Category: Considerations – Colin Wright

Handling Life’s Challenges

Posted on by jabittan
Another benefit of the rigorous self awareness that Colin Wright lays out in his book Considerations is a sense of preparedness which builds our self confidence as we face hurdles along our journey through life.  “If you’r healthy, strong, knowledgeable, sociable, and capable of coping with discomfort, there’s little you can’t handle”  the author writes.  What Wright is explaining in this quote is that we can build our confidence through self awareness which will help us avoid becoming overwhelmed and filled with fear when we face challenges.  What is required is the ability to profoundly understand ourselves and an ability to view situations from multiple perspectives to fully understand the scope of the situation we face.  Without developing these practices then the hard work we apply to our obstacles is not as effective or efficient as it could be for us to derive a real benefit.

 

Wright’s quote shows that taking self awareness and combining it with hard work and a willingness to be a  uncomfortable creates a resilient mindset. Gaining a deeper understanding of our skills and weaknesses helps us see the best ways to approach challenges or areas where we need to grow. This can help us anticipate ways in which we plan to maneuver through life when the going gets tough.  We can develop a better mindset for our day to day life through our reflection, and this mindset can help us better prepare for our challenges.

 

Wright continues, “Why would you worry about something you know you can handle if you need to?”  The final part of his quote shows how our self awareness practice and the increased confidence that comes with it help us face our challenges in a better light. Rather than worrying all day about hard work and obstacles, we prepare ourselves for them with the understanding that we can overcome anything because we have prepared ourselves and know our strengths and weaknesses.

Overcoming Fear and Finding Growth

Posted on by jabittan
Today’s quote from Colin Wright comes at a truly perfect time for me.  I have a terrific job which offers me a lot of flexibility, opportunities to grow, and time away from work to be involved in things that interest me.  However, I am still interested in moving forward and growing in new directions.  I enjoy the work I do, and feel well supported at work, but I can see areas that interest me more and may offer me a greater sense of fulfillment. What holds me back from pursuing the visions I have had is fear, and the desire to maintain my comfortable success as opposed to taking the more risky yet more rewarding path forward.

Wright, in his book Considerations, writes, “We could spend our entire lives trying to figure out the optimal use for the time we have, but I think the best approach is to always be pivoting and changing course: to be introspective enough to recognize when your needs change, and to be prepared to recalibrate your internal compass any time you detect that you might be happier and more fulfilled taking another course.”  His quote shows the importance of not trying to have every aspect of our lives planned out ahead of us.  As we grow we will begin to see that our interests and passions change over time, and if we couple this change with self awareness and reflection we can better understand what aligns with the person we truly are, and what is out of order with our inner self.  Wright, who has a personal philosophy of always providing himself with the greatest number of opportunities, is arguing that we should never lock ourselves into a particular course without allowing ourselves to pursue other opportunities.

Wright continues, “The fear of accidentally working hard to get someplace we don’t want to be can be paralyzing, but it’s an irrational fear.” When combined with the quote above this quote helps me understand life’s journey in a more benevolent and comprehensive manner.  We are never completely locked in to the life we live, and we are always able to recalibrate our lives to move in new directions if we allow ourselves the chance to change.  Understanding that our consequences won’t define us and won’t last forever, can help us overcome the fear that prevents us from moving in the directions we dream of.  By creating big goals, understanding that we will have to work hard, and envisioning the challenges which await us, we can prepare ourselves to move in a direction that will provide greater growth and ultimately greater fulfillment.

Fear of Consequences

Posted on by jabittan
“It doesn’t actually matter where our fear of consequences originates.  What’s important is acknowledging that it’s there,” Colin Wright states in his book Considerations. What Wright is addressing in his chapter about consequences is the way we tend to think about the repercussions of our actions. He lays out the idea that very few of the negative consequences we fear are permanent. Throughout the chapter he dives into our fear of consequences, where that fear originates, and ways to bypass that fear.

 

For Wright, pretending that we do not have any fears does not help us move forward. He believes it is important for us to open up about our fears and identify them through processes of self awareness. When we begin to look at what we are afraid of and what keeps us from acting, we begin to see ways to overcome the obstacles that scare us.  When we let go of the consequences of our actions and examine ways in which we can overcome negative reactions we are preparing ourselves to have courage and handle the negative in a respectable manner.  This idea is similar to those of Richard Wiseman in his book 59 Seconds, where he identified studies which suggested that journaling about the obstacles we will face and how we will overcome those obstacles can better prepare us for our journey and help us feel better about our journey.

