If only the inertia was not there

 

The inertia of the mind urges it to slide down the easy slope of imagination, rather than to climb the steep slope of introspection. Marcel Proust

Arun Kumar

Inertia: a property of matter following which a body remains at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by some external force.

In the physical realm of material objects, it is hard to start moving from the position of rest. Similarly, when moving, objects prefer to keep, well, just moving.

This tendency of material objects is encapsulated as Newton’s first law of motion. Bringing any change requires a force that is exerted by something external to the object.

In life a similar law of inertia also plays out. Although the premise is not material objects but our psychological dimensions, the concept is the same. It is hard to deviate from the status quo.

It is not easy to get started on new activities (and turn them into habits), or once habits are in place, a conscious effort is required to make a change.

I witnessed this tendency again recently in a habit I picked up, and now I am having a challenging time breaking out of it.

The habit has to do with taking vitamin B-complex supplements.

The reason I got started down this road is the strange affliction of dermatographia I have been struggling with for about one year. I have no clue what triggered it. It is nothing life threatening but is affecting quality of life as a minor incidence of scratching can devolve into intense episodes of itching that leave me exhausted and panting.

Another fall out is that the symptoms exacerbate in the night and wake me up a couple of times, and thereby, have been interrupting sleep.

Not knowing the cause behind it, the mind naturally goes exploring in different directions and brings up different hypotheses for possible attribution. Perhaps, mind wonders, it is a manifestation of something else more serious out of whack in the body that I do not yet know about. Perhaps it is a sign of some nutrient deficiency like lack of some amino acid or vitamin in my diet.

If it is the deficiency of some vitamin, the mind argues, why not throw the kitchen sink at it and take vitamin B-complex. In doing so, perhaps something will click, and the ailment will be cured.

That is how I got started down the path of starting to take the vitamin B-complex, and now I am finding it hard to get out of the a habit it has become.

There are a myriad of reasons for not being able to change the status quo and stop taking B-complex. The reasons are embedded in strange twists and turns of human psychology.

After a couple of months of being on the regimen, I am not quite sure it has helped or not, but when I think about stopping, a thought creeps in and says what if the “positive” influence of pill is subtle and if you stop you will slide back.

The argument hints to the psychological fear of missing out (FOMO). I am not sure what positive effect the B-complex is having but if it has, stopping is only going to have an adverse impact.

Mixed with FOMO, and a closely related psychological factor is the fear of regression.

There is a thought that says that discontinuing the supplement will result in a return to my previous health problem. Mind you, I am not quite sure if the problem has gone away, but by stopping I do not want to disturb the balance of the universe and take two steps back.

The other obvious culprit is psychological inertia. After two months, taking a supplement has become a daily habit and now is part of my morning routine going through which feels comforting.

Breaking habits, even those with uncertain benefits, is a challenge due to some deep-seated psychological aspects — FOMO, fear of regression, and a tendency to maintain status quo.

Why try to fix something that is not broken?

So, for now, following the law of (psychological) inertia I continue to take a pill of B-complex each morning.

Perhaps what I should do is to start taking it on alternate days, and if nothing feels different then after a while, take it every three days. After a while perhaps I will forget to take the pill once in a while and one day, I will just stop.

From that day on, if nothing else, then I will save some hard-earned money.

Ciao.

Who came first, bed or bed bug

 

Arun Kumar

Lately, bed bugs have been getting a lot of attention.

These are not your garden variety bed bugs that meet and greet you in some seedy motel on the side of an interstate where the receptionist at the front desk looks bored while she checks you in. These are the kind of places where from the past experiences you know that before entering the room it is good to say a prayer that the layout of the land would be “hospitable” and when you wake up in the morning, you would not look las if your skin broke up with chicken pox.

No, what we are talking about are the bed bugs from the city of lights, Paris. These are the bed bugs who crawl along the wide promenades, sit in the Café’s and nibble on fluffy, golden, and buttery croissants, and live in ritzy hotels.

These are bed bugs that hitch a ride on the catwalk with fashion models and dream of vacationing in tropical Islands while chomping on a Cuban cigar.

