HappyUP!!.....The Essence of Genius

"The essence of genius is to know what to overlook" -William James


James is widely acknowledged as the father of American psychology- What could he be referring to in the above?

Here is my take - he is referring to the minutae that we attach far too emotion to. This is the kind of stuff that really doesn't mean much at the end of the day. Does it mean that we should be like the ostrich with our head in the sand? No. I don't think overlook and ignore are the same words or Mr James, an impeccable wordsmith, would have chosen to say "ignore."

Words are words....situations are situations - it is the emotion that we attach to these things as individuals that determine how much these will rule our lives. Yes, we do create our own realities.

We only have x amount of time and emotion to spend - and, if we waste it on things that will bring little long term value to our lives, we will spend little or no time/emotion investing in the things that bring long term gain. In essence, we burn up our tanks of gas by peeling tires back and forth down to the corner. We never have enough gas to make the trip to wise old grandpa or grandma's house.

Look at where your energy is invested today - look at the items where you raise your voice, get upset, gossip about, talk to workmates about, talk to spouses about, etc. Is it interesting or is it just passing time or, worse, is it wasting precious gas?

And know this - you have the ability to change this at any second that you decide to. Remember, in every change, there is a second that it is made. Sure, there may be a process involved but, during that process, there is a tipping point where you go off into the other direction. Many times, we wander off in a less than desirable direction without even knowing that we are doing it. We aren't conscious.

HappyUP!!! - look for where you are spending your emotion today. Write it down in a journal or notepad. Start building your better tomorrow by having a higher quality today.