Do You Know What You Don’t Know?

“Believing everyone is dangerous, but believing nobody is more dangerous.” ― Abraham Lincoln

There are really only 3 types of people in the world.  It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you look like, or what you had for breakfast.  We run into these people every day, because people are, you know… everywhere.

The first type of person is the Gullible one.  These people are easily duped.  They’re the ones who are easiest to prank on April Fool’s Day.  They’re the ones who believe whatever you tell them no matter how outrageous.  A classic example of this comes from the story The Emperor’s New Clothes, in which the Emperor believes the claims of a couple of con-men and ends up wearing the finest set of non-existent clothes ever not made.  Unfortunately, this type of person is also easily parted from their money.  They fall for every get rich quick scheme that comes along and are easy prey to con-artists.

The second type of person is the Cynic.  These people don’t believe anything that they hear.  These people are often condescendingly distrustful of human nature and motives.  They believe that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest and that people are out to get their money, their belongings and their reputations.  Cynicism is really just a self-constructed cage which causes a person to reject the world around them, and in many cases, the good that is there as well.  A cynic is the person who’s mind is like concrete; all mixed up and permanently set.  They are the people who reject ideas and opportunities, no matter how good, because their mistrust causes them to be blind to the possibilities.  Some of these people will be so cynical that they might even believe that they are members of the third and final type of person.

The third type of person is the Skeptic.  This person is willing to suspend their doubts because they know that they don’t have all the answers.  This person will approach life in a way which allows them to look at new ideas and new opportunities and learn what they don’t know they don’t know.  They are willing to take in new facts and ideas.  Process them.  Weigh the pros and cons and make a decision based on what they have learned.  Not on previously held beliefs of what they think they know about something.  These people are wary but not afraid.

It seems that every day there are more and more cynics and gullible people out there.  Perhaps it comes from watching a world which seems to be sinking into a well of distrust and lies (credit fraud, banking schemes, Ponzi schemes and rip-offs), that people just don’t trust themselves enough to make good decisions.  Being with people who are forever falling for the joke, or being taken to the cleaners by every con gets tiring.  By the same token, it can be extremely frustrating to be subjected to someone’s constant cynicism.  Especially when you just know that they are missing out on some great opportunities and experiences because of their mistrust.

I would rather spend time with a skeptical person any day of the week.  You can have fantastic conversations with them and even if you don’t agree with what they have to say you might just learn something.  Whatever the case, I’m just glad that I tend to be a skeptic -- at least I’m willing to learn.

Believe It and See It

As is often the case at the beginning of the year people make all kinds of resolutions.  Most revolve around getting into better shape physically.  The gyms are full of people in January, all looking to transform themselves into a paragon of fitness.  By February, most have decided that the shape they are already in (usually something resembling a pear) is fine and they stop going.  Why is this?  I think people are genuine in their desire to get into shape.  Who doesn’t want to look and feel better?  I think this failure to follow through is due to a lack of mental preparedness.  People start out with the desire to change their bodies without making the change in their heads first.

Before people begin to change anything they need to have a plan.  My plans for 2013 are big.  I envision great things for myself and my family.  Will all of these things come to pass?  Maybe not.  But at least I have an end goal in mind.  Too often people are of the “I’ll believe it when I see it”, kind of attitude.  Let’s think about this for a minute.  Do you feel the heat from a fire before it’s lit? No.  Until the fire is lit there is no heat.  You can’t have the end result without the prep work.  What about building a house?  Do builders just pick up some wood and nails and start building?  There is always a plan. A vision of what is to come.  Can you imagine what kind of monstrosities we would live in if builders just started banging away willy-nilly?  The true statement would be more like “I’ll believe it and then I will see it.”

My plan for 2013 is already underway.  It’s still early days, but I am starting to see movement (small right now) toward my goals.  I don’t see them yet, but I believe they will come. So in the interests of helping out those 2 or 3 of you who read this, I will share an outline for developing a plan of your own.  And the greatest thing about this?  It’s never too late to start!

Step 1:  Get A Dream and Dream Big

Dreams fuel your emotions.  Emotions will spur you on to some sort of action.  Maybe it is the dream of seeing the look on your kid’s faces when you tell them you are going to Disney World (having the money on hand for such a thing before you go of course).  Or the look on your spouse’s face when you go on a surprise second honeymoon.  You also need to dream bigger than you currently are.  As soon as you settle for less, you end up with less than you settled for.

Step 2:  Submit to Reality

Anything worth having will take hard work and time.  Whatever your dream is, it WILL NOT happen overnight.  Think long term.  Getting fit will not happen in a week.  Perhaps not even in a month.  (In my case maybe not in a year!) But accept that you have time to get things done.  Take some sort of action in the direction you want to go.  Doing nothing ensures you stay where you are.

Step 3:  Work Hard

There is no way around this.  You have to work to get what you want.  Don’t accept excuses because as soon as you do, it is all over.  Keep at it.

Step 4:  Believe!

You need to believe that whatever it is you are working for will happen.  This step is often the hardest.  The human mind is a strange thing.  Too often we have a difficult time believing in something that we haven’t seen or experienced.  Henry Ford once said “If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t -- you’re right.”  Sometimes we need to borrow someone else’s belief until we develop our own.  Find a partner to work with.  Join a group of like-minded individuals.  Visualize yourself in the position you are dreaming about.  Use your imagination.  Whatever it takes.  If you can’t picture yourself there it won’t happen.

So make this plan your own.  Get a dream and work for it.  You won’t be disappointed!

Lawn Care and Attitude

I've been reading allot lately about attitude and how that affects not just ourselves, but also those around us.  I find it amazing that a person's attitude, basically how they feel or think about something, can affect how our day goes as well.  If you are feeling down and you get around someone who is happy and looks at life with a positive attitude, it can actually help to improve your own mood.  By the same token, the reverse is also true.  We've all met "Negative Nellie".

What does this have to do with lawn care?  Well thanks for asking.  Each year at this time I begin the annual ritual of cleaning up the debris on the lawn from the fall and winter -- leaves, sticks, dirt from along the side of the road, that kind of stuff.  When the job is complete, the lawn looks nice and clean and when it gets warm enough, the grass starts to get green.

For the first few weeks there is a nice green carpet surrounding my house.  If I do nothing else it looks good for a while.  But then my old nemesis returns.  The Dandelion (cue ominous music).  The dandelion, if left to grow, eventually turns into that cute puff ball that kids like to blow everywhere.  Each of those little pieces of fluff carries with it a seed which if left in fertile soil (and sometimes not so fertile soil too), will grow into another dandelion.  If I'm not careful, the whole lawn will be full of them after a while.  But if I work at pulling the stalks before they become flowers, the lawn remains tidy and clear of them.

Now... think of the dandelion as negative thoughts.  We all have them.  The important thing is to remember to deal with these negative thoughts early -- just like the dandelions on the lawn.  If we let our negative thoughts grow they will eventually spread to our whole way of thinking about, and dealing with, the world around us. 

On the other hand, if we can get into the practice of pulling our negative thoughts early and just rethink our position, we can do wondrous things.  Our focus on positive thoughts will affect our attitude and our mood.  Eventually, with enough practice, we will be able to recognize our negative attitude immediately and pull the 'dandelions' so we can have a better attitude.  I'm not saying that by doing this we will never have a bad day.  But if we recognize our attitude towards our life for what it is, a choice, wouldn't you rather choose to be a positive influence on those around you?