While reading all this news about the bed bugs and the misfortunes of humanity on top of what is already happening in Ukraine and the middle east, I get sucked into an inner dialog to sort out a philosophical conundrum. That dialog went like this.

Me#1: I wonder who came first, the bed or the bedbug?

Me#2: What are you talking about? Don’t be silly. Bed bugs existed for millions of years enjoying the bounties of nature. They were there before the beds came along.

Me#1: There is something wrong with that idea. Are you trying to tell me that bed bugs existed before beds came along? Did someone just have the brilliant idea to invent the bed and ask bed bugs to move in and give them a place to live.

Me#2: I suppose it’s possible that bed bugs were just out there living in the cold world, homeless and looking for a cozy spot to have fun and frolic, and then some genius said, “Hey, let’s make a bed for them!.”

Me#1: Right, and the bed bugs rejoiced and sang hallelujah thinking they hit the jackpot!

Me#2: So, in a way, the bed bugs could be the original homeowners, and we humans are the intruders, which in a way we are. Not unlike that notion that knowledge exists, and we are just learning it. So, bed bugs existed, and we just invented the bed for them.

Me#1: Let’s just hope we don’t have any bed bugs moving in while we ponder life’s mysteries. While we are at it, let us rethink the Paris vacation. We do not want to bring bed bugs to our bed at home.

Me#2: Right. But I have to say it was an interesting question you raised that philosophers would be discussing until cows come home. Not unlike the debate they have on the question whether chicken came first or the egg. Some of the exceptional ones even ask why did the chicken cross the road and wonder what do chickens used to cross before roads came along?

After that intense mental debate, I felt exhausted, my brain started to hurt, and the mind needed a recess. I headed to pour a glass of crisp chardonnay to chill and to recuperate.

Ciao.

Words of wisdom for blogging without worrying about number of likes

 

Vishnu Kant Srivastava & Arun Kumar

 “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.”

 

 

Two friends (the authors listed above), both above 60, one already retired and one contemplating retirement in near future, started to discuss testing the waters of the world of blogging. Knowing well that getting a toehold in the world of blogging is a daunting task, the discussion turned somewhat philosophical towards whether can one engage in the practice of blogging for its own sake and not be worried about being praised and admired?

The thought was nothing new. It relates to an age old qustion — Can we engage in actions without being influenced by the expectations for a desired outcomes?

Well, considering some of us may be looking for meaningful engagements in our life in retirement after 30-years of work, can we feel engaged in writing blog posts without worrying about the scope of readership? Can we engage in an action, get fulfillment from the action and not be driven by certain expectations about results? After all, there is the old cliché that “the joy is in the journey and not about the destination”.

Pondering over these questions and having a discussion we remembered a passage in the Hindu scripture Bhgatwat Gita, where Lord Kirshna advises Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield. It happens when Arjuna’s resolve to carry forward with the battle (the action he is to engage in) starts to waiver because its outcomes may lead to death of loved ones.

Krishna said:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि

The passage translates to “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results (consequences) of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.”

Can we follow the ancient wisdom and not be concerned with the outcome of our efforts or hope if the blog will go viral?

Clichés aside, human psychology, unfortunately, works in different way. Through our evolutionary process, we are geared for an action-reward paradigm. Actions that produce positive results tend to get repeated and are enforced. Actions that result in negative (painful) consequences, are avoided in future. This feedback cycle, at the biological level, is one of the foundations of the evolutionary process. We are conditioned to responses to dopamine circulating in our brains, and anticipation of rewards motivates us to act. A good example of this feedback loop is performing arts.

In the world of performance arts, during the course of any performance, we need resonators, applauders, who can continuously give support by way of thumbs up or some other such sign. Applauds provide positive feedback and accentuate performer’s confidence that things are moving in the right direction.

All performing art needs resonators. If a player is performing, the claps or roaring sounds of the audience gives confirmation to the performer. A dance that gets applause sustains the continuum of action from one step to the next.

The resonator, in other words, is meant to keep the tempo high and helps the performer in the right direction. We seek a similar praise in competitive sports also, where there are competitors engaged in actions and there is an audience to give resonance to their actions.

Resonators, therefore, are an integral part of a successful performer and their progress.

