. Fruit growers prune their trees once per year in order to reinforce the vigour of the healthiest branches of each plant. Lean trees will produce more fruit than those whose moribund branches have not been cut off.

* CONCENTRATION IMPROVES RESULTS. Shepherds cull their herds at regular intervals to prevent contagious sickness to spread. We all are naturally reluctant to give up possessions accumulated in the past, but frequently, liquidating non-performing assets and reinvesting the proceeds is the best strategy.

* SELECTION FREES SPACE FOR PRIORITIES. Retailers put slow-moving items on sale or give them away for free in order to make space on the shelves for more popular goods. Are you investing endless efforts in a dead-end career? How can you reinvent your past and aim at a future that is spectacularly better than your present?

Productivity experts who advise manufacturers always start by asking workers to clear up the factory floor. It is only when misplaced tools and obsolete inventory are removed from the work space that people begin to see their own mistakes. Without visibility, there can be no transformation.

A cluttered agenda is a cage that houses paradise birds waiting to be released. Those birds are your best ideas, the ones that you have not formulated yet. It is high time to simplify your life and sharpen your ambitions. The birds are ready to fly. Open the cage door and set them free.

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Every town has a Saturday market, but in the whole of India, you will not find a tougher weekly market than the one that takes place in Shurasena. A dozen spice merchants compete to offer the lowest prices and, if you are planning to buy a camel, choices in Shurasena are more numerous than the hairs of a squirrel.

Like all philosophers, Krishna loved to go the market. In the morning, he traded his medicinal herbs for coins, and in the afternoon, he used those to purchase fish and salt. Every week, he did the same, and the path he walked to the market was the path he walked to return home.

One Saturday in July, after Krishna had bought a trout and an ounce of salt and was about to leave the market, he saw a kid, barely a man, sitting on the ground and weeping bitterly. "Crying makes birds fly higher," said Krishna to the kid, who stopped sobbing and lifted his head.

"Will you have a lemonade?" asked the boy with a trembling voice, as he got to his feet and pointed at a two-wheel cart next to him. Ripe lemons and mountain ice were lying on the cart, as well as six glasses and a tin jar. A banner on the cart read "Dhiren's Cold Lemonade."

The kid's question was as incongruous as misplaced hope can be, since ten yards away, there was a public fountain. "I am Dhiren," he announced shyly. "If I don't sell enough lemonade, tonight I will not have a room to stay." The whole scene was so pathetic that, if Krishna had had any coins left, he would have drunk several glasses.

"Would you sell more if you had no fear?" inquired Krishna. Dhiren nodded and explained that he had not sold a single glass of lemonade in the whole day. The ice on the cart was melting and Dhiren had been weeping because he had lost all confidence in himself.

"I have done my best," Dhiren went on sadly, "but there must be something wrong with me, since nobody in the world wants to buy my lemonade." Krishna smiled, for he knew better. In Dhiren's doubts, Krishna had recognized himself as he had been a long time ago and no longer was.

"Changing oneself is often harder than changing the world," commented Krishna, laying his hand on one of the wheels and signalling Dhiren to push the cart forward. The wheels squeaked as they rolled on Market Square and the narrow streets of Shurasena.

When Dhiren asked where they were going, Krishna just repeated his mysterious words about change. An hour later, they crossed the south port of Shurasena and, right outside the walls of the ancient city, they met a long caravan of pilgrims that had just arrived from the desert.

As soon as the pilgrims saw Dhiren's banner, they dismounted their camels, and walked to the cart. By the time all ice had melted, Dhiren had sold more glasses of lemonade than in the previous three months. With success, his smile and confidence returned to him.

When the day was over, Dhiren was a different man, sure of himself and fearless of the future. He searched long amongst the pilgrims, since he would have liked to express his thanks, but Krishna was already gone. The night fell and Dhiren found that, although the stars had not changed, he was living in a different world.

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[4] Use of offensive or hurtful words: You meet a very attractive woman and begin to date her regularly. Her charms make her irresistible. You feel that you have met the woman of your life and start thinking of marrying her.

The only aspect that troubles you is that, from time to time, she gets disproportionately upset about problems or inconveniences. One evening, when you arrive late for dinner due to a traffic jam, she becomes enraged and attacks you verbally. You put the incident down to her having a bad day and forget about it.

