LET THERE BE LIGHT In a fascinating essay of Isaac Asimov, shared by Navneet yesterday, in which he explores where new ideas come from, he observes The history of human thought would make it seem that there is difficulty in thinking of an idea even when all the facts are on the table. Making the cross-connection requires a certain daring. It must, for any cross-connection that does not require daring is performed at once by many and develops not as a “new idea,” but as a mere “corollary of an old idea.” The realm where new ideas exists, is actually a realm of darkness. And we are creatures who like to stay within lit areas. For it is scary to venture into the dark. So we clutch to dysfunctional situations and relationships, despite all writings on the wall, cos, irrespective of what they are, they are the known lit areas, howsoever dimly lit they might be. They offer security. And we forever hesitate to take a leap into the darkness. With Amazon in discussion yesterday, there was a talk of Jeff Bezos which fell into my lap today. As is possibly known by many, Jeff was a high paid executive in Wall Street, when the idea of Amazon hit him. This was early 90s. Internet was in its infancy. Jeff saw a potential in it. But, had you been in Jeffs place and internet was what it was, would you have taken the risk? Jeff was faced with similar quandary and faced a barrage of advice AGAINST taking the risk (Paulo Coelho and follow your dream was not so common a buzzword then). How would he take an effective decision? Being a man given to thinking in systems, he decided on a Regret Minimization Framework. Which is a complicated way of saying, which decisions of his, would a future self of him have the least regret for? Once he saw things in that perspective, the decision he could take was crystal clear to him. And I know how effective this framework is, for I have applied it myself and have never regretted that decision. I also realised how far I have moved away from it, for now, instead of Regret Minimising, I have now started focussing on risk minimising and there is such a difference between the two. Our true brightness lies in the darkness which surrounds us, and how we are able to renew ourselves. We are hurtling towards a festival of light, without celebrating the darkness with equal fervour. In that, we are never honest to our celebrations. So this while, let me wish you a Happy Diwali, by celebrating the darkness which might be nestled with you. Have yo celebrated it, before celebrating life? Synchronistically Max too shared a quote yesterday: “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What youll discover will be wonderful. What youll discover is yourself.” - Alan Alda, actor And then there was an interview of Pema Chodron, which said the same thing. The Universe definitely talks when you are seeking answers!
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:20:50 +0000
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