Can the action-reward-habit feedback loop be overcome in more intellectual pursuits, like writing a blog during our retirement?

After all, our capacity to think, our self-awareness raises us above merely being slaved to natural laws. We are capable of venturing beyond the principles that govern natural selection and evolution.

Blogging (writing), in a way can be considered as a performing art. In the world of internet and blogging, the resonators are in virtual space, but nevertheless they are there. A stream of thumbs up and likes is meant to sustain and encourage bloggers.

Thinking of blogging as an act of performing art, however, was not much help to us. On the contrary, it generated a need for resonators and a crowd to cheer us on.

So where does that leave us? To blog or not to blog without worrying about its outcome?

The answer may be in constantly reminding ourselves of words by Lord Krishna to Arjuna “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions”.

Krishna’s advice can also be interpreted as it is actions (karmas) that we control but desiring specific results is out of our control.

In that quest, it helps that the age two of us are at, we are not typical performers. The purported motive for our writing helps set the context. What differentiates us from performers is that we are not after fame and glory. We are not after monetizing our efforts. And further, we have the luxury and freedom of trying something and failing and then trying something else. We have nothing to prove.

The purpose of our writing is more for utilizing our signature strengths that served us well during working life and use them to fuel engagements in retirement. In doing so, our primary purpose is to seek a sense of accomplishment and a sense of having meaning and purpose in our retirement life. Blogging for us could be an action without us being unduly influenced by expectations for end results.

At our age, we can plant a tree without worrying about whether we will see it bear fruits. The alternative is to choose path that expects an audience for praise but if it does not happen then feel discouraged and gives up.

And so, we will keep posting occasional blogs without having much expectations for praise. Of course, if you press the like button, we will feel a tingle of happiness and our aging hearts will skip a beat!!

Ciao and thanks for reading.

A 30% Chance of Rain

 

 

 

 

 

One day it rains while the another day sky threatens to do it again but then decides to hold itself back and just be cloudy.

Check with the folks at your local weather office and they will tell you that the chance for rain tomorrow is 30%. Maybe I will carry 30% of the umbrella when I go out for my walk, and all will be well. But alas, I either must carry an umbrella and be 100% safe or not carry one and face a 30% chance of getting wet (which in summer, might actually be fun!). I do not have an option for carrying 30% of the umbrella. The decision for carrying an umbrella is a yes or a no proposition. All I can do is to look at the chance for rain in forecast and make a decision.

A 30% chance for rain. It is just a reflection that future is uncertain.

Uncertainty, chance, luck, randomness, kismet, afortunado; however we refer to the future uncertainty, it plays a large role in shaping our life. The very fact that you are here reading these words, and the sun is shining outside in the sky is a result of long chain of lucky events in the evolution of stars and galaxies, in the evolution of life on Earth, and in the trajectory of our own life after birth.

Accept or not, ultimately, we are a result of imperceptible nudges of luck (or chance, uncertainty, randomness…). We are a conclusion of a long chain of random events that have shaped our life and everything around us.

We also developed a downright strange relationship with luck. When outcomes of our decisions turn out to be good, we attribute that to our superior skills and clear thinking. When they are not good, we blame them on bad luck. When lady luck smiles on us, she does not get enough credit for her generosity, but she sure gets all the blame when things go south.

With luck adding a twist to our careful deliberations, the trajectory of our life is decided by two components — the quality of our decisions and the role luck plays in what actually happens. We can set the stage and increase our chances of winning by making informed decisions and doing that is an excellent skill to cultivate.

We should put our best foot forward and then be optimistically cautious that things will turn out what we envisioned them to be. Opting to eat healthy food and having a healthy lifestyle increases the likelihood that we will require less visits to the doctor, although no one can guarantee for it. Jumping in the stock market after researching stocks carefully will increase our chances of having positive returns but then the world gets hit by COVID-19, and for a while our investments sour.

To keep ourselves humble and not get overconfident in our skills and abilities', it would be good to periodically remind ourselves of the role luck and randomness play in outcomes.

So next time, when there is a chance for 30% rain and you did not carry an umbrella but get soaked, enjoy the feel of the rain on your face and make the best of it.

Ciao and thanks for reading.