However, after spending a weekend together, you inadvertently wash her blue dress with the white linen and she reacts furiously, shouting insults at you. As a result, you decide to stop seeing her and call yourself lucky for having detected the problem early enough.

Are these recommendations exaggerated? Should you always be on the watch for potential dangers? Only to a reasonable extent. Wise men know how to separate their desire to live in a perfect world from the reality of human experience.

When you detect an aggressive person, avoid exaggerated reactions and behave as prudently as you do in your everyday business dealings. Do not waste time trying to fix the problems of strangers. Instead, move on and seek out the company of benevolent, kind individuals, since those are the type of people that will make a positive difference in your life.

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[3] Irrational rigidity of attitudes or views: In the factory where you work, the Head of Finance assigns you to take part in a project with several persons from other departments. During the first meeting of the team, a participant defends an untenable approach and opposes all sensible suggestions from colleagues.

That person, whom you have never met before, makes an overall impression of obstinacy and does not even allow other team members to finish their sentences. His stubbornness surpasses all tolerable levels and goes as far as threatening anyone who disagrees with him. Should you face him head-on and engage in a verbal confrontation?

Your best option is to try to have all important all decisions postponed and, as soon as the meeting is over, discuss the problem discreetly with a few team members that you trust. Then, together, you go to see the Head of Finance, tell him about the incident, and have the troublesome individual removed from the project.

To be continued in Part 6

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[2] Repeated involvement in fights: You hire a new recruit for your sales team, a young man who has made an excellent impression during the interview. He possesses considerable drive and ambition, together with first-class verbal skills.

The young man seems to be the right kind of person to represent your company. During the interview, he gave good answers to your questions and you feel confident that you have made the right choice.

However, on his second week on the job, you perceive details that no longer match the first picture. On Tuesday morning, he comes to work unshaven, wearing yesterday's ruffled shirt, with a ketchup stain on his tie and a bruise on his forehead.

Gently, you draw his attention to how important it is for a salesman to give a professional image, but he tells you that he has been involved in a bar fight. Two weeks later, a similar episode takes place.

You hesitate for a short while, wondering if he is going through temporary difficulties. That might well be the case, but you know that you shouldn't take the risk of having any kind of aggression against co-workers at the office. You summon the young man to your office and, regretfully, you fire him.

To be continued in Part 5

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None of these factors is determinant by itself and each of them might denote other problems. Your goal, however, is not to pass judgement on strangers, but to protect yourself from danger. Aristotle considered prudence of crucial importance because this virtue ensures that you will be able to continue to play the game of life.

How should you react once you have identified a potential source of trouble? Trust your senses when it comes to detecting danger, but let your brains determine your course of action. Use your initiative and creativity to avert difficulties.

Ideally, you want to adopt cautious, discreet measures that spare you unnecessary conflict. Instead of confrontation, avoidance should be your preferred response. Here are some practical examples:

[1] Threatening movements: You are waiting at a queue to buy a cinema ticket and you see a man approach. He is walking exceedingly fast, bumping into passers-by, and he does not even stop to apologize.

His face shows a stern expression, his eyes are focused on the sidewalk, he is talking to himself and seems oblivious of his surroundings. He is headed to collide with people waiting in the cinema queue. For a moment, you think of calling his attention, but your prudence takes over. You take a step backwards and let him go through.

To be continued in Part 4

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Approaching those persons and intervening is seldom advisable. The risk of your committing an error is too high. They might interpret your friendly words and gestures as threatening and increase their hostility. Take heed of my advice and keep away from dangerous persons.

An effective strategy for dealing with aggressive individuals comprises two elements, namely, detecting and averting them. When you walk into an unknown territory and find yourself surrounded by a crowd, how can you recognize signs of potential trouble?

No matter where you work, you should never trust available security measures blindly. There is simply no fail-safe way to exclude the troublesome 1% from a large group of people. It is up to you to stay alert and ensure your own safety.

How will you be able to tell who constitutes a threat? The following four signals are clues that you can use to detect dangerous individuals. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you should be able to remark these behaviours when they occur: threatening movements, repeated involvement in fights, irrational rigidity of attitudes or views, and use of offensive or hurtful words.

To be continued in Part 3

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Few skills will add as much value to your life as the ability to avoid aggressive individuals. In any population group, irrespective of geography and cultural background, you will find at least 1% of individuals that can create serious trouble for you.

