Reacting vs. Following

They tell me to just follow as if it is so simple.

My arm tension is constantly changing, my hands have more rules than Multivariable Calculus, and I am still trying to think about my feet.

I guess following really is complex work.

In fact, following is only half the picture. Reacting is the other half.

I follow my partner's lead, but react to the changes in his hands.

I follow where his arm guides me but react to his pushes and pulls.

I think reacting seems more difficult because it spans a micro sliver of time.

Reacting is instant. Following is delayed. Anticipating is forbidden.

I need to do them both and understand which one goes where.

I should have chosen to lead.

That would have been much easier.

The 4-Hour Workweek Diet

In his book, "The 4-Hour Workweek" Tim Ferriss flies against many of today's norms. Throughout the book he basically advocates a "call in sick" approach to job and life. Though I have yet to read the entire book, my impression tells me that it is largely based on taking many shortcuts that may not be too realistic for some.

One chapter in particular details an "information diet" consisting of little to no news reading, limited fiction reading before bed and a few other caloric restrictions designed to decrease your input and increase your output.

I think he definitely has a point.

As a whole we take in too much information and do even less with what we take in. But to say that we all should reduce the amount of information we take in seems to me like an overshoot. We all have different "metabolisms". Those with higher informational metabolisms(higher output) probably need more input than those who ar

e more at rest.  In fact, in most systems I can think of, more output means more input, not less. 

Usually, there is a positive correlation between input and output, right? Of course there is a point at which it becomes counterproductive, eating more than you actually move in which case excess calories can create fat deposits. 

Luckily, our comparison between food and info is only symbolic!

The Instructor's Paradox

The instructor's paradox is this:

You will spend your entire life pouring your heart into others, striving to bring them to their personal perfection and inspiring them to grow beyond their imagination.

Day and night you obsess over figuring out how to make them surpass you. 

You will simultaneously spend your entire life striving for your own personal perfection, searching for that next step to bring yourself closer to a goal that can never be attained.

Day and night you toil to avoid being surpassed by those you love to inspire.

Microscopic Changes Can Create Massive Results

Many times, in order to affect the large you have to change the small.

With communication, a small change in the verb can change the whole voice of meaning.

When dealing with problems that require creative solutions, look at the entire problem. Once you have viewed the problem from a wide angle lens, zoom in and zoom in close.

Once you do that, think about the smallest change that can create the largest effect.

The good thing about small changes is that they are often undone easily when made in error. Though they may have the same impact as a larger one, the latter takes a much more extensive clean up effort.