Do You Know When to Argue? Sometimes It Matters and Sometimes It Doesn't.

We are social creatures that hang out with our friends, live in tribal systems, and have families. Everything we know about ourselves is through the way others view us. In life, there are times when we should fight when our boundaries that are violated and other times we should just move on. It is hard to know when emotions get involved to know which is the best. I kind of put together a little cheat sheet for you....

1. Get Ready and Argue! There are times when issues are repeated or so grotesque there is almost no option than to argue and hold your line. You may want to first try discussing the issue and seeing if the person is willing to cease the behavior before having a conflict. Sometimes they are willing and sometimes they are not.

2. Lets Just Be Subtle: Sometimes being subtle by backing off slightly, not hanging out, or just making a small comment is enough to sort of let people know that the behavior isn't acceptable. Most interactions work on this level and people respond accordingly.

3. Stay Open to Options: Stay open to the possibility that things change and someday you can reconcile. If the relationship had value to you then wait some time and then text them to reconcile. Sometimes they are willing to and sometimes they are not.

Mountain in the Desert Painting-Keep Getting Better

I continue to work on improving my painting. Sometimes I sell a few for cheap. Its nice to sell a few and use some of that money to buy your supplies. Other times I just donate the money away. Here is the latest and greatest. My grass needs additional work. :) You can buy with free shipping for $39.99

I may not be the best but I'm trying!!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/173735952038

Innovation is What Improves Wealth in the World

Innovation is king in today's market. Countries that are innovative create new products and services others want. Much of American wealth was based on innovation and the ability to be "at the right place at the right time". The entrepreneurial spirit in the U.S. should be rejuvenated to ensure that the nation continues to maintain its economic status.

A study of economic development in Turkey found there is a positive impact between R&D expenditures and R&D workers and economic growth (Bayarcelik & Tasel, 2012). As R&D departments, expenditures and other indicators of innovation such as patents rose so did the GDP.

Why is this important?

Creative Commons

It indicates that countries should focus more on creating innovation. At the end of the day we as a nation need to have enough jobs to support our workers and economy. That won't happen unless our products are cutting edge and able to compete against the market.

Industries that don't stay on top of the market eventually fail. At first it may not look like failure, but as time goes on they lose more resource, have less investments, and need to cost cut. Eventually, there are lay offs. With enough businesses not competing there may be economic decline in the area.

Economic decline is partly a choice. It is how we handle the market, how we build our schools, the values we hold, and the investments we attract. While the factors are numerous economic decline is based on the amount of profit driven transactions as reflective of choice. It is hard to encourage choice when other options are better.

Bayarcelic, E. & Tasel, F. (2012). Research and development: source of economic growth. Procedia-Social and Behavior Sciences, 58.

Great Respect for San Diego Life Guards

San Diego is a beach city that sees millions of people every year making their way around other vacationers frolicking on the beach through a minefield of balls, shovels and towels. Life guards will need an eye like a hawk in order to see through the bobbing heads to those who may be in distress. Within seconds they will need to be in the water and doing their thing and saving lives.

 I always thought about getting a lifeguard certificate but then realized there was a significant time involved.

Hats off to Life Guards!

Boat Bilge Pump Problems and Finding Solutions

Bilge pumps for boats are vitally important. My boat's bilge pump went out and with some heavy rain accumulated a substantial amount of water in the bilge. Concerned I turned on and off the manual switch on the panel and got nothing. I then went on to test the bilge directly to the batter. It turned on but stayed on as though the float was stuck.

You may want to troubleshoot some stuff.

1. Connect to the battery directly. If it turns on you have a working pump. If it doesn't turn on you may need to buy a new one.

2. Check all wiring. In my case the wiring to the panel was bad and the wiring to the batter non-existent. The previous owner must have little to no electrical experience. I put in heavy grade battery wire directly to the batter and rewired to the panel. Now the switch works and the backup direct power source work.

3. Sometimes you can change the float and it will work. In this case, it was internal and unlikely to be taken out. I certainly tried. Some can just be changed out directly.

4. Think of a back up pump. I'm keeping my eye out where I can wire in a back up pump. .

5. Make sure you have a manual and utility pump around. The last thing you want to deal with is a dead battery at sea and no way to get water out.

Be Like a Duck or Be Like a Bull-Life Choices

You can glide through life like a duck or you can knock everything down like a Bull. Both will be a different kind of life and both are sometimes necessary but neither is a great way to be all the time. The most advanced people can use both types of behavior when necessary. They allow the small things to go over their back while being able to step up to the bigger issues.

The duck knows that the issue is there but lets the small things slide because getting caught into other peoples issues and behaviors has no advantage. It is best to navigate around these issues and keep going so that they can have peace of mind and accomplish their goals.

The bull will charge and fight with every slight. There are times when it is best to not let issue go and stand up for them. To fight is very noble but only when you are actually being noble and it has some purpose. If it is all about ego then it has little to no meaning and you will simply look confrontational.

Knowing when to be the duck and the bull is important. Small issues should not bother us. Most of the time it is unintentional and not worth our time. There are times when such behavior is repeated and needs to addressed. That doesn't mean to fight such issues but to address them with strength and courage.

How Cognitive Agility Helps the Military and Can Help You?

Almost all of us want a smarter brain that can do amazing things. We want to be flexible and capable to understand our world in a way that leads to the highest outcomes possible. Cognitive agility is the ability to bounce in and out of narrow and wide focus thinking. It can lead to greater performance and can be learned throughout our lives.

Lets say you have an outward focus and you have a hard time with details. You would naturally be at a limitation in understanding how something operates. On the other hand, you may have a more narrow focus and love details but have a difficult time connecting larger dots. If you can bounce between the two you have high cognitive agility.

According to a study in Journal of Special Operations Medicine, it is possible to train people on how to move in and out of focus in a way that leads to higher emotional intelligence and powerful decision making (Ross, Miller & Patricia, 2018).  Training people to have higher cognitive ability improves their overall decision making performance.

Why is improved decision making important?

There are lots of reasons from military to business executives to improve cognitive flexibility. The decision maker can focus on the large picture and then narrow in for the details when it is necessary. They are able to change their perspective and analyze the situation from angles others may have a have a harder time transitioning from.

When you are faced with a tough decision focus on the details but then move back and see the bigger picture and problem. If you can analyze the micro and macro aspects of the problem you can choose that decision which leads to the greatest benefits and options.

Ross, J., Miller, L., & Duester, P., A. (2018). Cognitive agility as a factor in human performance optimization. Journal of Special Operations Medicine, 18 (3).

Haupt, A., Quinn, K. Buttrey, S., Miriam, J., et. al. (April 17th) Cognitive agility measurement in a complex environment. TRAC-M-TM-17-021 Retrieved https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1032058.pdf