February 5, 2010
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Photo: Flickr/Xurble
In Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” he talks about how huge mistakes aren’t usually made by one error, but instead by multiple, compounded, uncorrected errors.
He relays the problems that led to the near total disaster at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant in 1979:
… There was a relatively routine blockage in what is called the plant’s “polisher”– a kind of giant water filter. The blockage caused moisture to leak into the plant’s air system, inadvertently tripping two valves and shutting down the flow of cold water into the plant’s steam generator. Like all nuclear reactors, Three Mile Island had a backup cooling system for precisely this situation. But on that particular day, for reasons that no one really understands, the valves for the backup system weren’t open. Someone had closed them, and an indicator in the control room showing they were closed was blocked by a repair tag hanging from a switch above it. That left the reactor dependent on another backup system, a special sort of relief valve. But as luck would have it, the relief valve wasn’t working properly that day either. It stuck open when it was supposed to close, and, to make matters even worse, a gauge in the control room that should have told the operators that the relief valve wasn’t working was itself not working.
Hence… near meltdown.
It took a LOT of non-dramatic, small-time errors to equal the near meltdown. It was nearly impossible, but the perfect storm happened.
Gladwell points out that they were very smart people who allowed small errors that added up. The perfect moment of unprepared carelessness and pride.
This is also how Goliath, Wall Street, NASA, and millions of marriages failed.
• What do we need to do now to prevent a near meltdown three months from now? •
February 4, 2010
Photo: Kristina_R/stock.xchng
Okay. Not the world, but maybe it can save something. Perhaps the barking dog is worth our attention.
Sometimes the bark is so incessant and annoying that we choose to ignore it.
A little bit of the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” kind of thing. At this point, we might even be deaf to it.
Sometimes the annoyance is so great that we forget there’s a reason why the dog is barking. What person walking by, lack of food or water, or irritation causes the dog’s outcry? What do you do about it? Does the dog make a valid point?
What screeching annoyance of a challenge have you kept yourself from examining because you were too lazy, busy, or proud?
Mine was in front of my face the entire time. The same place yours probably is.
February 3, 2010
Photo: clsawyer/Stock.xchng
This is how we forget Haiti:
Another snowstorm.
A football game.
Chili and a fire.
The dogs need a bathroom break.
A friend calls.
We need to run to the store.
We forget about tent cities, mass graves filled with bodies, people starving, the loss of hope, and ten small dollars that could make a world of a differentce.
We will forget and perhaps not even care if we don’t have people reminding us.
What do you do now? It’s been 3 weeks.
Its not over.
February 2, 2010
Photo: linder6580/stock.xhchng
What would happen if you did?
We realize the consequences of stopping everything when a friend passes or when a surgery puts us on the couch for a few weeks.
And what are the consequences?
As far as our own productivity, usually not many. We overestimate our own importance, as if the world might stop if we do.
The benefits are usually incredible, though. We reflect and communicate with others in a way that messes up our norms. We care more about others and we stop centering our lives around us. We allow ourselves to be creative, to read more, to set better goals, and to give ourselves permission to overlook the unimportant things.
If your world stops, it may be just the opportunity you need to do something incredible. Not forever, just for a bit.
What happened the last time you stopped everything?
February 1, 2010
My friend, Valerie, passed away Friday at 2:45 pm.
She taught me about practicing the presence of God. She showed me how encouragement can overwhelm negativity. She loved learning new things, figuring out how to relate to new people, and exploring how things could be done differently. She served selflessly. She encouraged effortlessly. She’d always tell me how great I was at what I did. She’d tell me I was a perfect fit for each position I was in, even when I didn’t feel adequate. Valerie was a consistent challenger and encourager of my faith. She is one of the reasons I’m not the same person as I was five years ago.
My words couldn’t do justice. My attempt to write this is barely a fraction of her impact upon who I am.
Today, I simply thank God for your life, Valerie.
January 29, 2010
Photo: Bendo/Stock Xchng
Simple.
Sincerely ask them how you can help them.
That’s it.
What weight can you take off of their shoulders? How can you make their life easier? Are there two or three small things that might give them the momentum that they need?
If your life is not centered around you and if you’re seeking to empty your hands, then I might encourage you to pour your life into the people God has placed in your path.
