Life is a shortcut - don't take it

Every day we seem to read more about mental shortcuts that we make to enable us to make sense of the diversity and frantic pace of life around us.

For many years we have been used to physical shortcuts (navigational or directional) as being perceived as a good thing. Local knowledge enables you to get somewhere quicker, via an alleyway in london, an air-conditioned building atrium in HK or a side street in Mumbai.

We are also used to healthcare shortcuts (vitamin boosts, fast food, pain killers, yoga, jogging) as a way to keep sickness at bay and maintain productivity at the same time. Until we burn-out and realize that sometimes these shortcuts don't work.

We can also try career shortcuts (night classes, on-line learning, 1 year - MBA's, unpaid overtime) - in an attempt to reduce or obliterate the 10,000 hours that our brains need to gain a new skill. We simply don't have the time or patience to devote to the deep practice needed to gain unconscious competence but struggle on with nervous incompetence and rising stress.


And finally we try love and family life shortcuts (speed dating, online searching, quality time hours, Amazon sent presents, texting and Facebooking). These have qualitative and quantitative effects on relationships and their costs are not immediate. Garbage- in, Garbage-out is a well worn phrase from the IT world that applies here as well.

Life's a journey not a destination as the Steven Tyler said and so be careful of shortcuts that don't get you to where you are going. The physical ones above seem the only ones worthwhile at the moment but perhaps in time others will be discovered and shared that will enable us to get to the end quicker - but Why?

If you have some time in London then please leave the map in the hotel. Put on good shoes and bring a rain jacket. Don't ask any questions but pick a point in the distance, The Eye, The Gerkin, Centerpoint, Tower Bridge and get temporarily lost in the winding backstreets and comtemplate history, geography and all the other great attributes of a major city and avoid any shortcuts.

What good is life if full of care

we have no time to stand and stare

no time to stand beneath the boughs

and stare as long as sheep or cows

a poor life this if full of care

we have no time to stand and stare