life – Page 7 – The Corrigan Encore

Every Life should but doesn’t

May 18, 2022 John Corrigan

On Saturday 5/14/2022 a gunmen shot and killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo NY. On the same day a gunmen opened fire at a church picnic in Laguna Woods CA and killed one person.

I am not trying to bum you out but the news is pretty depressing. It really makes you sad to think about the 11 people who will not be with their loved ones here on earth anymore.

There are 137 days that have passed so far this year and the police in the United States have shot and killed 358 people.

There have been multiple news stories and editorials detailing the violence in the United States this year last year and the year before. Violence is on the rise, deaths are too and some of the editorials are trying to find correlations among the senseless cowardly violence. One thing that is abundantly clear is the lack of concern for life by those that are committing the violence.

If you ask anyone if life is valuable that will almost always say yes of course it is but, when you become more pointed with your questions the value of lie seems to drop quickly and dramatically.

What matters most above anything else you do on earth is the relationships you take part in with other humans. The number one reason people quit and leave companies are toxic work places. Another way to describe it is bad relationships with coworkers and management.

Make a habit of to things: to help; or at least to do no harm
Hippocrates

We have to value everyone. Every person everywhere we have to value them. In July 2013 a unarmed young black man was shot to death. The killer was found not guilty and upon further investigations society realized that black Americans were being slaughtered at a much higher rate than any other race in the country and much of the murder ended the same way as the death of the young man without justice. This realization started the movement Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter works to bring social justice to the forefront and supports the black community in the United States with scholarships and community service projects.

Black lives do matter, however it does not seem like they do. There is almost no justice for the death of black men and women. There is little respect in the United States for life and less respect in the United States for the lives of minorities.

How can this be fixed? It has to start with me and you and then our families.

No death should ever be considered justified ( I will try my best to make sure that I never promote or believe this concept. Life is a precious gift and should never be taken from anyone that has been rewarded it)
Take an interest in everyone. (everyone matters and everyone is interesting. everyone has a story to tell and is doing something that matters if we learn about this we will place more value on this person)
Invest in others (I try to give regularly to charities that seem to make a difference and I want to give more. When I give I like to think of this as not just charity but an investment. I am investing in a better world for the next generation)
Make time for everyone. (It is easy to “be too busy” no one and everyone is “too busy” if someone or something really matters you and I will make time for them. I am going to strike the words too busy from my vocabulary it is always a lie and there is really truly no way to measure it)
Let people be great. (Sometimes getting out of the way and letting people impress you is one of the best and coolest things you can do. Letting people impress you requires trust and practice. Some one will tell you they will do something 10 times before they actually do it but you have to let them try and fail at least 10 times)

Let us all work together for a better future that will not include so much violence. I promise that it is possible but only if we value life, others as well as our own.

Change is ….

May 13, 2022 John Corrigan

The Corrigan Encore podcast is moving its day of the week to Friday. I know what you are thinking. What the heck is the Corrigan Encore podcast? Well, since you thought it and I can read thoughts allow me to answer. The Corrigan Encore Podcast is a podcast starring me and Benjamin Palladino. Each week Ben and I talk about a subject and interview someone who is intimately familiar with and doing something interesting in this subject. Prior to this week Ben and I have “dropped” each podcast on Wednesday now that is changing to Friday. I have a list of boring reasons why but I just wanted to let you know about the change.

Change can be scary, exciting, and fun all at the same time. In business there are resources and people that are dedicated to change, because change is a process and people need leadership through the change.

Because change is so overwhelming often change is framed in ones mind as a negative thing. Many Psychologists suggest that we engage in Cognitive Reframing when we encounter things like change.

Cognitive Reframing is a technique in which one shifts their mindset to consider the positive results of every situation. Its a 5 dollar word group for “always look on the bright side”, and maybe a little more.