 

Wright also explains the ways in which we take small consequences and magnify them beyond their true scope. When we imagine that small consequences carry more weight than what they actually do, we begin making decisions as if they precede life or death consequences. This puts an unreasonable amount of stress on our lives, and complicates our decision making process.  When we begin to understand our fear and thoroughly think through the consequences of our actions, we can begin to enjoy more freedom in our life without being paralyzed by the ‘what if’ mindset of life.

The Impermanence of Failure

Posted on by jabittan
Throughout much of his writing, author Colin Wright tends to focus on our thoughts and the ways in which we react to things.  He frequently writes about self awareness and the ways in which our interpretations of our situations affects our thoughts and reactions. By becoming a more aware person and being able to control our thoughts we are able to have more positive reactions to the world around us.  In his book Considerations he writes, “Very seldom does failure have permanent repercussions. Unless you allow it to that is.  Many of the negative consequences of an action tend to result not from outside forces, but from our own negative thinking.”

 

I think this quote shows the power of self awareness and the power of controlling our thoughts. When we are able to recognize how we are thinking and feeling about any given event, we are better able to control our thoughts and shift them in a positive direction. When we are able to do this, we are in many ways able to chose our reactions and the ways in which we act.

 

To me the part that stand out the most from this quote is the last few words about negative thinking. By building self awareness and focusing in on our thoughts we can reduce the amount of negative thinking in our lives in all situations. Recognizing how your are thinking and acting allows us to see when we are over emphasizing small problems. For me, being able to recognize when I am letting something unimportant impact me in a negative way has helped me feel better about myself and my situations on a daily basis.

 

When it comes to failure, recognizing what Wright is discussing can be huge, especially in our professional careers.  We tend to fixate on things we have not done well, and we do not remember the positive parts of our workday.  When we dial in on the negative we build self doubt and cling to fears. What Wright is showing when with this quote is that others won’t remember those failures as long as we will, so it is not worth lamenting over those failures. If we do not learn to control our emotions and thoughts then all we gain from failure is a negative self impression and fear. Practicing self awareness can help us shift those thoughts so that we do not hang on to a past failure and allow it to become  a roadblock as we move forward.

Acknowledging our True Selves

Posted on by jabittan
Colin Wright is a huge proponent of self awareness and ideas relating to self awareness. He advocates for recognizing ways in which our actions and ideas are shaped by our limited perspectives, draws attention to the parts of us we hide from ourselves and others, and he challenges us to rethink our goals and desires to become more aligned with our true personalities.  Throughout his book Considerations Wright brings all of these ideas into focus in ways which are very novel and were very new to me as I read Considerations.  Regarding self awareness and understanding our true selves he writes, “Reach deep and acknowledge the dark parts of who you are, then sand smooth or sharpen those aspects of yourself, just as you would with any bad habit or misfit trait.  It seldom serves us to conceal any part of ourselves, especially from ourselves.”

 

For me, Wright’s quote speaks about the importance of being honest with ourselves about the thoughts we have and the actions that result both explicitly or implicitly from those actions.  When we are able to accept that we have feelings, thoughts, or tendencies that run counter to our ideal self image, we are able to shift our focus to address those issues and make changes in our lives to grow for the better.

 

I think a fantastic example of this which I had to address myself deals with racism. I don’t think the majority of people in the United States would consider themselves to be racist or to discriminate against minorities, but unfortunately many people have an implicit bias that skews their behavior towards minority groups or individuals in a negative direction.  Within the first split second we meet another person we make judgements as to whether that individual can be trusted, is a good person, is successful, and whether or not they are someone we should interact with.  These thoughts and ideas race through our mind faster than we can recognize, and if we leave those thoughts unchecked, we may react negatively to another person, and those thoughts can materialize in small actions through body language, facial expressions, and through cordial or not so cordial greetings.  Without realizing it we may inadvertently frown at a member from a group to which we do not identify, or we may quickly advert our eyes, or possibly just not say hi or even acknowledge their presence.  None of these actions are explicitly negative or enough to classify any individual as a racist, but nevertheless, the person on the receiving end does pick up on the fact that they are not welcomed into your social circle.

