Image by Scott Branson, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:
1. It is well-known in the writing community that writers are (perhaps deservedly) notorious for extreme rates of progress-inhibiting procrastination. I myself have experienced that throughout my whole life, having for a couple decades proudly displayed a Procrastinator's Ten Commandments poster in my bedroom. (I have since given away that poster, as I am more focused on self-development and didn't want to reinforce that opinion of myself any longer.) This article concerning the difference between a fixed mind-set learner and a growth mind-set learner was really interesting to me, because I feel like I have evolved from the former to the latter over the past several years. Some people think that talent is a fixed quality that either you're born with or you're not, whereas other people think that challenges are an opportunity to grow. The fixed mind-set approach is enforced time and time again in our educational system, although this phenomenon has escaped the strict confines of academia and entered the workforce as well—more and more managers have reported that their younger new hires require explicit direction, constant feedback, and other well-structured benefits of today's educational environments. It's perhaps worth giving this article a read and doing some introspection about one's own learning style. Do you believe that you were born with specific strengths (and therefore should not attempt to develop your opportunities), or do you believe that facing challenges helps you grow?
2. Thus far (knocks on wood), I haven't received a single parking ticket (or a speeding ticket, for that matter), but I did find this new parking enforcement technology called the Barnacle to be interesting. Instead of installing a boot onto the car, parking patrol officers can install a six square foot block of yellow plastic onto your windshield, rendering it impossible to see anything. The device attached with 700 pounds of suction, so it would require ripping the windshield out to remove on your own. It's easier to install and remove than a boot, but still nearly impossible for the offender to remove. If the trial period in Pennsylvania and Florida goes well, we may be seeing more and more of these on parked cars in the near future.
That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.