Ray’s Daily
March 19, 2019
As you think, so you become…..Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions, manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren’t there.
Epictetus
I worry sometimes that too many of us don’t stop to think before we jump to erroneous conclusions. It reminds me of the times I have returned excess change I received to a cashier only to find they reacted before I could explain that they did not short change me.
Have our lives become so fast paced that we don’t take time to deliberate before we judge? I hope not.
The following edited piece I got from Angel Chernoff triggered my thoughts today.
A 90-Second Reminder that Will Change Your Attitude (and Spare Some Pain)
Many of the biggest misunderstandings in life could be avoided if we simply took the time to ask, “What else could this mean?”
Here’s how it works: The story I’m telling myself can be applied to any difficult life situation or circumstance in which a troubling thought is getting the best of you. For example, perhaps someone you love (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.) didn’t call you on their lunch break when they said they would, and now an hour has passed and you’re feeling upset because you’re obviously not a high enough priority to them. When you catch yourself feeling this way, use the phrase: The story I’m telling myself is that they didn’t call me because I’m not a high enough priority to them.
Then ask yourself these questions:
- Can I be absolutely certain this story is true?
- How do I feel and behave when I tell myself this story?
- What’s one other possibility that might also make the ending to this story true?
Give yourself the space to think it all through carefully.
Challenge yourself to THINK BETTER—to challenge the stories you subconsciously tell yourself and do a reality check with a more objective mindset.
~~~
If you’re going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you’re probably doing something wrong.
Antonin Scalia
~~~
A new doctor had arrived in town. He could cure anything and anybody. Everyone was amazed with what he could do – everyone except for Mr. Thompson, the town skeptic.
Grumpy old Mr. Thompson went to visit this ‘miracle doctor’ to prove that he wasn’t anybody special. When it was time for his appointment he told the doctor, “Hey, doc, I’ve lost my sense of taste. I can’t taste nothin’, so what are ya goin’ to do?”
The doctor scratched his head and mumbled to himself a little, then told Mr. Thompson, “What you need is jar number 47.”
So the doctor brought the jar out, opened it, and told Mr. Thompson to taste it. He tasted it and immediately spit it out, “This is gross!” he yelled. “Looks like I just restored your sense of taste Mr. Thompson,” said the doctor. So Mr. Thompson went home…. very mad.
One month later, Mr. Thompson decides to go back to the doctor and try once again to expose him as a fake, by complaining of a new problem. “Doc,” he started, “I can’t remember anything!” Thinking he had the doctor stumped now, he waited as the doctor scratched his head, mumbled to himself a little, and told Mr. Thompson, “What you need is jar number 47, it’s……” But before the doctor could finish his sentence, Mr. Thompson was cured and fled the room!
~~~
Am I getting older or is the supermarket playing great music?
~~~
You might be from Las Vegas If…..
* – You no longer associate bridges with water.
* – You can say 110 degrees without fainting.
* – You can make instant sun tea.
* – You learn that a seat belt makes a good branding iron.
* – The temperature drops below 85, and you feel a bit chilled.
* – You discover that in July, it takes only 2 fingers to drive your car.
* – You discover you can get a sunburn through your car window.
* – You notice the best parking place is determined by shade, not distance.
* – It’s noon in July, kids are on summer vacation, and not one person is on the streets.
* – Hot water comes out of both taps.
* – You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
* – No one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
* – You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
~~~
The self is not something that one finds. It is something that one creates.
Thomas Szasz
~~~
“Can you tell me how old the dinosaur bones are?” a tourist asked the museum guard.
“They are three million, four years and six months old.”
“That’s an awfully exact number. How do you know their age so precisely?”
“Well, the dinosaur bones were three million years old when I started working here and that was four and a half years ago.”
~~~
Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing.
William Feather
~~~
Mensa is an organization whose members have an IQ of 140 or higher. A few years ago, there was a Mensa convention in San Francisco, and several members lunched at a local cafe.
While dining, they discovered that their saltshaker contained pepper and their pepper shaker was full of salt. How could they swap the contents of the bottles without spilling, and using only the implements at hand? Clearly this was a job for Mensa!
The group debated and presented ideas, and finally came up with a brilliant solution involving a napkin, a straw, and an empty saucer. They called the waitress over to dazzle her with their solution.
“Ma’am,” they said, “we couldn’t help but notice that the pepper shaker contains salt and the salt shaker…”
“Oh,” the waitress interrupted. “Sorry about that.” She unscrewed the caps of both bottles and switched them.
~~~
As human beings, we suffer from an innate tendency to jump to conclusions, to judge people too quickly, and to pronounce them failures or heroes without due consideration.
Prince Charles
~~~
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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