Otherwise...
Hi Readers,
Well, two posts in less than a week ! You can certainly tell that someone is not at work.
To be honest, although I haven't been at work this week following operations to my hand and my shoulder, I have waited until I have caught up on all schoolwork that was in front of me before starting this. And upon reflecting on that last sentence, why do I feel guilty about putting work before this? I definitely know which one I like doing more!!
I'm still typing with one hand, to be more precise, one finger, so this post might be a lot shorter than usual.
Where does the inspiration for this post come from? Does it even make sense ?
Well it does to me, and I'll try to weave it into something readable, so be patient with me.
It all started when I was having one of my regular FaceTime calls with our 3 year old Grandson, Henry on Saturday night.
The usual babble and banter was going on between the two of us, probably more from me than him. I can't even remember what we were talking about when this exchange took place, but it went something like this.
"Have you been swimming in your pool today Henry ?
"Yes Pop. I did a big jump and splashed Daddy"
"Did you land on Daddy?"
"No Pop, I can't do that, otherwise he will get hurt"
Did I hear that correctly?
A 3 year old using the word 'otherwise' correctly in a sentence? And he used it just as if he was using the word cat, dog, and, car, truck etc.
It was used as if it was just another common and everyday word that he always uses.
That's why I can't exactly remember what it was that we were talking about, but I definitely remember that he used 'otherwise' !! I mentioned it to his parents and commented at how impressed I was, but also it was a great reflection on them as parents and the way that they do everything they can to enable him to develop in so many ways.
It even had me thinking that he has a better control of the English language at 3 years of age than his Pop does at 60 !
S, hearing this got me thinking about a few other things that I've been noticing over time, but just haven't had a context or connection to use them in.
Until now.
As you'd all mostly be aware, kids at school use so much technology. Our kids have ipads that they probably use just as much as their workbooks. Think about yourself. How much do you actually write in books compared to how much you use a device?
We can be as critical as we want about this, but it's just the way the world is changing these days. I look at Henry and actually wonder how much handwriting will be a focus compared to typing as he grows up?
In my own class I see handwriting that is exemplary, and other samples that could easily pass as doctor prescriptions. That's not being critical, it's just how it is.
When using the ipads I have noticed the kids are often so impatient waiting for a screen or site to load, that they often reload or delete things before they have even the slightest chance to appear. They get frustrated if something hasn't loaded in just a few seconds, whereas I see the download wheel spinning and am content to wait.
It seems that in this day and age we are becoming so accustomed to getting things immediately that even just the slightest period of waiting is unbearable.
My response when they do this ? I use the 'otherwise principle'.
eg "How about you just wait a few seconds, OTHERWISE you'll spend even more time doing it all again?"
Or "How about you just wait for this page to load, OTHERWISE you might end up on a different page that won't have what you are looking for?"
It's about being prepared to persist with other options rather than blindly following the very first option that presents to us. And I could confidently predict that when we look back on decisions that we have made in our lives they haven't always been the first options presented to us. Particularly in making decisions that are really important and that require exploring all or many possibilities.
In a previous post I discussed decision making and how we need to consider the effects of our decisions on all stakeholders. "I need to make this decision OTHERWISE..."
Just hearing this gem from little Henry a few days ago has been that slap in the face I need from time to time to remind me to think carefully before rushing into decisions. I'm sure that he wasn't thinking about the consequences "of landing on Daddy and hurting him" as he jumps into the pool, but the discussions have obviously been there and held in such a way that he understands them and they are embedded.
Hopefully this lesson is then transferred to other situations in his life where he is able to consider more 'OTHERWISE' moments that he will no doubt encounter in his everyday life.
This is not just a learning experience for a 3 year old Readers, I see it as a great learning experience for all of us.
How many times have you seen someone do or say something, and you are left pondering, "What on earth were they thinking???"
I think my colleagues think that about me many times every day !
I was listening to a radio interview this morning about the miners in India who have been trapped in a mine collapse for the past 17 days.
When it first occurred, a collection of smart engineers sat around and tried to figure out the best way to rescue them without causing further collapses. No luck initially until they reached out to one of the chief engineers who comes from Monbulk, on the outskirts of Melbourne. Rather than having some whizz-bang intricate plan, he kept it simple.
He implemented the OTHERWISE idea.
"This is what we'll do, OTHERWISE we risk losing them all, plus many rescuers"
He wasn't even prepared to sacrifice 1 or 2 miners in order to save the rest, such was the belief in his well thought out and considered plan.
By now they had managed to get a narrow pipe through to the miners so that they could communicate and get food and water to them.
His plan?
"What we need to do is get them to slowly, but carefully dig by hand just 100mm a day in order to maintain the strength and integrity of the rest of the mineshaft"
It must have sounded like this would take forever, but he had taken the time to consider so many options, OTHERWISE...
Who knows what the consequences might have been had they decided to bore in and risk the lives of everyone?
Readers, I'm not suggesting that we all go out and try to save the world.
But if you can, then we will all be grateful!
What I'm suggesting, and what I took from what Henry said, and what I heard on the radio is that at times we could try to be less reactionary, and perhaps stop to think about things before responding. It doesn't mean that in an extreme emergency you go and make a coffee, open a packet of Iced Vo Vo's and calmly sit down to plan what to do next.
It's just to try and respond more rationally and in some ways, choose your battles.
I know this happened to me just last week when a kid at school did something that initially made me really annoyed, and just as I was going to tick him off, I stopped and just said those words to myself..."Is this worth the battle?"
And it wasn't, because in reality it was minor, and I was letting an ant become an elephant.
So Readers, two posts in a week, and who knows what could happen tomorrow ?
Time to rest this one finger that has typed this entire post and read some books to find some inspiration for the next post.
Otherwise...
Cheers 😁
