DW's Blog

Start With Where The World Is

by DW Green — June 9, 2021

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough”

Have you heard the expression “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough”? The idea is not to settle or compromise your standards, but rather not to become trapped by idealism.The community organizer Saul Alinsky opens his book Rules for Radicals with a pragmatic but inspiring articulation of that idea:“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be—it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be.”There is plenty you can do right now, today, that would make the world a better place. There are plenty of small steps that, were you to take them, would help move things forward. Don’t excuse yourself from doing them because the conditions aren’t right or because a better opportunity might come along soon. Do what you can, now. And whe...

by DW Green — June 2, 2021

“Principles and pragmatism are not at odds.”

William Lee Miller, in his unique “ethical biography” of Abraham Lincoln, makes an important point about this famous president: our deification of the man makes a point to pretend he wasn’t a politician. We focus on his humble beginnings, his self-education, his beautiful speeches. But we gloss over his job, which was politics. That misses what was so truly impressive about him: Lincoln was all the things he was—compassionate, deliberate, fair, open-minded, and purposeful—while being a politician. He was what we admire in a profession we believe to be filled exclusively with the opposite of that type of person.Principles and pragmatism are not at odds. Whether you live in the snake pit of Washington, D.C., work among the materialism of Wall Street, or grew up in a closed-minded small town, you can live well. Plenty of others have.

Read More – Personal Service, Always A Winner!

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by DW Green — May 5, 2021

Don’t try to impose your will on the world.

A long To-Do list seems intimidating and burdensome—all these things we have to do in the course of a day or a week. But a Get To Do list sounds like a privilege—all the things we’re excited about the opportunity to experience. This isn’t just semantic playing. It is a central facet of the philosopher’s worldview.Today, don’t try to impose your will on the world. Instead see yourself as fortunate to receive and respond to the will in the world.Stuck in traffic? A few wonderful minutes to relax and sit. Your car broke down after idling for so long? Ah, what a nice nudge to take a long walk the rest of the way. A swerving car driven by a distracted, cell-phone-wielding idiot nearly hit you as you were walking and soaked you head to toe with muddy water? What a reminder about how precarious our existence is and how silly it is to get u...

by DW Green — April 28, 2021

Your mind is infinitely elastic and adaptable.

Today things will happen that will be contrary to your plans. If not today, then certainly tomorrow. As a result of these obstacles, you will not be able to do what you planned. This is not as bad as it seems, because your mind is infinitely elastic and adaptable. You have the power to use the Stoic exercise of turning obstacles upside down, which takes one negative circumstance and uses it as an opportunity to practice an unintended virtue or form of excellence.If something prevents you from getting to your destination on time, then this is a chance to practice patience.If an employee makes an expensive mistake, this is a chance to teach a valuable lesson.If a computer glitch erases your work, it’s a chance to start over with a clean slate.If someone hurts you, it’s a chance to practice forgiveness.If something is hard, it is a chance to get stronger.Try this line of thinking and see whether there is a situation in which one could not find some virtue to practice or derive some benefit. There isn’t one. Every impediment can advance action in some form or another.

Read More – Too Nice?

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by DW Green — April 22, 2021

Sometimes our habits get stuck in a bad pattern that pushes us further from our natural, healthy selves.

Viktor Frankl, the brilliant psychologist and Holocaust survivor, cured patients suffering from phobias or neurotic habits using a method he called “paradoxical intention.” Let’s say a patient couldn’t sleep. The standard therapy would have been something obvious, like relaxation techniques. Frankl instead encouraged the patient to try not to fall asleep. He found that shifting focus off the problem deflected the patient’s obsessive attention away from it and allowed them to eventually sleep normally.Fans of the TV show Seinfeld might remember an episode called the “The Opposite” where George Costanza magically improves his life by doing the opposite of whatever he’d normally do. “If every instinct you have is wrong,” Jerry says to him, “then the opposite would have to be right.” The larger point is that sometimes our instincts or habits get stuck in a bad pattern that pushes us further from our natural, healthy selves.Now you shouldn’t immediately toss out everything in your life—some stuff is working. But what if you explored opposites today? What if you broke the pattern?

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The Definition Of Insanity

by DW Green — April 14, 2021

Hope is not a strategy!

It’s been said that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Yet that’s exactly what most people do. They tell themselves: Today, I won’t get angry. Today, I won’t gorge myself. But they don’t actually do anything differently. They try the same routine and hop it will work this time. Hope is not a strategy!Failure is a part of life we have little choice over. Learning from failure, on the other hand, is optional. We have to choose to learn. We must consciously opt to do things differently—to tweak and change until we actually get the result we’re after. But that’s hard.Sticking with the same unsuccessful pattern is easy. It doesn’t take any thought or any additional effort, which is probably why most people do it.