I have not been able to read fiction for something like two years.  I have to really force myself to do it.  My wife turned to me when I told her this and said, ‘Maybe it’s because you think that’s what you should be doing’.  I think she may be right.

So while I sort that out why not ask yourself the question… what should I be doing?  Not, what do I have to do… but what should I be doing?  This question looks for things you need to focus your faith on to realise.  Take it from me if you don’t you will still want it this time next year!

According to They Might Be Giants… the sun is a mass of incandescent gas… a giant nuclear furnace. Ernest Hemingway told us ‘the sun also rises’. Yet, this is not the case… it’s a common misconception. The sun never moves. It’s kind of like me during one day cricket: a stationary ball of anger, rage and heat. Living in a hot climate I have often been stung by it’s heat. Yet, during my 30+ years I have never seen the sun rise. It remains a mysterious hot ball of non-moving fury.  In ‘reality’ our language makes fun of us… it betrays us and makes us believe what is not true.  If the sun were to rise… by now, surely, it would have hit the roof off space.   Why am I mentioning this?  Often in life we accept taken for granted assumptions as though they cannot be questioned.  They can.  As I once heard it said… the unquestioned assumption is usually the one that holds the key to solving problems… think about that… it may just unfreeze your brain.

I was stumbling when I came across this: The top eight most poisonous animals in the world.  Five of the eight are native to my home state of Queensland!  That’s six out of eight deadliest animals (well poisonous) in Australia.  I have no idea whether we have scorpions in this country.  If we do… the motto is: STAY INSIDE!!!  I remember when I was living in a bushy suburb a big snake fell off the roof and slithered through the back garden.  Good times.

Alright so I waited 160 odd posts before I spoke about cricket. You have to know when it’s time to quit something. Here are two examples from two of my favorite cricketers.

Justin Langer

I was listening to an interview with Justin Langer the other day and he said after hearing how excited Matthew Hayden was about an up coming series. I remember him saying, “How am I going to get that back?” I felt when I was listening to this that he had lost the burning ambition to play cricket for his country. This is important. This doesn’t mean that if you lose the desire to do something that you should quit. I have lost the desire to do exercise plenty of times but I know I need to be doing it! I mean, when the passion slips out of what you do for a living… I am sorry … but you need to go do something else. Again, this is what living through the heart is all about. Don’t quit your job just yet, take stock of where you are and think it through.

Knowing the time to quit: Adam Gilchrist

Recently Adam Gilchrist shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement. When it came time to explain his decision he said, “I just knew”. What did he mean? He meant he felt inside that it was time for him to move on with his life. I have felt this often in my life and most of the time it has worked out well for me. There is a difference between feeling like it’s time to quit and knowing it. Knowing is a inner sensation that lets you know that it’s time. The feeling may be reactionary because of pressure or some thoughts that may be occupying your mind. Knowing is a deeper ‘heart’ thing that comes to you. Here is a simple test you can do to see if what you are feeling is coming from your sub-conscious or somewhere deeper.

When you think about a change in your life are you convinced or are you talking yourself into it? If you are talking yourself into it the chances are you are ‘trying’. You never try to do something of the heart … it just is. You can’t be something you already are! You can’t reason out the heart … it just is. Pay good attention to it!

The point here is that these two cricketers made choices not on an emotion but on the heart. The head and the heart often conflict but ultimately the heart should win out. If you follow this I believe you are heading to a good place!

This is part of an on-going conversation I am having on the heart

Woolworths has always been a fairly heartless conglomerate, I thought, since they decided to demolish some bushland at Maleny to build a supermarket that nobody visits. However, this morning I was surprised when I went to fill up the Falcon and discovered 10% ethanol fuel with a short description next to the bowser on why they use the fuel. The price was cheaper too which is good considering my Falcon chews it up around the city.

A decision with heart

Strategically this is a good move for Woolworths because it shows that they don’t just bulldoze bushland they are prepared to invest (with Caltex I might add) in the distribution of cleaner burning fuels. So why is this a heart decision? Making a choice for the environment is jumping on the bandwagon but it’s still good to see it actually happening. This planet is suffering thanks to us so we need to do something about it. Industry leaders like Caltex and Woolworths have shown us the way and I think it’s interesting that they are out in front of the pack. Good on you.

A heart choice for Ford

I think Ford need to follow suit here. I have had some problems with my Falcon but one of the biggest that will stop me from buying another one when I trade up is the cost of fuel and the damage such a car can do to the environment. Something happened to be when I had kids I got soft. How about it Ford… make a Falcon that’s fuel efficient that runs of clean burning fuel? Surely we have the technology to do that now? C’mon give it a good ‘Aussie’ go.

