Problems and Challenges December 30, 2006
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Articles], Consciousness, Creativity, Emotions, Goals, Personal Growth, Productivity, Responsibility, Words, Work, Abilities , add a comment
There are no problems, only challenges. This is something I’m living by. Problem is another word I’ve eliminated from my vocabulary since it has a negative sound and meaning to it. I visualize it as something that causes a person to end up in a dead end with no way out. Solving a problem literally means that the problem no longer exists. So why should one experience problems at all in the first place?
I’d like to again explain my view by thinking of a scale that has a negative and a positive polarity. Naturally, problems are therefore in the negative side and challenges are on the positive side of the scale. In what ways are problems causing negative side effects?
Firstly, it’s a total waste of time. Thinking about a problem extensively has the power to prevent its possessor from doing other things that are far more useful and productive. Secondly, it’s a mood killer. It has the power to temporarily descend its possessor into a lower level of consciousness and this can cause powerlessness to face other questions that require attention, will, clarity and understanding to answer. Thirdly, it’s actually quite silly to be in a state that causes a person to stagnate and feel helpless. We all have the capacity to know better than that. It’s comparable to being afraid of public speaking or asking a person out. Isn’t it downright pointless to experience these fears or problems?
The alternatives a person is weighing in their mind hasn’t happened yet! How can one experience the downsides of each alternative to a problem when they haven’t even occurred? Say you have to choose between two events that are double booked. Viewing the situation as a problem means that all you see is that you will miss out on one of them. This is both negative thinking and not part of present reality. The productive perspective on the situation is that no matter what choice you make, you will enjoy it. Is there really a point in feeling the negative emotions of missing out or guilt for not showing up in the other event? Of course not. Beating yourself up over something is equally terrible as beating somebody else up over something! Why would you do that to yourself? You’ll only experience one of the events, and that’s all that matters. Enjoy the one you choose instead because that’s what you’ll end up experiencing first hand when the time comes.
So how do you make the decision which one to attend? That’s where the challenge lies. That’s where the creative mind acknowledges a need to grow out of the problem. The current level of thinking is what creates the problem in the first place. A year or perhaps five years from now a person can look back and wonder how arbitrary and utterly pointless today’s problems were as a part of the individual reality. A closed mind however gets to live with the same problems throughout the whole life. It’s a shame really because things and people are picking up ever quicker and quicker paces of change and movement and the laggards are left to suffer. That’s why these people ought to be the ones asking these questions to themselves instead of ignoring and avoiding them.
By looking at a so called problem as a challenge, it is a trigger for personal development. It’s a mean for outgrowing the whole aspect of experiencing problems. A challenge is always regarded as a path to a positive outcome that you strive for and its sole purpose is to make and feel a difference within you when achieved. If you can’t imagine such a scenario in your problem then you shouldn’t let it exist in the first place. But if there is one, then you should convert it into a challenge that is in need of your utmost attention, will, clarity and understanding. Sometimes one can mistakenly decide to discard a problem because there doesn’t seem to be any positive solutions to it. Yet, there are multiple solutions to many so called problems, and a productive one may still be hidden. Only experience and an open mind have the ability to discover them. And that’s what continuous development is all about. It’s no quick fix solution to solve the problems or challenges that you identify in your life. But at least ask yourself first how you can lessen the amount of problems while increasing the amount of challenges in it.
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Polyphasic Sleep Schedule December 27, 2006
Posted by The Probabilist in : [News], Productivity, Sleep, Time, Work , 11 comments
I’m starting my polyphasic sleep experiment on January 1st 2007. Sunday morning is the last day I awaken from my monophasic sleep pattern and my first polynap is in the following night. I finished up an alpha version of my weekly schedule for you to look into. Even though it is mainly aimed to show how sleep and waking time is blocked into a systematic pattern, it also shows what I do when I’m up and fighting the sleep deprivation. 
I’ve separated the week into 14 “days”, but I kept the 24 hour digital system we use over here when I did the text translation into English. A polyphasic sleep pattern works even better with AM & PM since the naps are every day at the same time. I chose 4-8-12 because it will fit in with my studies when I return to taking classes in March.
I then decided that the best place for workouts would be directly after a nap since it’ll surely help to awaken properly. The reason one should eat as early as possible is due to food digestion. Otherwise it will be tougher to awaken and get up since the body feels it needs more time to digest as it requires energy. I’m still tweaking my exercise program and my diet so I won’t get into the details here as they are slightly off-topic, but nevertheless important so that there’s at least some variation to the day.
The toughest part will be night time between 0:00 and 8:00 since there aren’t many other people around that I can interact with. That’s why I felt it natural to do the bulk of my writing and reading at those hours. ESCA stands for Email, Statistics, Comment moderation and miscellaneous blog Administration. The empty spaces are left for socializing, fun & recreation and completing my to do list of tasks that have been waiting for my attention.
This might all seem like overkill, but I really want to establish a sense of purpose for doing what I’m about to, so that there’s no problem in getting out of bed every single time I’m supposed to. If you’re interested in trying this out for yourself, then get your own polynap soundtracks over at this site. I’ll be using the 23 min version.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be adding updates on how I’m doing, that is if I’m still capable of writing readable content when I’m behaving like a zombie. Safe to say, I won’t be jogging around busy streets or driving at all during my transition period. Even reading a book may prove impossible to concentrate on. It’s once again pointless to set any expectations on beforehand. Instead I’ll just face one challenge at a time and try to make the best out of it. The results will then determine which sleep pattern is more feasible and productive to live by. To each its own though.
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