The reasons for their aggressiveness might be of transitory nature, such as a mild depression caused by financial difficulties, or deeply ingrained in the personality structure. If you possess a generous spirit and feel inclined to comfort those men and women, please make a pause and think twice. Your actions, however well-intended, risk making things worse.

Your willingness to help is commendable, but effective aid is possible only when your actions can improve the situation. If your assistance cannot bring about positive change, it will only cause irritation.

A realistic view of human nature calls for utmost circumspection when dealing with aggressive individuals. Disorderly minds defy logic and, without specialized expertise, it is difficult to determine the severity of a someone's troubles.

To be continued in Part 2

[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]

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Few skills will add as much value to your life as the ability to avoid aggressive individuals. In any population group, irrespective of geography and cultural background, you will find at least 1% of individuals that can create serious trouble for you.

The reasons for their aggressiveness might be of transitory nature, such as a mild depression caused by financial difficulties, or deeply ingrained in the personality structure. If you possess a generous spirit and feel inclined to comfort those men and women, please make a pause and think twice. Your actions, however well-intended, risk making things worse.

Your willingness to help is commendable, but effective aid is possible only when your actions can improve the situation. If your assistance cannot bring about positive change, it will only cause irritation.

A realistic view of human nature calls for utmost circumspection when dealing with aggressive individuals. Disorderly minds defy logic and, without specialized expertise, it is difficult to determine the severity of a someone's troubles.

To be continued in Part 2

[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]

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Dishonesty, like cancer, starts small. One day, for instance, you learn that someone whom you considered a friend has been maligning you behind your back. On other occasion, you might act on the basis of a verbal agreement only to find out later that the other party has reneged on his word.

You will fall into many of those traps, as we all do, since few things are as difficult as assessing the character of strangers. A wise man writes off his loss as part of the cost of living and learns from experience that, on the next encounter, he should not trust the person who has lied to him.

Honesty is a thread that a man should be allowed to break only once. If you are cheated the first time, blame it on your limited knowledge and do not recriminate yourself. On the other hand, if you are misled twice by the same individual, it is advisable that you take a hard look at your fundamental beliefs.

Achievement in any field of human endeavour requires focused effort sustained through a long period. Sometimes it takes months, frequently years or decades. For many persons, the major obstacle to progress is not lack of funding, but of time. Unless you clear up the clutter from your days, you will never find the hours that you need for your essential goals.

The same principle applies to relationships. Friendship and love constitute wonderful pleasures. We all recognize them as two of the main sources of enjoyment in life. Although none of them can be purchased with money, both require substantial investments of time, continuity, and consistency.

Dealing with dishonest people will waste your energies, consume your patience, and fill your life with disappointments. Do not tell yourself that everybody is like that. Do not argue in your mind in favour of the inevitability of evil. This is not true and you know it perfectly well.

Undeniably, it takes a lot of conviction to make uncomfortable changes in our lives. To quit smoking is extremely difficult. To stop drinking might require a long process of detoxification. To rid ourselves of damaging relationships is tantamount to climbing the steep slope of high mountain.

Take heart and keep your ethical bar at the proper level. Place it low enough to forgive innocent errors. Keep it sufficiently elevated to reject attempts to miscarriage your judgement, fairness, and objectivity.

Who twists reality once to his advantage will not hesitate to abuse your confidence on the next occasion. Just say no. The sooner you see bad people disappear from your life, the faster you will clear the way towards wonderful relationships.

[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]

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Depression has become so common in our society that, most of the time, we don't even notice it. You can only see the phenomenon through the darkness its exudes. Motivation becomes paralysis. Vision breaks apart in doubts. Energy can no longer be replenished and attention gets distracted.

If you look around, you will find plenty of examples: Co-workers who lately have been looking sort of sad, call up the office, name some vague problem at home, and disappear for week. Students who have been at the top of their class, start to fail one exam after the other. Thoughtful friends, the kind who used to have strong opinions, suddenly turn silent.

What is the cause of this wide-spread ailment? Where is this malignant wave coming from? The automatic response in those cases is to blame the world. When you talk to men and women who suffer from the blues, you will often find them willing to enumerate all the negative conditions affecting their life.

