When I was learning to play chess I read a book that suggested:  “Play against chess players who are better than you so you will improve.  And play against chess players who are not as good as you so you will be encouraged.”

This advice exemplifies the contrast between aspiration and satisfaction.  We like to improve, but we also like to feel successful.

How can we accomplish both?

As a pragmatist, I always look for solutions that work. Every day I want to get better at whatever I’m doing – my writing, for example.  But each day I also want to be happy with what I’ve done – my writing, for example.  Why not do both.

First, I have to enjoy the process of writing (and I do).  As Justice Louis Brandeis said, there is no great writing, only great rewriting.  I enjoy working to improve what I’ve written, putting it aside for a few days, then working to improve it further.  It’s important for me to remember that whenever I read anything in print I’m probably looking at the twentieth draft, certainly not at the first.

Secondly, I enjoy the results of writing  – a completed book or blog. In addition, I find I have come to understand myself better as my own thoughts are clarified in the writing and rewriting process.

A reporter once telephoned a writer to ask, “How do you feel about winning the Nobel Prize for literature?”

“I don’t know,” the writer said.  “I haven’t written about it yet.”

Your own perceptions are the secret ingredient that enable you to enjoy how you spend your days. If you see the world through the darkened lens of pessimism and negativity you will never be content. But if you choose to see each day as an opportunity for both discovery and improvement, you will never be disappointed.

One of my favorite movies is The Last Samurai.  As the hero, Katsumoto, is dying, his last words to his comrade-in-arms are about a cherry blossom.

“It is perfect.”

Alan

When I was a kid I seldom believed the conventional wisdom my mother attempted to instill in me.  I found her advice to be, well, so conventional. Here are a few examples.

“If you don’t brush every day, your teeth will fall out when you’re older.”

At the time I thought the only real reason to brush your teeth was to avoid bad breath, which I didn’t have.  So until ten years ago, after my second tooth implant, I seldom brushed my teeth.  Actually, one tooth did fall out – it broke off at the gum line one day during lunch, and within an hour I was at my dentist’s office so she could finish the job.  Now I brush my teeth every day.

Score:  Mom 1, Alan 0.

“Get enough exercise or you will drop dead from a heart attack.”

Until a few years ago I seldom exercised intentionally, and it’s self-evident that I have not dropped dead from a heart attack or anything else.  As regular readers of my blog know, more than a year ago I began walking three miles every day.

Yesterday my cardiologist called. He sounded a little surprised as he shared my test results. Evidently my heart is in slightly better condition than it was last year.  Mom would have smiled.  Daveen and I laughed.

Score:  Mom 2, Alan 0.

“Eat all of your vegetables or you’ll die of scurvy.”

Come on, Mom.  Scurvy was a problem for sailors years ago when they didn’t eat fruits or vegetables on sea voyages that lasted months or years.  Besides, you usually overcooked the vegetables, and you only used plain vinegar or lemon juice on the salad.  Yuck!

Today (I can hardly believe this myself), I often enjoy a salad as my entire dinner.  With blue cheese dressing, of course.  Mom, you may have been right, but I’ve never had scurvy.

Score:  Mom 2.7, Alan 0.3.

I never told my (now adult) children to brush their teeth, get enough exercise, or eat all of their vegetables.  But they know.  Maybe my mom got to them somehow.

That’s the interesting part of conventional wisdom.  It’s become conventional because it is, after all, wisdom.

Alan

Many of my best blogs are missing.

No, they weren’t swallowed by my computer, although my laptop has digested more than one document.

Let me explain.

The first step in writing my blog is inspiration.  What should I write about this week?  That is the more difficult part for me.  The actual writing is easier.  Fortunately, at some point during my week, often while I’m walking, I’m struck with a promising idea for my next blog.

After that spark of inspiration, the next step is simply to remember the idea. Unfortunately, my ideas have a half-life of about 12 seconds. So unless I write them down immediately, and I do mean immediately, I am likely to forget them.  Perversely, it seems that the better the idea, the more quickly I forget it.  (Is this a delusion?  Maybe one day I’ll write about that, if I remember.)

Many years ago Roberta, a writer/friend of my father’s, complained that her best ideas bloomed in the middle of the night, only to become lost by morning.  Dad suggested that she buy one of those new-fangled tape recorders so she could record the idea on tape as soon as it came to her.

She did.  But Roberta ultimately reported to Dad that those “middle of the night blossoms” seemed dehydrated in the light of day.

Even though my iPhone is almost always with me and, if not, there is always the old fashioned method – pen and paper, I’ve always had a mental block against writing my ideas down.  Even when I really push myself, I only write down about half.

This morning I had two excellent business ideas.  By afternoon all I remembered was that they were terrific because I had completely forgotten what they were.

So if you have any great ideas for my next blog, please share.  I’ve already forgotten most of mine.

Oh, well.  At least this blog is finished.

Cheers.

Please.

Alan