Cognitive Reframing is not just overt optimism it is a technique that changes ones point of view and allows us to see all sides of a situation more clearly. I know that the change from Wednesday to Friday is most likely not causing you much stress, especially since you have no idea what the Corrigan Encore Podcast is to begin with however some change maybe causing you some stress and I urge you to try out the cognitive reframing techniques and perhaps you will alleviate stress, gain insight, and grow.

That’s not a good thing

May 12, 2022 John Corrigan

Yesterday I emptied out my inbox. I had 1124 unread emails that I spent about 45 minutes looking through deleting or addressing. This is not good. According to the Inbox Zero Method. Inboxes that are not kept at 0 become distracting and eat into an employees productivity.

For me the unread emails loomed over me like a piano in a cartoon. I was sure that one of the emails would have been time sensitive and a career make or break issue (spoiler alert none of them were).

Keeping our inboxes at 0 is more than just something for email it is something to consider for our lives. I can and often do get involved in to many things and find that I am never just getting to unplug and enjoy accomplishments. As soon as one project is over I am being moved to the next one.

There is nothing wrong with being busy however we must make our best efforts to bring our projects at work and home to fruition. Are you involved in a home remodel that has been taking place since you bought the house? Are you going to get that grad degree as soon as work slows down?

When we do not actually accomplish things we run the risk of experiencing the Zeigarnik Effect, and we are literally haunted by the tasks that we cannot finish or forget. Lets work together in finishing projects today, starting with the inbox. Go ahead get that bad boy down to 0 and feel good!

What are we?

May 11, 2022 John Corrigan

As we get older we find ourselves dealing with people who seem to be getting younger. I have on more than one occasion worked with people that are the same age as my adult children. We navigate our social interactions at work differently when we work with the younger associates and at the end of the day we call our friends that our own age and commiserate about the surreal events.

One word that comes up in the commiseration is entitled. It is a buzz word and an easy excuse for why the younger generation, shows up late, does not complete projects, when they do complete projects they are not on time or of the correct quality and complain about the criticism given to them or the lack of job growth they are given. Originally I was able to get behind this buzz word and tried to give it some traction. However when I began to think, I mean really think about it, the power of the buzz word, like all the others, fell apart and lost steam.

Entitled means that we are deserving of privileges just because we are here and in certain cases this is correct. I truly believe that there are rights that living beings possess simply through being born. When beings have these rights taken away from them we are living in a society that is broken.

The more I live the more I think that people at all ages are truly products of the society they live in and if I want to see change. If I want to see progress I will have to work towards changing society so that at the very least all people get what they are entitled too.

What are we entitled to? At the very minimum we are all entitled to respect. Respect is and should be given even if we do not feel that someone has earned it. We should respect and care for everyone no matter how awful we believe they are. They idea that respect should be earned is toxic and is creating a society in which our coworkers cannot thrive and live their best lives.

At the end of the day we would do well to respect everyone.

Write it down

April 7, 2022 John Corrigan

A few posts back I mentioned that I bought a Legend Planner. I get 0 dollars for this blog, no monetization at all but I am going to endorse this planner. The Legend Planner is a great tool for those of us who have amazing ideas and wonderful intentions. Big plans to get our lives together and set the world on fire. Dreams of grandeur will always be dreams until… you act on them and a very positive and good first act is to write them down.

A goal without a plan is just a wish
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

After you have written down the ideas and crafted a plan give yourself deadlines for the lead and lag goals. Planning is no ones favorite thing to do but without it life can become pretty wild. What goals have you accomplished without planning and before you come up with some please realize that others have planned for you. If you were going to say that you graduated high school or college without planning that is false. Academia is nothing but planning for students by admin and support staff. If you are going to mention promotions at work I would point again to the abundance of planning by the various departments at your work place. Nothing happens without some and often copious amounts of planning. Imagine how much more you will get done when you craft a plan. Planning also helps focus our minds and get a clearer picture of our capabilities

Finally give your goals and plans timelines.

A Goal Without A Timeline Is Just A Dream
Robert Herjavec

Chances are high that you will miss the deadlines however you will learn why when you take an assessment and adjust the plan and new deadlines. Life is an infinite game however we can exercise some control through planning and setting goals for ourselves good luck and God bless.

