Category: Life That Matters

Welcome to February!

Carl Setzer2 Comments
woman explaining position to african american husband

So, we’ve made it through the first month of 2025! Congrats so far!

As I’ve noted earlier, I’ve lost a lot of my energy in January to sickness. This week I’m finally feeling solidly on the mend (though my cough is still annoying, but every day a bit less so).

I’ve spent this morning weeding through a backlog of email, and getting a few neglected tasks into my planner. I’ve also been able to do a bit of edification type reading.

This morning’s email about Complaining from Seth Godin struck me. I occasionally struggle with it, even though I find it (mostly) a waste of energy. Seth made some good points about it’s purpose.

  • “The obvious reason to complain is to make a change happen.”
    • That one is often not really the point. Though, if it is the goal, we need to “…focus those complaints where they’ll do the most good, and be prepared to do the work to have an impact”.
  • He does list of other reasons, which is worth the minute or two it takes to read his post.

He also points out that complaining is the “evil cousin” of whining. And that whining is pretty wasteful in terms of effectiveness. Both are often simply functions of the entitled mentality.

His last point, which I’m going to embrace, is ““The best way to complain is to make things better.” At least, if positive change is your goal. If it’s simply to deflect blame, conceal fear, or anything else, then, well, go and do you.

Do you have strategies to keep complaining/whining at bay?

    A Quote For The Day

    Carl Setzer
    silhouette photography of group of people jumping during golden time

    I came accross today’s quote at Michele Lee’s blog “My Inspired Life”.

    Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
    ― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

    First, I loved Tuesdays with Morrie. And I just love the vibe of this quote. It reminds me of what’s important in life, even is these troubling times.

    I hope this finds you well. May you find your community, one that you may delight in devoting yourself to.

    Some thoughts on the article: “How a brush with death shaped my long game”

    Carl Setzer2 Comments
    autumn fallen leaves on gravestone

    Like Eric Markowitz, for years I’ve been focused on “the long view” (as I’ve called it), or as he calls it “long-termism” (I do like his term). Basically, it means trying to make decisions that have a long-term, sustainable impact and escaping the tyranny of short-term (or, dare I call it, micro-term thinking). That mindset where the only thing one considers is maximizing profit (or enter your preferred KPI here) NOW, or perhaps out to the next earnings report. This thinking is so destructive when you look at the long game.

    Mr. Markowitz wrote a piece last month titled “How a brush with death shaped my long game“. TLDR: he gets seriously sick, looking at a very high likelihood of death in the next few months. As you might expect, this causes one to rethink…a lot. (Fortunately, it has a happy ending…read it for the full details…it’s worth it).

    He has lots of great ideas, but I particularly appreciate this one: “Playing the long game isn’t just about structure and process and systems that are designed to withstand the long-term: it’s about the joy and gratitude of getting to play the game in the first place.” I get fixated on the structure and processes and systems, and lose site of the joy.

    Like him, I’ve had this long-term view in my mind, but have been really poor at living it. It’s far too easy for me to get wrapped up in short-term stresses, and lose track of the long-term goal. I appreciate the wake-up call (and am glad mine is this article and not the frightening series of events that Mr. Markowitz experienced).

    I need to pull back and look bigger picture, focus on my long-term goals, and keep my short-term worries in perspective. Easier said than done, I know. Yet, I also know, it’s an effort that’s worth it. Like Thoreau, I want to ensure that “when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” That’s what’s most important to me.

    Reflecting on The Half-Life of Magic

    Carl Setzer
    person doing card trick

    I make it a point to read Seth Godin blog posts every day (well, I try my best). Today, he wrote “The half-life of magic“.

    “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

    Arthur C. Clarke

    In this post, Mr. Godin points out how quickly magic wears off. And, by magic, I ascribe the appreciation and wonder. The rate of change has increased so dramatically that one of our challenges is to find wonder in life.

    It is hard when we externalize this. When we’re waiting to find wonder, delight, joy, it becomes so much harder to find. Let me propose another alternative: to actively seek it. Take a moment and consider how amazing our lives our. With my cellphone I can look up almost anything humanity has ever learned. Almost all knowledge is, literally, at our fingertips. but these technological marvels are only a small piece. Look out the window, watch the rain, see the hummingbirds drift amongst the blossoms, or the juncos dark amongst the tree branches. Or the eagle drifting overhead, over this suburban human habitat.

    Life is full of wonder if you choose to look for it. And that’s the pathway to a joy-filled life: searching for wonder.

    A Meditation: Avoiding Bitterness

    Carl Setzer
    achievement confident free freedom

    Nadia Bolz-Weber, one my favorite theologians/pastors, received this question recently:

    How do I guard against being a bitter and mean old lady?

    I love her response (and highly recommend reading it), but let grab a few lines that hold the essence:

    ‘Could you maybe, even though it’s super cringy, place your hand on your heart and ask it “What hurt you? And how can we move on together?”’

    “But reader, I am hopeful. Defiantly so. There are a million forms of shit out there, it’s true. But what is also true is that there are always more forms of love.”

    As a boy I often heard the refrain “you are what you eat”. Eating better might be the goal, but I hold this true for mind, body, and soul. Therefore, to avoid bitterness, seek the beautiful, seek out love and joy. Also, write down those findings. That cements them into your soul.

    Gratitude is the most powerful medicine against bitterness. Seeking out the good in the world is the only antidote to the world’s bitter cynicism. And it’s just an arm’s reach away.

    A Haiku For The Day

    Carl Setzer4 Comments 
    gazing to the west
petals dancing in the breeze
as the sunlight fades

    It’s been a hot minute since I last posted a haiku, so here’s one for you today. This photo is from my walk along the Edmonds Waterfront. It was a lovely day; started sunny and slowly clouds drifted in. It stayed dry, fortunately for me.

    I adore writing haiku, though I’ve been trying to write about my explorations into tech. More professional, I guess. I’ve been told to focus on your brand with your social media. But, what is my brand? I mean, I’ve written tons of haiku, and they’re some of my most popular content. But, they don’t bring in the money, do they? Maybe I need to work to monetize them. Oooohhh…I can be an influencer?

    Anyway, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with myself next. I’ve been focused on IT, web design, and other technology “things” for the past few years. With that, though, I’ve received constant feedback that I should look at Project Management. Instructors, supervisors, family…constant stuff. And by the same people who then ping me to fix their printers.

    I guess I’m still trying to “find my way”. Maybe my way is to take pictures and write haiku? Not gonna get rich at that, but it’s fun. Who knows?

    Let me know what you think! Anyway, talk to you soon.

    Quote of the Day

    Carl Setzer

    For today’s quote, I opted for this one by Thomas Merton. His writings have had a profound impact on my life. It seems quite fitting to share something from him.

    “To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands,
    to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times.    “

    Focus and Choice

    Carl Setzer2 Comments

    I think the greatest challenge for people with any greater than zero amount of ambition is choosing what not to learn. For me, there are so many things I want to learn. About three lifetimes worth. Finding focus is hard. Focus means saying no to other, often great, opportunities. My goodness, that’s hard.