Can you imagine getting up every morning and working until you went to bed? What if you made a choice to dedicate your life to a certain cause and all you got in return was criticism and persecution? Well that’s what my wife puts up with everyday. She is a stay at home mother. For this reason, she is my hero. Why?

My wife the hero

I really admire people who stick to their values. My wife is one person who always stands up for what she believes and never backs down. If the world had more people in it who made an attempt to live from their values, in this way, I think we would be much better off as a society. There is another reason why my wife is my hero. She has to put up with me!

Hero’s do what it takes even when nobody else will

By definition a hero is someone who does what they know they have to do when nobody else stands up to do it. There is a person in my life who had a major tragedy when her “husband” decided that life would be better, living with his parents in another country, instead of being around for his very young son. So who stood up to help? My wife. For the past two years she has been helping out to get this person back on her feet by taking her kid three days a week so she can work to support herself. This is what I admire the most about her. She is always there to help in a time of need.

The most important thing about a hero

A hero stands up without thinking about the cost to themselves. They are humble. Not false humility where people lower themselves to make themselves seen. I mean they just get on with it. No mess and no fuss. That’s what a real hero is. These are the people you can’t see. The fractured lines in between the elements of reality we all take for granted.

Life is filled with people who are overly selfish. People who step over each other to get ahead and at the expense of others hurt people recklessly and thoughtlessly. Every now and again somebody steps up to make a difference. The thing is when you ask them why they will always answer, ‘Because it has to be done.’ You may not be a hero but I guarantee you will know someone who is. If you know a person like that remember them. Do something for them without them knowing it. I guarantee you it will give you joy beyond measure.

There was been a lot of hoo hah about digg in the last 24 or so hours. Like most people I am sure we don’t want to be unproductive when it comes to life. However, I must admit to having Diggitis from time to time. Last semester I was teaching Mobile Workforce Technologies and some IT students (if you are reading this I had a great time) pointed out my stumble bar, I was caught out. I frequently used the web in that course because it’s about the leveraging power of social media, blogging, wikis and so on and the social ideas that underpin them. Come to think of it I probably should be talking about it on this blog a bit more shouldn’t I? As the title suggests the subject was all about how ‘mobile’ technologies influence the way work is designed and implemented. We used a wiki to make students write their own textbook about the world of mobile technologies. Although, towards the end it became more about educating people about online collaboration and co-learning but that’s another story. Sorry, tangent!

Anyway, the students pointed out to me that I had a stack of tools on top of my browser for stumbling. I have since cleaned it up. I can tell you that at the time I had just become acquainted with stumbling and it’s very addictive.

Do you have Diggitis?

I sometimes get it. It’s a hypnotic state that induces people into random clicking of most of the trivial information that makes the Digg front page. I have to force myself to do something else. If you get Diggitis I can tell you that you will have to work very hard to break out of it. It’s no wonder these sites become popular. For me, I don’t use Digg all that often, I prefer Stumbleupon myself. I guess you could call that Stumbleitis. I don’t really want to say ‘Reddititis’ because it sounds like a serious disease or deliciousitis either for that matter but you get my point.

What can you do about it?

The main thing you can do is be positive and set targets. The key thing to note is that whilst you are doing it you may find yourself running out of time to do other important things. If you are digging at work, or stumbling or whatever, the chances are you should be working. Here are three things you can do immediately that will reduce the amount of time you spend on social media sites:

1. Set daily goals: The reason we end up aimlessly clicking is because we are unsure of what our daily targets may be. It’s important the you keep a close eye on what you are doing and make sure that you are happy with your daily tasks. If you aren’t then spend 5-10 minutes making a daily list of what you need to do that’s very important. Take a piece of paper and stick it in front of your computer.
2. Give yourself a time limit: When you start on a site set a time limit of two to three minutes and then switch it off. Don’t fall into a Digg trance. By setting yourself reasonable limits and time to do it you will free up a small amount of time to enjoy it whilst not sacrificing the majority of productivity.
3. Use your imagination: Imagine what it’s like to fired. Really think about it. Can you see what it looks like? Good remember that next time you spend more than your allocated time stumbling!

The key thing to hold in your mind is that stuffing around on social media is fun, entertaining and interesting. However, you have to get things done in order to be successful. Very few people are successful on the basis of not working. Almost everyone who is someone worked at least somewhat to get there. So, I recommend moderation in stumbling and digging. If you don’t you will you be stuck with Diggitis.