 

What Wright in his quote above is advocating for is an understanding that we all have our dark spots like the situation I described. If we turn our attention inwards and focus a light on those dark spots we may not completely overcome them, but at least we can control them and manage the way they manifest in our lives.  Without accepting that we have these dark spots we live in an illusion where we have placed ourselves on a false pedestal. From our perch we risk inadvertently harming those around us by creating a blindspot in our actions. When we accept our shortfalls, we can identify new ways to move forward and become more egalitarian.

Creating Value Along an Unpredictable Path

Posted on by jabittan
Colin Wright in his book Considerations shares a bit of excellent advice for those of us who are not 100% clear on our goals.  He states,

“Focusing on producing value in everything you do serves as consistency when all other options in the entire world are open to you. You can head in any direction, and pursue any future you want, and though you may pivot many times between ‘here’ and ‘there’, maintaining a focus on value will ensure that no wrong turn is wasted time, and no goal is so nebulous that it’s completely untethered.”

This quote really speaks to me because it highlights our unclear paths, gears us toward success with the understanding that we may not have immediate success, and helps us change our mindset by producing value for ourselves and the world.

Often times I find myself frustrated because I am not sure exactly what path I want to take in life. Sometimes it seems as though I do not have a clear direction and goal in my career, and it is hard for me to envision success or a landing point for success.  What Wright’s quote shows is that we do not have to have a tangible goal if we are 100% focused on our own growth and providing value to the world. If we focus on value then our efforts will be meaningful and we will develop new connections, learn more about ourselves, and begin to see opportunities for us to develop our own spot in the universe.

The quote also shows that success does not have to be immediate for us. It has often been written and repeated that millennials are too entitled and that my generation does not expect to work for their goals, but rather that they expect to be handed a trophy and applauded without putting in years of effort and work. Wright’s quote is a bit of advice that can help combat the pressures and thoughts  that millennials harbor to create attitudes of entitlement and expectations of quick success. Wright shows that we do not have to be successful immediately and he explains that our successes will truly only arise once we have created a habit of focusing on providing value to others. This value production will lead to real, tangible growth for the individuals, and it will prepare us for opportunities to become truly successful. It will not be overnight, but overtime all of our small victories and all of the value we send into the world will build up to create a platform of success for us.

Resistance to Changing Views

Posted on by jabittan
“To cling to a view because it’s comfortable is lazy and all too common.  This resistance to change is so widespread because there’s a part of our brain that tells us ‘familiar is better,’ and therefore existing views take precedence over new views we might adopt — new perspectives from which we might see the world”

 

Colin Wright uses this quote as the second paragraph of the chapter titled “Views” in his book Considerations.  The quote ties in with his principals of learning, flexibility, and the ability to understand and see the world from as many distinct viewpoints as possible.  Throughout his book Wright urges his readers to think in a more profound way about the people, events, and ideas that surround and influence them. By being a more considerate person, meaning that we take the time to consider more aspects of life than just the headlines, we can find better alignment within our life and and live more purposefully.

 

Allowing our views to change helps us find a true alignment with who we are. If we can not shift our views then we will be limiting our growth, and acting out of ignorance by adopting the simple views of the national media and those around us.

 

In the United States we have this idea that changing our views is a negative thing. It seems to imply an admission of having been wrong, a lack of integrity, and a lack of knowledge.  What Wright argues is that changing our views represents the opposite of all of those things. Simply because we have changed our view on something does not mean that we were wrong to begin with. It simply means that we were looking at something with a particular perspective, and now that we have gained more information, have made new considerations, or opened up to see something the way another person would, we are viewing the world with a new perspective.  Growing and developing new perspectives helps us act with more people in mind and gives us the ability to better think about what we pursue. Making decisions with better information and from perspectives that are more inclusive of others leads to greater integrity as we better understand the forces that influence us.

Our Shifting Views

Posted on by jabittan
Often times we adopt specific views on issues, ideas, and expectations in our lives, and we do not want to allow those views  to change. In some areas, such as politics, we have a negative impression of people who say their views change. We hold politicians to strict standards where they are expected to maintain the same views on all issues throughout their career.  Colin Wright, in his book Considerations, has a different idea regarding our views, “Views are temporal things, shaped by the exact perspective from which we perceive the world; a perspective that shifts every moment.

 

I really enjoy the way that Wright creates a distinction between our views and our perspective. Our background, experiences, underlying beliefs both conscious and unconscious, our socioeconomic status and so many other factors influence our perspectives.  When we do not know much about a particular topic or issue we are likely to have a very peripheral perspective and when we have studied in depth or felt the direct experiences of an issue or topic we will have a far more profound perspective.  It is from our unique perspectives that we interpret the world, and it is from our perspective that we develop our specific views on the events, thoughts, and beliefs that shape our world.

