Comments for Change Catalyst

Comment on You WISH You Were A Honda Motor by Shanna Mann

Shanna Mann — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:46:59 +0000

@Kanchax Over-optimization is an oxymoron, I’ll admit. Generally what happens is you optimize for a certain aspect, and that actually decreases the efficiency on a bunch of other fronts, to the over-all detriment. Thus, a process can be legitimately said to be over-optimized if excessive focus on optimizing one aspect is to the detriment of the process as a whole.

As a simple example, since school funding is often tied to grades, schools have begun “teaching for grades”. Almost every aspect education: the methods, the material covered, etc, are optimized to make sure that if at all possible, kids score well on standardized tests. However, this is a detriment to actually understanding the material (as opposed to parroting the expected answer) to critical thinking, to creative thinking, and to physical activities. Thus, the modern school system is overoptimized.

Thus, the only way to have a truly efficient process is to try as far as possible to stay in a range where all aspects of the process interact efficiently *with each other*. Plus, a dynamic system is inherently flexible and able to absorb fluctuations in speed/load/stress making it far more effictive than and “optimized” system, but difficult to design. That’s where kaizen comes in. Incremental improvements are the best way to tweak a dynamic system.

Comment on You WISH You Were A Honda Motor by Kanchax

Kanchax — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:54:49 +0000

I do not even am sure of what you are saying. Over-optimising has in it the prefix “over”, which is about excess. Excess is undesirable and in my opinion goes agaisnt optimization.
That said, I learned and still learn about not over-optimizing by observing more normal(sane?) people who have impact. My over-optimization came from not attaching myself to how things make me feel. It was no good. But now I know better and love fully what I can and must love.

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by Shanna Mann

Shanna Mann — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:12:26 +0000

@Akos Fintor I’m glad you got so much value in it. Thanks for taking the time to tell me so! :)

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by Akos Fintor

Akos Fintor — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:32:48 +0000

HI Shanna!
I love the idea of wiping your life clean….and starting over one piece at a time. Making a list of ” I can’t live withouts” is a great way to start. People can gain a great deal of perspective using your method. I like the way you broke it down to: ” While there’s nothing wrong with most of the stuff that fills your day — – It’s fun, or productive, or whatever — – it’s also not the thing that makes your life meaningful.” YOU SAID IT! White space is…. the moments within the moments…… that we all miss..Thanks for this insightful post! Non priorities begone!

Comment on Permission Slips for ‘Epic’ Goals: Slapping Down Black & White Thinking And Expanding The Definition Of An Epic Life by Ludicrous Fear Popcorn… Now With Real Fear!

Ludicrous Fear Popcorn… Now With Real Fear! — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:24:48 +0000

[...] I’m teaching a teleclass with Shanna Mann called “Permission Slips for Epic Goals.” Which probably doesn’t tell you a lot, actually, but it’s about how to be more [...]

Comment on Permission Slips for ‘Epic’ Goals: Slapping Down Black & White Thinking And Expanding The Definition Of An Epic Life by sarahemily

sarahemily — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:30:54 +0000

@Karen J woohoo! Was wondering where you were… :-D

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by Shanna Mann

Shanna Mann — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:13:54 +0000

@ethanwaldman It’s true. Nature abhors a vacuum, and it will seek to fill it. That’s the biggest reason why you have to be really, really mindful of what you trade it for.

I use the white space to experiment with new things. I’m always trying stuff out. But I’m also mindful of the point where I start feeling overwhelmed or dragging my ass, and I know it’s time to jettison that stuff.

So I don’t think it’s a problem for you to remove something that’s *really* important to you and replace it with something that’s *even more* important to you, and to choose to protect the remaining white space you have rather than fill it with performance. And even when you leave your job, I know you have that Tiny House planned, so it’s conceivable you might *still* choose not to perform. On the other hand, you might try the odd open mic nite as a garnish. No pressure if in the end you don’t feel like showing up

I think that’s the really tough part about this. In order to protect your quality of life, you need to be really judicious about even the most awesome stuff.

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by Shanna Mann

Shanna Mann — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:02:17 +0000

@sarahemily Yeah, Walden’s in Mass. I think. This is just a tiny little acreage, five miles from the post office, backing onto the woods. The phone never rings here, we’re away from the road. It’s seriously about as idyllic as you can get and still have hi-speed internet (without internet, this would all suck horribly)

I have a constant push-pull relationship with over-commitment. I’m working on evening that out some. I can’t wait to see the results of your experiment. :)

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by ethanwaldman

ethanwaldman — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:49:32 +0000

in your experience, once you created all this white space doesn’t it end up just filling up with stuff that you really want to do? I think one of the biggest challenges (for me) and most important distinctions here, is that you have to know when the new thing is something that you want to have extra time for versus something that will just detract.

One example from my life, is that I chose to give up something that I really truly love, at least temporarily. I used to balance a full-time job with near full-time songwriting and performing. When I recognize that the full-time world was not for me, I knew I needed to launch a business. In order to find the time for cloud coach, I made a conscious decision to remove the music for my calendar. I created the white space for what was most important.

Comment on It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Non-Priorities. by sarahemily

sarahemily — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:41:50 +0000

@Shanna Mann I was going to say, “the actual Walden?!” but I’m pretty sure Walden pond is in New England. I’m a huge “social butterfly” and have been seriously over-scheduled and over-committed for my whole life, so this is going to be a very interesting experiment.