Meaningful Living

Abilene Paradox, a social phenomenon where a group of people decide together on a certain action plan, but actually many or some of the them did not like the idea. The story goes like this, according to Wikipedia.   On a hot afternoon in  Coleman , Texas , a family was comfortably playing  dominoes  on a porch, until the father suggested that they take a [50-mile (80-km)] trip to  Abilene  for dinner. The daughter said, "Sounds like a great idea." Her husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long and hot, thought that his preferences must be out-of-step with the group and said, "Sounds good to me. I just hope your mother wants to go." The mother then said, "Of course I want to go. I haven't been to Abilene in a long time." The drive  was  hot, dusty, and long. When they arrived at the cafeteria, the food was as bad as the drive. They arrived back home four hours later, exhausted. One of them dishonestly said, "It was a great ...

36 Chinese Stratagems  (三十六计) is a set of 6 x 6 techniques, a collection of ancient Chinese military tactics.  Although it was based on fighting the enemies, there is a lot to learn from this and to apply in our daily life. What I like most is the last strategy 走为上策, literally, Leaving (running away) . Like the Chinese say, it is the best strategy. Practical applications: - to avoid confrontations, arguments - to escape from embarrassing situations - to run away from aggressive sales pitch - to prevent further losses - to get out of likely being played in a mind-game Many people cannot just leave it, due to pride and the need to win.  It doesn't mean we will become a loser because we avoided confrontations.  My general rule is, things we cannot control (other peoples' actions), we avoid . Some examples: 1.   Many years ago I was in a taxi where the driver kept on rambling on his dissatisfaction with the government.  I listened, with the occasional resp...