Weekly Question & Framework: May 10, 2024

Hello and welcome to the Curiosity Chronicle Weekly Question and Framework. In three minutes or less, I'm gonna give you one question and one framework to get you thinking going into the weekend. Without further ado, let's dive right into it. A question to focus your energy Are you trying to clean up your city before sweeping your doorstep? In Kevin Kelly's latest advice column, one of my favorite items was the most simple to clean up your city, sweep your doorstep first. My own interpretation of if you want to work on your external world, first work on your internal world. It reminds me of one of my favorite Zen parables Two men come to visit a Zen teacher to inquire about moving to his village. The first man enters and says, I'm thinking of moving to this village. How is it here? The teacher replies, well, how is your current village? The man responds, and it's terrible. I hate it there. The Zen teacher answers, this village is the same. You won't like it. The second man enters and says, I'm thinking of moving to this village. How is it here? The teacher replies, well, how is your current village? The man responds, it's wonderful. I love it there. The Zen teacher answers, this village is the same. You will like it. The Lesson Our internal reality creates our external reality. If you want a beautiful, fulfilling external world, first turn inward and create a beautiful, fulfilling internal world. A Framework to Avoid Bad Outcomes Boiling Frog Syndrome if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will instinctively jump out to avoid being killed. But if a frog is placed in warm water that is slowly brought to a boil, it may not notice the creeping, subtle change in temperature until it is too late. The boiling frog analogy brings to life a harsh reality. The most dangerous habits, behaviors, and beliefs are the ones you slip into slowly, day after day, without ever realizing the damage they are doing to your life. We think that catastrophic outcomes can be avoided by simply avoiding significant mistakes, when in reality, catastrophic outcomes are often simply the macro result of thousands of micro mistakes. The micro mistakes can take a variety of forms. The diet and exercise slip up when you didn't feel motivated the tiny white lie to cover up a mistake the lack of appreciation voiced to the person you love in each case. Small things feel small enough to ignore in the moment, but they are silently, subtly compounding to become something big in the future. Perform an honest assessment of your own life. 1 Where are you falling victim to boiling frog syndrome? 2. Where are you allowing micro mistakes to compound quietly in the background of your life? And three what changes can you make today to stop their future impact address these questions, avoid bad outcomes and improve your life. That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you learned something, and I hope you'll share it with others. As always, until next time, stay curious, friends.