Comments on: Don’t Believe The Hype! http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/ Connect, Live Free . . . Be! Thu, 20 May 2010 13:02:36 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Geuka http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/comment-page-1/#comment-1567 Geuka Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:11:51 +0000 http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/#comment-1567 Dan, as usual, I always enjoy the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your responses. What is so amazing about believing the hype is that people already "know better". What I mean is that there are so many aspects of our lives where we are completely clear that rigid, unwavering thought & action could be bad for us and might even bring about our demise. For example we all know that when driving, even on a road that appears straight, we have to make constant, minor course corrections to ensure we don't veer off course and become something we'd prefer a lot less: like becoming a hood ornament, an abstract splat on a wall or a disappearing sound off a cliff. People seem to struggle with transferring this ability to the less tangible. Thoughts and beliefs can benefit from this kind of refinement as well. Thank you so much for sharing! Dan, as usual, I always enjoy the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your responses.

What is so amazing about believing the hype is that people already “know better”. What I mean is that there are so many aspects of our lives where we are completely clear that rigid, unwavering thought & action could be bad for us and might even bring about our demise.

For example we all know that when driving, even on a road that appears straight, we have to make constant, minor course corrections to ensure we don’t veer off course and become something we’d prefer a lot less: like becoming a hood ornament, an abstract splat on a wall or a disappearing sound off a cliff. People seem to struggle with transferring this ability to the less tangible. Thoughts and beliefs can benefit from this kind of refinement as well.

Thank you so much for sharing!

]]> By: Success Comes From Within | humancipate! Connect, Live Free . . . Be! http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/comment-page-1/#comment-1097 Success Comes From Within | humancipate! Connect, Live Free . . . Be! Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:35:04 +0000 http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/#comment-1097 [...] was simple.  He wanted to be better and didn’t let his inner hype man convince him to rest on his laurels.  He altered his swing and after some time became more [...] [...] was simple.  He wanted to be better and didn’t let his inner hype man convince him to rest on his laurels.  He altered his swing and after some time became more [...]

]]> By: Dan Wilson http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/comment-page-1/#comment-250 Dan Wilson Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:45:13 +0000 http://humancipate.com/dont-believe-the-hype/#comment-250 When I took up running a few years ago one of the things I both read about and experienced first hand was the statement, "You don't run against the other runners in a race; you run against yourself." It is a cliche but true. I find that in most endeavors I undertake there is a temptation to look over my shoulder at what other people are doing who are similarly engaged. This is one aspect of the internal hype monster that you described. "Beating others" (whatever that means) means nothing if I haven't met my own standards. Likewise it may force me "out of my game." Setting my own pace and having my own goals is one key to not believing the hype. Your friend that you described has managed to balance this carefully. She is her own person with her own high standards of competence but she does not allow that to degenerate into arrogance. I am amazed at how many people in the administration of former President Bush have shared that on certain critical decisions he never wavered or reconsidered his position. This was true when military experts told him that Iraq would not be the cake walk he said it would be. This was true when his top financial advisers told him that cutting taxes,deregulating Wall Street and spending massive amounts on a war would push the country into economic crisis. Then there were those who couldn't get his attention on intelligence data that said terrorists were planning to crash planes into buildings. And finally let us not forget Katrina where his was told on at least four different documented occasions that the levees would not hold with a direct hit by a strong category 2 hurricane or above. It is not that Presidents don't have to make tough decisions. It certainly is not that we expect them to never make a mistake. It is that this President was always supremely confident that he was doing an excellent job. To my knowledge he has never taken direct responsibility for any of the specific blunders of his administration. I share this at the risk of attracting those zealous George Bush supporters who claim I am propagandizing on behalf of some left wing cause. That is not my point. My point is that so many people voted for George Bush and so many people were initially comforted by his firm unyielding stances because we have bought into a distorted sense of leadership in this country. Leaders have to be able to constantly question their own judgment, to check and double check. Some mistake this for being indecisive but that is not what I am talking about. A great leader keeps moving and making decisions. It is just that they are secure enough to recognize when they make mistakes, admit it, learn from it and move on. They keep their ears open and don't shut their minds to new information -even if it goes against what they believe. To do otherwise is to be swallowed alive by the hype monster. When I took up running a few years ago one of the things I both read about and experienced first hand was the statement, “You don’t run against the other runners in a race; you run against yourself.” It is a cliche but true. I find that in most endeavors I undertake there is a temptation to look over my shoulder at what other people are doing who are similarly engaged. This is one aspect of the internal hype monster that you described. “Beating others” (whatever that means) means nothing if I haven’t met my own standards. Likewise it may force me “out of my game.” Setting my own pace and having my own goals is one key to not believing the hype. Your friend that you described has managed to balance this carefully. She is her own person with her own high standards of competence but she does not allow that to degenerate into arrogance. I am amazed at how many people in the administration of former President Bush have shared that on certain critical decisions he never wavered or reconsidered his position. This was true when military experts told him that Iraq would not be the cake walk he said it would be. This was true when his top financial advisers told him that cutting taxes,deregulating Wall Street and spending massive amounts on a war would push the country into economic crisis. Then there were those who couldn’t get his attention on intelligence data that said terrorists were planning to crash planes into buildings. And finally let us not forget Katrina where his was told on at least four different documented occasions that the levees would not hold with a direct hit by a strong category 2 hurricane or above. It is not that Presidents don’t have to make tough decisions. It certainly is not that we expect them to never make a mistake. It is that this President was always supremely confident that he was doing an excellent job. To my knowledge he has never taken direct responsibility for any of the specific blunders of his administration. I share this at the risk of attracting those zealous George Bush supporters who claim I am propagandizing on behalf of some left wing cause. That is not my point. My point is that so many people voted for George Bush and so many people were initially comforted by his firm unyielding stances because we have bought into a distorted sense of leadership in this country. Leaders have to be able to constantly question their own judgment, to check and double check. Some mistake this for being indecisive but that is not what I am talking about. A great leader keeps moving and making decisions. It is just that they are secure enough to recognize when they make mistakes, admit it, learn from it and move on. They keep their ears open and don’t shut their minds to new information -even if it goes against what they believe. To do otherwise is to be swallowed alive by the hype monster.

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