 

As we age, learn more, and gain new experiences our perspective on the world will naturally shift. By looking at our views through the perspective model that Wright explains, there is no way that our views can remain the same as our perspectives shift.  We may maintain very similar views, but out of the necessity, or views should adapt and differentiate. I enjoy bringing this back to politics because it is an area where the we should see individuals’ perspectives and views on constantly change and evolve, yet we do not allow politicians to shift their views.  It is impossible to elect a politician and expect that once they are on the job, studying issues and learning from research, that their views will remain unchanged. Throughout science as we grow and learn our views change, and this mindset should be applied to our personal lives, what we expect from our government, and the ways we approach other people.

The Expectations of Others

Posted on by jabittan
In his book Considerations Colin Wright addresses a topic that was very important for me to work through as I got through college. About halfway through my college career I began to really examine what I wanted to achieve from college and what I expected my life to be like. I faced quite a bit of anxiety and fear related to the questions of what I would achieve and what I needed to obtain in my life for me to consider myself successful.  Eventually I developed enough self-awareness to reflect on the things I assumed I would always have in my life and the things that I thought defined success. Through self-awareness  was able to recognize that many of the expectations I had for my life came from other people, particularly my parents, uncles, and shows like Top Gear. I knew that I had to live my life by moving toward things that I actually desired and considered successful, even if I felt as though it would not live up to the standards I had set in my head without consideration.  What I learned on my own is beautifully summed up by Colin Wright in just a sentence, “It’s not your responsibility to want the life that others want for you, and it’s not your responsibility to take on the responsibilities that don’t sync with how you want to live.”

 

What I eventually learned was that I could not let the expectations for my life that others had for me dictate how I lived. I would never be happy if I tried to always live my life in a way that was impressive to others. I would always be competing against my peers, family members, and society if  was trying to please someone else and live a life that they determined to be successful.  By deciding that I would not be tethered to their expectations, I no longer felt a responsibility to obtain a certain level of wealth or drive certain vehicles which would display that level of wealth and success wherever I went.

 

It is a difficult process to begin to understand that it is not our responsibility to live our lives in a way that makes others happy with us, or to achieve a certain expected level of success. It is our responsibility to focus on growth and being the best version of ourselves possible, as long as that version of ourselves truly aligns with our inner self. We must develop a sense of self awareness to understand what is and what is not in alignment with who we are at our core, so that we can live a life that is responsible to ourselves and not others.

Compete with Yourself

Posted on by jabittan
On of the most difficult things to maintain in life seems to be a sense content with where we are. As we age we have new opportunities, move through different situations, and experience vast change. Throughout all of this we watch as our lives move in new directions, and as the lives of those around us move in new directions.  It is easy to feel accomplished when you achieve something, but that sense of accomplishment soon dies off, especially if you are comparing your accomplishments to those of your neighbors, peers, co-workers, and high school classmates.

 

In his book Considerations, author Colin Wright discusses our competition with others and the way we compare ourselves to those around us.  In Wright’s perspective, it is best to judge ourselves according to our own performance and standards. The author writes, “rather than the standards changing with the performance of my peers, the only person I’m competing with is myself. And so long as I continue to grow, I’m winning.” His perspective means that we do not have to achieve the same level of financial success, marital success, or career success as other people to still be successful.

 

When we focus on our personal growth we are building a sense of self-awareness. We have to focus on where we are now, where we used to be, and what areas we can improve. This self-awareness helps us identify the change we want to see, and allows us to focus in new directions that align with the right change.  When we lack this self-awareness and compare ourselves to the successes of others, we fail to understand ourselves and where we can grow, and instead we feel limited because we did not achieve the same results of others.

 

Knowing where we are now and praising ourselves for our growth takes pressure off ourselves to achieve things immediately. I would love a promotion at work, but my expectation is not that I will be promoted within any specific time frame. My expectations are that I will continue to grow and improve each day and that I will prepare myself so that when an opportunity does arise, I am ready. That may mean that I will not get the next promotion opportunity (I may even be passed over for the next few promotion opportunities) but it does mean that my performance will continue to improve.  As my performance improves I will be able to strengthen my work and expand new skills to new areas, and even without a promotion I will gain the respect of not just my colleagues, but of myself. The growth that I focus on and am proud of will be recognized by those around me.