Those complaints will usually have a sound basis in reality. Some people will tell you stories of abuse and unfairness, injustices of all sorts, inefficiency and dishonesty. Others will speak about their sickness, the ingratitude of their family, treason by friends, loneliness or divorce.

Nevertheless, those explanations remain insufficient to justify the overweening levels of depression in our society. The most important element in the equation is never mentioned. Why is nobody pointing out that, for every dispirited person, you can find a reasonably contented one who is enduring similar difficulties?

Misfortune and catastrophe are not to be trivialized. Bad luck and sickness can wipe out your savings, your business, your family, and put to test your will to keep on living. Serious problems and painful periods do occur in most people's lives. My point is not that one should become foolishly cheerful in the face of adversity.

Pharmaceuticals aimed at alleviating distress can help to a certain extent, although they are frequently loaded with secondary effects. My message is that, in the worst possible moments, a man owes to himself, to his happiness, to reflect and act with proper perspective. What one should keep in mind is that, on many occasions, depression is a synonym for short-term vision.

Rational thinking is the only antidote that has repeatedly proven its effectiveness against discouragement and depression. Seeing obstacles and disadvantages in the frame of a lifetime helps to reduce them to a manageable size.

Drop the false comfort of self-pity. Never allow yourself to limit your own potential. Never give up before the game is really over. Remind yourself everyday that life offers many opportunities. Define your long-term target, sharpen your arrows, and leave the blues behind. You have better things to do.

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A man can live the soft way or the hard way. Provoking unnecessary conflict and behaving aggressively are not symptoms of a strong personality, but of serious psychological trouble. To make headway when matters get complicated, thinking is a thousand times more valuable than shouting.

Unfortunately, on many occasions, knowing what to do is not the difficult part. What is hard is actually taking action. Have you realized how good children are at devising excuses for not doing what they know to be correct? Breaching the distance between ideas and implementation is a universal problem.

Habits represent the most visible and stable part of our personality. They can play against us, if they are destructive, or they can push us in the right direction, when they favour our goals. Even in our days of cultural relativism, many still regard the acquisition of beneficial habits as the central purpose of education.

Those who have incorporated good routines into their daily life enjoy enormous advantages over the rest of the population. Not only will they advance faster on the professional track, but they will also tend to live happier, healthier, and longer. Here are three habits that are uncomfortable to develop, but which pay huge dividends down the road:

1.- MAKE LISTS REGULARLY. The most common notes that we make for ourselves are to-do lists. Why not compile as well a list of long-term objectives, books that you intend to read, places you want to visit, or companies in which you would like to invest? Writing down ideas by hand on a piece of paper is often faster than typing them into a laptop or cell phone.

2.- PERFORM BORING TASKS FIRST. Setting priorities is as important in our private life as it is in business. We all tend to procrastinate when the moment comes to carry out chores we dislike. In those cases, human beings love to invent reasons to postpone activities that should be performed right away. The discipline of forcing ourselves to do unpleasant tasks first is as hard to acquire as it is invaluable.

3.- AVOID DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. It is regrettable to witness how frequently movies, television, and magazines portray reckless adventurers as heroes. Professionals who work in hazardous environments go to great lengths to adopt all sorts of precautions. Even those who possess combat training are reluctant to engage when they lack knowledge of the territory and enemy forces. Never place yourself in explosive situations unless you have indisputable reasons to do so.

When things get tough, don't allow problems to get you off the track. Doing the right things properly and consistently, day after day, is a simple and effective way to develop your potential. Make the effort to cultivate the correct habits and let them move your life forward on automatic pilot.

Ambition might take you places, but its ports of call always remain uncertain. Routine, on the other hand, will show you regular progress and establish the foundations of unbreakable self-confidence.

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People who never get the blues make the best of every hour. Positive circumstances advance their interests; negative events increase their knowledge. These persons look far ahead down the road and allow time to play in their favour.

They economize resources and focus their efforts on the most promising markets. They pursue their goals single-mindedly and understand the long-term benefits of consistency. Their peace of mind can be yours if you adopt their philosophy. Serenity is not based on inaccessible secrets, but on the immutable principles of reality.

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[4] Perception of the asymmetry of markets: the mistaken conviction that life offers limited possibilities leads to nervousness and exaggerated concern. If you are afraid of blowing your only chance, your obsession with performance will likely sink your ship.

