Step Five (And Six)

Now, to the best of your ability, go do the right thing.  Yes, people will argue with you endlessly about what exactly “the right thing” is, and that’s okay, but when it’s time for you to act, you’re going to have to be the one to do it, and you’re the one that’s going to have to live with what you do.  Remember that, and do your best to be your best.

(And my son asked me to add that it’s okay to hope, just don’t let hope become a form of denial.  He’s right too.  It’s not only okay to hope, it’s good to hope!  A ten percent chance of success, even a one percent chance, is still better than no chance at all, and if that’s your best option, better that you take it than just give up.  Just take those chances with your eyes open and as much as possible, a serene heart.  Remember, the Valkyrie don’t just pick from the winning side.)

Step Four

You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!

– Robert A. Heinlein

(But remember they are clues!  Like I referenced yesterday, it was a fact no big animals lived in the area; that fact alone didn’t necessarily preclude the possibility of something big being in the area.  New facts come in all the time.  Use them!)

Step Three

Don’t go into denial.  Time wasted on Can’ts, Musts, and Buts is time better spent on the actual situation.  Put another way, stopping to explain to the tiger that it can’t possibly be in your backyard isn’t the best use of your time.

(Take it from someone who as a kid ran inside after a stray firework startled something that sounded big that was hiding in the underbrush, and I was promptly assured that no big animals lived anywhere near there.  While this was true as far as it goes, the next day I heard about a train load of circus animals that had escaped following a nearby crash, so . . . you know, I still feel pretty good about going inside.)

Step Two

When in doubt, see Step One, because as Adam Savage has rightly said, “Calm people live, tense people die.“

Step One

Don’t Panic

– The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I’m Fine, Just A Bruise And A Scrape On One Elbow (But My Pride May Take Some Time To Recover)

Speaking of overconfidence . . . 

Here’s a pro-tip for you:  If you’re trying to sit in a hammock in the dark, pay more attention to what you’re doing than to the antics of the ecstatic happy puppy at your feet lest you suddenly find yourself “Gilligan’s Island-ing” heels over head to land on your elbows on the concrete beneath you.

Today I Think I’ll Just Keep It Simple

Happy New Year!

(And if anyone ever gifts you one of those bottles sealed with a plastic cork, don’t repeat my mistake of trying to open the damn thing, and just throw it away.  Seriously.)

Something YOU Should Have Seen Coming

Author:  Bet you didn’t see that coming!

Me (As An Audience Member):  Well . . . no, I didn’t, because it makes no sense and throws away all the world building you’ve spent so much time carefully crafting, and all for a cheap shock that feels like an insult to anyone who loved what you had created.

Author:  But you didn’t see it coming, now did you?  Hey!  Where are you going?

Me:  To do something else.

Today’s Advice For My Son

Any way you slice it, kiddo, by the time someone tells you that they’re feeling a certain way (be it frustrated, angry, sad, afraid, or what have you), they’ve been feeling that way for some time before that.  Learning to recognize the signs of those feelings before someone feels the need to say something about them will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Today’s Piece Of Advice For My Son

Learn early the difference between the things you need to do, and the things that other people are only telling you that you need to do, so that you can better recognize the times that you still need to do something despite the fact that someone told you that you need to do it.