When everyday is that day

April 1, 2022 John Corrigan

Happy Friday everyone or whatever day it is that you are reading this post. I am typing these words on a Friday and I feel like the song by the O’Jays titled “Living for the Weekend”. I plan on having a really good time downtown after work today I really do.

Let me just sit down
And relax a minute
Let me tell you about it

Aha, it’s Friday
Oh ho, thank God, it’s Friday
And I just got paid

Going across town
Gonna pick up my lady
Have a little bit of fun
Just ain’t no telling
Where I might end up

You might see me on the east side
Ha, the west side
I’m even going cross the bridge
‘Cause I, ’cause I, ’cause I hear
They really get down over there

Owe it to myself
(Well, well, I)
Gonna party
(Well, well, I)
Gonna party

I owe it to myself
(Well, well, I)
Oh, party, party

I’m just living, yeah
(Living for the weekend)
Woo hoo, said I’ma
(Living for the weekend)

I said right now, I’m
(Living for the weekend)
I said this evening
(Living for the weekend)

For the next two days
(Living for the weekend)
Gonna have a real good time
(Living for the weekend)

Gonna have a real, real
Real good time
(Living for the weekend)
Gonna party hard, hard

Come on, y’all
Let’s go downtown
Come on, y’all
Let’s groove, hey, hey

Monday to Thursday
I’m dead on my feet
Most of the time too tired to eat
When I try to read the paper
I fall fast asleep

But as soon as Friday rolls around
I lay all my weekly burdens down
I put on my glad rags
And paint the town

Friday night alive
(Living for the weekend)
Said, I’m living for the weekend
(Living for the weekend)
Don’t stop when I party down

Party hard, party down
Party hard, party down

Soon as on Monday
Rolls around again
I got to put all that
Partying to an end

Got to solve that same old grind
With those five day week
Sometimes, I get frustrated
Through the day, take off early
And a cut in pay

At the time, I don’t really care
Because I done took
All that I can bear

That’s when I party down
Party hard, party down

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Those are some amazing lyrics and I really do enjoy the weekends. I am beholden to no one (sort of) on the weekends and can spend my time with family and friends.

I worked at a factory a few times and experienced rigid scheduling, that was when I truly found joy in a weekend or days off. Later in life I took jobs that were less rigid in schedule and I still love weekends but I am finding some joy in my actual work.

I think that there is nothing wrong with loving weekends but if we are “living for the weekends” what is happening on the week days?

I have tried and continue to try to enjoy everyday and every minute week or weekend be dammed if I am breathing I am going to try to enjoy myself. I will always love that song and my weekends but I am going to also make it a point to love; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well and so should you.

That spot

March 28, 2022March 28, 2022 John Corrigan

My dad would come home from work everyday and put his wallet keys and other contents of his pockets in a certain spot. The same spot everyday. I do the same thing with my keys and I try to put my notebook on the same spot as well. Friday I put my notebook in a different spot and this morning I left the house without my workbook.

I always thought of what my dad does as a habit and maybe it is but it is a habit for a reason. There are two types of memory episodic and procedural. Remembering to place and retrieve keys every afternoon and morning is an example of procedural. Remembering an experience, like a family trip to the lake or swimming out to the deck at the lake and resting in the sun while your muscles recovered from the exhausting swim out and working up the energy to swim back before the sun set is episodic.

It can be easy to forget either type of memory. Here is an amazing article outlining what happens when we forget. Essentially the article goes over at a basic level how episodic memory works. Memories are chemical changes at connection points (synapses) between neurons in the brain. Each memory is stored as thousands or millions of synapses. Chemically procedural and episodic memories are the same just different parts of the brain are involved.

Basically our memories are chemical reactions creating a story. The procedural memory is less complex than episodic and therefore easier to remember. Examples of procedural memory are driving a car, leaving keys near the door and riding a bike.

It seems the trick to remembering anything is to always be present and make connections with as many neurons as you can. Smell taste and feel every moment of everyday. That way the moment becomes a memory with many hooks in your brain and you will have a rich experience even in the mundane.

In case you were wondering I indeed did forget my notebook this morning.

Drink me

March 25, 2022 John Corrigan

This morning I woke up a little later than usual and had to change my morning routine. I am not huge fan of changing my routine however it was needed to accommodate a guest that Ben and I were interviewing for our podcast. This guest lives on the West coast of the United states and we needed to interview a little later than usual. Our guest has some amazing stories and the podcast episode will truly be a treat.

This week Ben and I have interviewed at least two guests and both mentioned how important it was to go with the flow, and let the universe be your guide. Immediately I thought about Bruce Lee.

Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water, my friend
Bruce Lee

The Bruce Lee quote comes to us curtesy of the TV series Long Street. Bruce Lee’s character is a teaching a new student about martial arts and life when he tells him to be like water.

It is important to be flexible in body and spirit. Plans never go exactly the way we want them to. Life often gets in the way of our schedule. Did you know that all water on earth makes it way to the ocean? The Ocean along with that pond in the backyard or the mud puddle you stepped in the other day are part of the water cycle. The water cycle is why it is important to avoid polluting any water and a good example of a flexible system. Water takes different routes to and from the Ocean and clouds but it all goes through the clouds and oceans.

Photo by Oliver Sju00f6stru00f6m on Pexels.com

You may feel like life is getting in the way of your plans and running your routines however if you are not like water you will not be able to enjoy your journey. See you will always encounter something that is not part of the plan how you react to it is what matters for you, your family, and friends. If you “go with the flow”, make adjustments and carry on chances are high that you, your family, and friends will love being near you. If you complain, and argue, and fight, well, would you enjoy your own company?

Only for a Moment

March 24, 2022 John Corrigan

My work takes me to different sites and the other day I was outside of an art room. On the wall leading to the art room there was a picture with a quote attributed to Banksy on it.

If you get tired learn to rest not quit
Banksy

I don’t know the man but I know of the man Banksy. He is an amazing artist and a political activist in England. His film Exit Through the Gift Shop is a satire that really makes you question authenticity of the entire art market. His work highlights environmental disasters, siding with the powerful through inaction, the dichotomy between rich and poor, and much much more. Even in his anonymity Banksy is a voice heard by the youth mostly, that spurs that generation to take action.

There is an author Simon SInek and in one of his books “The Infinite Game“, he explains that much of life and business is indeed an infinite game with different rules, no time limit and the goal is to survive and flourish so there are really no winners.

Surviving, flourishing, and being the best person we can be can be tiring, it can be grueling and the desire to give up can be strong. Banksy has worked in anonymity since 1990. Thirty years and I am sure that he has wanted to quit. Most of Banksys work is street art or graffiti and illegal. I am sure that he gets tired of working in the shadows but maybe he knows how important his activism is and this pushes him forward maybe he knows how to as he so eloquently put it rest not quit.

Virtue in Leisure

March 22, 2022 John Corrigan

Ok truth time the title of this post is stolen from this article on NPR explaining vacations. Specifically the article outlines the history of vacations in the United States. Summer time is right around the corner and very soon we will find our selves in prime vacation taking time and I cannot wait. I love vacations. I honestly do not hate work but I think I may cram a little much into my schedule and I put myself behind the eight ball sometimes. Vacations are a great way to relax and reset.

When I come back from this spring vacation I plan on approaching work differently for scheduling purposes. I want to realistically schedule my time at work and fit in what I need and want to get done in the time that I have. My hope is that through better time management I can be more efficient and have a more balanced life.

Life is an amazing gift that we have all been given and I don’t want to waste any of it. I understand that things come up and I will not always be able to adhere to my schedule so I will be flexible but I really am making and trying to stick to my schedule. I am serious.

I really do plan on doing this when I get back. I bought an Legend Planner and everything! I want to account for all my time at work and home and make the most of all of it but before I do that I plan on spending a week only deciding what color shorts I want to wear to the pool / beach.