Judicious men know that markets are asymmetric. Those individuals maintain their serenity in times of trouble because they understand that opportunities come and go. Prices can be low today and high tomorrow. Customers modify their tastes and clients their preferences. Constant change is a source of endless possibilities for entrepreneurs.

[5] Relentless curiosity and interest in learning: when unexpected events disrupt well-constructed plans, victims tend to react with irritation and condemn loudly all persons and obstacles standing on their path. Their lamentations, however, tend to have little effect on problems, except perhaps making them worse.

On the other hand, those who approach failure with curiosity can draw invaluable lessons for the future. Innovators are individuals who have learned to view problems as questions and obstacles as delays. Opposition makes them, not angry, but wiser.

To be continued in Part 6

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[2] Understanding the long-term effects of consistent behaviour: animals such as cats and dogs show occasional persistence, but they cannot make plans and implement them consistently. Steadiness of purpose is a uniquely human characteristic that constitutes the essential foundation of serenity.

The pursuit of long-term ambitions multiplies the effectiveness of human action. Determination turns prototypes into marketable products. Resolve transforms ideas into profitable businesses. Experienced men know the advantages of following an unvarying course. The way to preserve your peace of mind is to place your goals above short-term adversity.

[3] A desire to avoid waste and economize resources: complaining to those who cannot solve your difficulties represents a waste of energy and time. In contrast, people who never get the blues have learned to concentrate their efforts on finding solutions.

The longer you conserve your resources, the faster you will overcome adversity. Individuals who manage to protect their physical and material assets can look confidently at the future. On the contrary, those who dilapidate their qualities and possessions fear the day when their luck will change.

To be continued in Part 5

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Individuals who possess a steady character tend to be persistent and entrepreneurial. Their capacity to maintain an even mood in tough situations does not come from lack of empathy, but from moral nobility.

You will not see these persons worry for longer than the short time they need to readjust their course of action. Their attitude leans towards the future by making the best of their past. Each of us can acquire the five elements that form their character:

[1] A fair assessment of the impact of time on human affairs: in an era when most people can expect to live 70 years of age, we should never allow defeat to sink our spirits. A man who has acquired a proper perspective of life does not anger himself at every obstacle or inconvenience.

If your goals are sensible and worthy, you should have plenty of time to pursue them. Even though success is not guaranteed, your heart should allow no space to anxiety. Make the commitment to develop a calm perspective and banish discouragement from your thoughts.

To be continued in Part 4

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Thousands of individuals across the world never get the blues. You can become one of them if you adopt an entrepreneurial mentality in all areas of your life. Initiative and creativity will serve you well in private and business matters. They will help you in your dealings with friends as much as in those with customers.

Can you increase your resilience? Is it possible to render yourself immune to low spirits? What steps can to take to get rid of fears and doubts? A steady temper is the consequence of a person's history and convictions. The former are influenced by chance; the latter, determined by one's will.

Use rationality to develop your resilience. Those who think logically rarely fall prey to anxiety; those who view life with perspective are not affected by depression. Their beliefs are anchored in reality; their actions, aligned with essential truths, which include:

1. A fair assessment of the impact of time on human affairs.
2. Understanding the long-term effects of consistent behaviour.
3. A desire to avoid waste and economize resources.
4. Perception of the asymmetry of markets.
5. Relentless curiosity and interest in learning.

To be continued in Part 3

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If you want to pursue ambitious goals, your best ally will be resilience, not luck. Numerous are the men and women who start their careers full of enthusiasm, only to succumb to the first difficulties. The path leading to great achievement seldom runs straight. Detours are inevitable when impregnable obstacles stand on the way.

Healthy individual psychology depends more on steadiness of character than on a sunny disposition. Those who smile when misfortune strikes cannot be trusted with challenging tasks. Those who laugh in the face of disgrace lack empathy, benevolence, and humanity.

A wise man does not allow adverse circumstances to discourage him. When he encounters obstructions, he applies his creativity to seek passage. He faces difficulties with confidence and courage, while he strives to avoid wishful thinking and groundless optimism.

His resilience is based on a realistic assessment of his possibilities; his constancy, on the knowledge that perseverance can overcome disasters; his prudence, on the experience of past troubles; his alertness, on the wish to take advantage of opportunity.

To be continued in Part 2

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