The There There Letter: Electricity, Enthusiasm, and Efficacy
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Electricity …
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," wrote somebody (in the 17th Century, apparently). Today, after three days without electricity, I freely confess my love of readily available electric power. Why is this issue of my e-newsletter a day late? Because without electricity there was no internet. Did I originally plan to say anything about electricity this week? No, but its absence made my heart grow fonder and I feel a need to marvel at the miracle of electricity. It's so easy to take it for granted. Flip the switch without a thought. I'm trying not to do that, for a little while, at least. I'm adding to my daily thankfulness (I give silent thanks for many things just before bed). I'm adding electricity, certainly, but also anything else, anything I can think of, that I assume will always be there for me.
Electricity: The Modern Miracle
Second up this week, Enthusiasm …
Imagine a mental jump-start. That's what enthusiasm does for me. I've always found ready excitement and energy for new things or rediscovered things. That enthusiasm has been so valuable when I've been in any leadership position. It's seemed less valuable in recent times when I've been more of a lone wolf (one lurking in his darkish den for the past twelvemonth). My enthusiasms are still with me, but they seem smaller and of shorter duration. And there are so many of them! I bounce from one to another to the next without allowing any to gain the traction required for longevity and satisfactory achievement. I suspect that my hyper-hopping across enthusiasms is related to a lack of community. I've been such a social beast. Now I need to learn better how to hunt on my own. And I think that's a good thing. Harness that electric spark of enthusiasm and keep my Canis lupus self fit and focused.
The Power of Enthusiasm
Third up this week, Efficacy …
If I'm fit and focused, enthusiasm will lead to efficacy, at least some of the time (enough of the time, that's the goal). The sense of accomplishment that comes with efficacy will spark additional enthusiasm. Like an emotional and intellectual generator, I can spin to higher and happier states. Impossible dreams and unrealistic goals aren't necessary. Shooting too low is no good, either. As a teenager, I several times visited my grandmother in England. On one visit she and I paired up to play Bridge with her friends. I was chuffed that we won so often. My grandmother was less chuffed. "You underbid every hand," she observed. "It's no accomplishment to win if you set the bar too low. That's not the proper way to play." Lesson learned, Grandma.
Self Efficacy and Why Believing in Yourself Matters
And a bit more, from Ireland's first Poet in Residence, Dónall Dempsey:
the kiss like lightning
happens very fast & then
dissolves back into dark
seeing it all in a flash
struck by boldness and love
And that’s all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem “Sometimes” …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Electricity …
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," wrote somebody (in the 17th Century, apparently). Today, after three days without electricity, I freely confess my love of readily available electric power. Why is this issue of my e-newsletter a day late? Because without electricity there was no internet. Did I originally plan to say anything about electricity this week? No, but its absence made my heart grow fonder and I feel a need to marvel at the miracle of electricity. It's so easy to take it for granted. Flip the switch without a thought. I'm trying not to do that, for a little while, at least. I'm adding to my daily thankfulness (I give silent thanks for many things just before bed). I'm adding electricity, certainly, but also anything else, anything I can think of, that I assume will always be there for me.
Electricity: The Modern Miracle
Second up this week, Enthusiasm …
Imagine a mental jump-start. That's what enthusiasm does for me. I've always found ready excitement and energy for new things or rediscovered things. That enthusiasm has been so valuable when I've been in any leadership position. It's seemed less valuable in recent times when I've been more of a lone wolf (one lurking in his darkish den for the past twelvemonth). My enthusiasms are still with me, but they seem smaller and of shorter duration. And there are so many of them! I bounce from one to another to the next without allowing any to gain the traction required for longevity and satisfactory achievement. I suspect that my hyper-hopping across enthusiasms is related to a lack of community. I've been such a social beast. Now I need to learn better how to hunt on my own. And I think that's a good thing. Harness that electric spark of enthusiasm and keep my Canis lupus self fit and focused.
The Power of Enthusiasm
Third up this week, Efficacy …
If I'm fit and focused, enthusiasm will lead to efficacy, at least some of the time (enough of the time, that's the goal). The sense of accomplishment that comes with efficacy will spark additional enthusiasm. Like an emotional and intellectual generator, I can spin to higher and happier states. Impossible dreams and unrealistic goals aren't necessary. Shooting too low is no good, either. As a teenager, I several times visited my grandmother in England. On one visit she and I paired up to play Bridge with her friends. I was chuffed that we won so often. My grandmother was less chuffed. "You underbid every hand," she observed. "It's no accomplishment to win if you set the bar too low. That's not the proper way to play." Lesson learned, Grandma.
Self Efficacy and Why Believing in Yourself Matters
And a bit more, from Ireland's first Poet in Residence, Dónall Dempsey:
the kiss like lightning
happens very fast & then
dissolves back into dark
seeing it all in a flash
struck by boldness and love
And that’s all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem “Sometimes” …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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