Learning through fear and failure

I learn more in a tough environment than in a soft environment.  I learn when I work.  I work when I’m motivated.  I’m motivated when I know that I have something to do.  I have something to do when I know that my boss will check if I’m doing it or not.    

In my current employment I take a new group of Soldiers to play war every six weeks.  Building a field problem for 300 Soldiers to train on Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills and their Military Occupational Specialty for 96 hours at a time in a remote location is taxing.  We, at the company level, plan the operations, the food and water needs, transportation, billeting, build an inclement weather plan, etc.  Well, we recently changed Brigade Commanders. 

The former Brigade Commander visited the field problems, knew the process, and understood the standard.  He made on-the-spot corrections, informed my boss (Battalion Commander) if something was not right in my operations, and chaired extensive After Action Reviews following every exercise.  I thoroughly prepared for each exercise a full month from its start point with MDMP, I continuously sought ways to improve my operations, I checked to ensure my subordinates completed tasks, and I scrutinized my actions during the exercise so the AAR would develop in a favorable way for me.  I learned.  I developed.

The current Brigade Commander does not visit the field problems, trusts that we (Company Commanders) are conducting business properly, and believes in a positive work environment.  She asks questions instead of correcting us because she wants to understand our thought processes so she can learn, she does not yell at my direct supervisor when I’m wrong, and she does not chair an AAR after any field exercise.  We build AAR Powerpoint slides to send to her after the exercises and she ALWAYS sends positive feedback for a “job well done!”  I haven’t done anything wrong in months.  I know because she hasn’t told me that I have.  I don’t plan as thoroughly for exercises anymore, I don’t conduct MDMP, and I don’t learn as much as I used to learn during each exercise.  I’m not developing as I did before.   

I need fear of failure to grow.  I don’t have that.  -antiwasp

Filed under: Environment, Lessons Learned, Military, Wisdom

TOO OLD TO HAVE KIDS

TOO OLD TO HAVE KIDS http://martinmolinaart.com/artwork/2233039_TOO_OLD_TO_HAVE_KIDS.html

BIRTHRATES IN THE U.S. OVER TIME  http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/79_PDF.pdf

2005 BIRTHRATES IN THE U.S. BY RACE  http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/79_PDF.pdf

I don’t know what the artist was thinking when he painted “TOO OLD TO HAVE KIDS,” but I do know that it’s a common thought for many people in my age group (late 20s/early 30s).  Our American drop in birthrates is not a coincidence.  The drop is an evolutionary/natural reaction to the current environment.  It may take me a few lines to get to the point so stick with me. . .

Amenorrhea is when a female skips three or more menstrual cycles due to not eating.  It is a mechanism built into the female body to keep her from reproducing during times of famine, and during times of high competition between females for mates.  I know . . . what exactly do I mean by “high competition,” right?  Men are, in every culture, attracted to young, large eyed, thin/fit women.  It is natural for women to want, and need, to be selected by the opposite gender.  When women are faced with “high competition” they seek to make themselves more competitive.  It is important to note that the competition need only be perceived to be reality in the mind of the survivor.  The perception of high competition triggers numerous psychological, emotional, and bodily systems that ultimately precedents the shutting off of the reproductive system . . . even when adequate food is available to the survivor.   

So why do we have a drop in birthrates in our culture?  Why are non-anorexic women not having babies?  Well, it’s because of international “high competition.”  We the People of the United States of America perceive economic decline.  As countries around the world have recovered from destruction of World War II, a war in which left us as the only nation unscathed and without economic competition, the other countries are now beginning to rival us on the economic world stage.  The birthrate reduction in the US is not a prediction of the future but a reflection of our prediction.  We are constantly on the decline from post-World War II because when at the top there is no other direction to go but down.  So, our psyche is shutting down our reproductive systems, because we seek self-preservation first and proliferation of our genes second.  We’re waiting for better times.  In that waiting we get TOO OLD TO HAVE KIDS.  -antiwasp

Filed under: Culture, Economy, Environment, Parenting, World Wide Policy

Pungent Food, the Equator, and Evolution

Have you ever had Greenlandish spicy cabbage, or how about Siberian pungent potatoes?  I’m guessing you haven’t.  But I’m pretty sure you’ve sampled some Thai chicken that’s considerably spicy, or a Mexican-made beef burrito that left your mouth on fire.  Ever wonder why some regions incorporate spicy dishes into their culture and others don’t?  Nobody can really answer the question, but I have a pretty good bead on a possibility.

Meat in warm climates decomposes faster than in cold climates.  Spices, believe it or not, are preservatives.  This is why we find more cases of spicy chicken or fish around the world than of spicy carrots.  Carrots, and other vegetables, weren’t a major concern or source of food borne illness, therefore it wasn’t necessary for vegetables to be spiced.  Differences for meat decomposition in warm versus cold climates is also the reason Germans don’t make a spicy cordon bleu.  It wasn’t as necessary as it was in Peru. 

The environment has caused minor evolutionary changes in our taste buds.  People in warmer climates who did not like spicy meat were more likely to die of food borne illnesses, thereby removing their bland-food-enjoying genes from the gene pool.  Over time traits passed from one generation to the next, and blamo! we have entire cultures that enjoy spicy foods, and others that don’t, all defined by proximity to the Equator.  -antiwasp  

Filed under: Environment