The Beauty of Discomfort

What is your relationship with discomfort? Where do you find yourself when faced with the most difficult of challenges or changes you want to make in your life. Perhaps you are like me and can find a number of ways to distract or divert attention away from the problem at hand. Distraction is actually the easiest one for me unless I'm emotionally connected to something or have already created deep habits. I think back to starting University and feeling overweight. Being emotionally attached to the idea that I can change this and started a daily workout program that has now lasted almost 20 years. Looking back, that was easy because of that emotional connection and yet today new things can be challenging. Amanda Lang has written a book (The Beauty of Discomfort) that covers a variety of individuals who have gone through big changes or faced discomfort and overcome, and how.

It's a strange thing to recognize what we find uncomfortable, but also beneficial to us in the long run, and still, find ways to turn away.

"When we reframe discomfort, either by associating it with something positive or by treating it as normal and even helpful, we engage the prefrontal cortex, our brain's CEO, which can act as a top-down neurological commander to close the gate on unbearable degrees of pain. ... The first step is simply to change our minds about what discomfort means, and consider the possibility that it's a sign we're stretching and growing." - Amanda Lang

Not only must we reframe how we view discomfort but ultimately we have to recognize what comfort means to us and what it could potentially be doing to us. Eating is often the most commonly used example but it can arrive in the form of thinking, the wheels turning, and not acting or not doing. Sometimes it's easy to start a business and then do busy work to avoid doing the effective work that needs to be done. We look back a year later and have we moved the needle? Comfort has found its way into our lives.

We must think of "comfort as a trap, not a cushion." Recognizing what we do to keep busy that leads to us feeling comfortable but in reality isn't moving us forward. That is where we have to reframe the comfort and push towards discomfort. "I can sit here and post photos and be comfortable or I can reach out to as many people as possible, even though it's uncomfortable, and try to grow this business."

I'd love to hear your areas of discomfort. My discomforts centre around trying to grow a non-existent business from scratch. I'm comfortable in the career world slowly climbing the ladder but want to feel the self-ownership and growth of being a true entrepreneur. My comfort is avoiding the difficult decisions or taking the steps that will move this forward rather than sitting comfortably with what I know.

Paired with this Saison Rue from The Bruery. A Belgian style farmhouse saison with a nice tartness to it. Powerful at 8.5% but not overwhelming. Have I said how much I enjoy the Belgian style of beer!

#BooksandBeers #AmandaLang #Discomfort #NonFiction #BookReview #Books #Beer #TheBruery #Saison

Plato's Walking the Streets

Plato at the Googleplex, by Rebecca Goldstein, is both an in-depth analysis of Plato in the ancient world through his voice of the texts and a modern re-telling of Plato through the use of various character-driven scenarios where Plato is interjected into the discussion. It's an interesting approach because we can all relate to the different types of characters who come to interview Plato. The staunch scientist, the right-wing political TV host, the left wing technology crowd, etc. Each one focusing on different topics with their own lens while Plato fills the discussion with his own views in modern terms. As Plato becomes accustomed to our current society and our vast availability of information through the Internet, he gets interviewed by Roy McCoy, our right-leaning talk show host. Plato shows optimism at societies ability to access so much knowledge but comes to realize the nature of the information in its present form:

"Plato: ... I'd hope that so much information being made available demonstrated a great desire not only for information but maybe even for knowledge. McCoy: Just because all of that information is out there doesn't mean that anybody's going to access it all. I mean, how could they? It's overwhelming. Plato: So it becomes a fight to get attention. McCoy: Exactly. Attention is the resource everybody's after, and sometimes there are huge sums of cash that are connected with the attention - Plato: But even when there aren't the huge sums, the attention alone is motive enough. McCoy: Right you are. Attention is power. So you've got all the specializing pastry makers out there on the Internet, baking up a storm. Anybody with a blog is a pastry maker. Plato: I am sorry to hear that. McCoy: There's nothing wrong with putting more pastry makers out there, all of them perfecting their own particular confection. Like I said, that's democracy. You've got a problem with it then you've got a problem with democracy. Plato: And to me the situation seems precisely the opposite, for if the situation is as you describe it, I wonder how your democracy can continue to function." As the conversation goes it is fascinating to see these real world problems we are faced with in the eyes of Plato. The recognition that having access to so much information is both a strength and weakness of democracy. We live in a world where we can make decisions based on so much information but at the same time, we begin to filter towards like-minded groups. So although we can each, as individuals make decisions, we tend to follow the crowd we most closely associate with and allow those decisions to be guided. Plato's concern is that he doesn't see how democracy can function and we seem to be witnessing how that plays out. Scroll through a Donald Trump tweet and comments and you will see the groups loud and clear. We are quick to jump into the fray supporting our group but are we rationally stepping back and making individual decisions in how we decide? A small example but one that gets you thinking about the notions that Plato instilled 2,000 years ago and how they apply in today's society. One of the reasons why this book appealed to me and it may appeal to you. Paired with Ommegang's Three Philosophers bringing a combination Belgian-style dark ale and Liefman's Kriek which is a cherry ale from Belgium. I've really enjoyed this one in the past so it was nice to find another bottle, 9.7%. Cherries all the way through which may come across a bit sweet to some but I'm a fan of the Belgian style and tend to favour that classic Belgian style sweetness.

#Philosophy #Plato #PlatoattheGoogleplex #RebeccaGoldstein #Ommegang #ThreePhilosophers #Books #BookRevi #Beer

Is Democracy Dying?

Pull up a chair, sit back and enjoy a Bachelor Pad Double IPA from Twin Sails Brewing. A limited release filled with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops, this one came off with tropical fruit notes and perhaps a bit of pine in there. Everything's great! The beer is cold and delicious. Alright now hold on. “...The fundamental problem facing American democracy remains extreme partisan division—one fueled not just by policy differences but by deeper sources of resentment, including racial and religious differences. America’s great polarization preceded the Trump presidency, and it is very likely to endure beyond it.” - Steven Levitsky This year has brought to light many remarkable books and ideas for me. Society as a whole seems to be propelling us down this uncertain path. Trump, Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Identity Politics, Gun Violence, etc. The issues are fundamentally important and yet it becomes hard to see the signal amongst the noise. Do you pick a side and firmly defend or do you step back and show indifference. George Bernard Shaw once noted that "The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity." Indifference feels easy and yet without coming to the table, we see the slow creep of intolerance build on both sides. This book (How Democracies Die) has done a thorough examination of many of the world's past societies and how they have crept, or lept, towards totalitarianism with charismatic leaders and a society ripe for change either through disillusionment or this painful divide we see today. Jordan Peterson argues endlessly about the need to end this bickering over small differences and recognize the shared humanity and I took away from this book that this message is critical for ensuring that democracy remains firmly in place. The U.S., as an outside observer, is a flashpoint for many of these different ideas all vying for our attention and all equally important. The divisiveness, however, becomes a tool to be used to divide people further. To put people in camps of us vs. them. It becomes a stepping stone to allow democracy to shift in a darker direction. As we all watch this develop, I was left with the notion that we must continue to be proactive in our push for those representing us to do just that; represent us. As individuals, we need to step back from the rage and anger we feel and try to present balanced arguments to each other so that point of views can begin to shift. As we shall see, I'm not sure what works better. Everyone working to calm each other down or trying to yell over top of one another. Indifference seems to sprout from the latter. This book is a good starting point for understanding the nature of democracies that have toppled in the past and gives insight into the patterns that are developing under Trump. It's scary. They point out the four guideposts that would indicate democracy is at risk: 1. The leader shows only a weak commitment to democratic rules. 2. He or she denies the legitimacy of opponents. 3. He or she tolerates violence. 4. He or she shows some willingness to curb civil liberties or the media. Depending on your view of Trump, you and this book would argue that all of these examples have been shown to be true. The opposition may argue that these are drummed up by leftist writers who are working to disrupt the administration. I'm Canadian so I have no direct stake but I sure don't want the world to blow up or our neighbours to the South to decide to go totalitarian and look for more living space...

Thoughts from anyone else out there who has read this one?

#Democracy #PoliticalScience #BooksandBeers #BookReview #TwinSailsBrewing #Politics #Trump #DonaldTrump