What does this look like for you?
January 28, 2010
Photo: JR3/stock.xchng
Two simple characteristics differentiate between those WITH super coolness and those WITHOUT it. They might not be the qualities you would pick, but I’d love to hear yours.
As follows:
• People who are super cool see the value of living, working, and serving in community with others. They see people as valuable tools to strengthen their own life. They can’t do it alone. They don’t need companionship or people to travel with out of fear, but out of necessity. They realize they are made better by God and others!
• People who are super cool have a willingness to be extremely different. They stand out, but only because they are unwilling to bend on certain things. They go places that their friends probably wouldn’t, because they are compelled. They don’t act like everyone else. They can’t. They know that others won’t agree with them, and maybe won’t even travel down the road with them any further. They realize that this is the necessary price for doing great things and traveling the path of God.
Which of these have you been working on?
January 27, 2010
Sharon Hodde Miller, a friend and prolific writer, shares some practical insight as to why college students have a particular advantage. On her blog, Sheworships.com, she writes about “The Insanity of College Students.”
She asks some great questions:
What if college students used their unique freedom, flexible schedule and unbelievable energy to bless the world? While churches assume that college students can’t give much in the way of finances, they possess something equally valuable: time. So use it well and ask yourself, “What kind of stories will I be telling my kids?” Will you be telling them about the time you ate a live fish on a bet, or the time you pulled an all-nighter doing laundry for a family who needed the love of Christ?
There are advantages to each chapter of our lives. Most times it seems we fail to grasp the opportunities of where we are, while still having time to take them. The norm is to see things in the rear view. If college students and young adults could fully comprehend and utilize this advantage now, I wonder what big things might happen? What ideas might be dreamed? How many people might be rescued from desperation?
Sharon writes:
How many college students do crazy things and make amazing memories going on a spontaneous road trip, driving to Krispy Kreme in the middle of the night, or playing hide-and-go-seek in Walmart?
But what’s sad about these stories is that as funny and crazy as they are, they’re ultimately a waste of an incredible gift…..
She asks:
Yes, those are fun stories, but do you really want that to be your legacy? Is THAT what you want to define your Christian journey in college?
Are you using your gift? Your advantage? What will define the next year of your life?
What stories do you need to live out now so that you can tell your kids later?
January 26, 2010
Empty your hands.
This is what Charles Swindoll invites all of us to do. I’ve written about it before.
He explains it, better than I, in this book…
I love how Corrie ten Boom used to put it. She used to say, “Vell, I’ve learned to hold every ting loosely, because it hurts ven God pries my fingers apart and take tem from me.”
An anonymous poet said it this way:
One by one God took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Till I was empty-handed,
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth’s highways grieving
In my rags and poverty
Till I heard His voice inviting
“Lift those empty hands to Me.”
How could the simple idea of having vacant hands radically change you?
January 25, 2010
Photo: Associated Press
These past few weeks, we’ve been overwhelmed by coverage of the earthquake recovery in Haiti.
Many of us don’t know what an appropriate response looks like. We can’t cut through the clutter of the crumbling buildings and the number of dead.
Don’t let it overwhelm you. It’s more overwhelming to them.
Do something now. Doesn’t matter if you think the situation is too big for you to handle. It is. Just do something now.
-4 Ways to Help-
1) Pray now. Out loud. On your knees. However you choose. By yourself or even ask others to join you. Do it again tomorrow, and the next day.
2) Give $10 now. If everyone in the United States took responsibility for helping and gave just $10, that would be over 3 billion dollars to help a dying country. @Compassion is phenomenal. In fact, you can text “DISASTER” to 90999 to immediately donate $10 to Compassion International’s efforts in Haiti.
3) Give $10 next month. And the month after that. And the following month. And the one after that, too. The truth is that, in a few months, people will forget when the news starts covering the next big story. So, don’t you forget! Take responsibility. Imagine if everyone gave. 3 billion dollars to help Haiti each month.
4) Jolt your friends out of their unconcerned, lethargic states. Get them to give the $10, too. Don’t let them forget. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Talk about it.
Bonus (for the called): Find a way to get there.
Go to Haiti and share the hope of Christ. Anne is going. Read her story here.
[Read more →]
