Mind Over Milkshake (Thoughts Matter) Last year I went to THAT Conference in Wisconsin. It was a fun event, very community and family-friendly, and I enjoyed it. So much so that I recently went back to the Texas event in January. It's more developer-focused, but it does have some data related sessions. I recommend this conference if you're looking for some fun training and want to combine that with a family vacation. Your kids will love it. In any case, I watched a keynote talk that referenced an NPR article, called Mind over Milkshake. It's an interesting look at how the food labels affected people's bodies. It's not definitive and I wouldn't make any drastic changes based on this, but it is an interesting read on the idea your mind and thoughts can influence your body. I've heard about the effect of placebos in the past, we well as attitude on healing, so this makes some sense. I don't know to what extent this would change how I manage my health and medical care, but I do think a similar idea is important in my work with databases. I see lots of people who have a negative attitude towards learning, change, or even adopting new/better ways of doing things. So many people, whether workers or management, get stuck in a rut and want to stay there. Or they don't feel empowered to change. It's why I find the cultural part of DevOps way more challenging in organizations than the technology part. In some of my management positions, I've often challenged workers not to bring problems, but to find solutions. I want them to view the issues we face, the things that go wrong, as opportunities to improve, not set-in-stone problems that we gripe about. I know many chronic issues recur regularly. I also know that in any organization, there can be resistance to change, and a "we've always done it that way" attitude. However, adopting that for yourself is how things continue to linger on (or get worse). Your mindset can make a huge difference in how you approach situations, including how much stress you feel from the environment. I don't advocate change for change's sake, but I do look to critically evaluate if something works well or can be improved. I've also learned to ask for change and that being turned down doesn't mean that nothing changes. Or nothing ever well, or even this thing won't change. It often means that this particular thing can't change, or that it can't change now. I have also learned to separate this request from another request for a different change. The key is often to analyze the solution, prepare a good reason why something should change, and present this un-emotionally. I know when I approach things as an opportunity life is better. Even if I don't make a difference, or I don't like the outcome, I feel better about it. Try it, and you might feel the same way. Steve Jones - SSC Editor Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums |
