Do you plan forward or backward?

I think there is a planner in all of us. Some of us are very meticulous - taking pride in our to-do lists and weekly calendars. Some of us plan in an abstract manner - placing milestones in fuzzy areas that are thankfully still adequately discernible on our own mind-maps. The rest of us claim to be lazy slobs - but the truth is we do still plan... we plan not to plan. :P For those in the first two categories who plan more "explicitly", do you plan forward or backward? Planning styles are all unique with their own native flavors. But hey, I think we can separate them into two broad categories - forward and backward. By "forward planning", you employ something akin to greedy algorithm as your tool. For those not familiar with greedy algorithm, Wikepedia defines it as "any algorithm that follows the problem solving metaheuristic of making the locally optimum choice at each stage with the hope of finding the global optimum". Simply put, if you plan using greedy algorithm, you base your decisions on the available information you have. In this mode, your goals (if any) are fuzzy. You may know roughly what you want (like the BEST job, the BEST spouse, the BEST house, the BEST blah blah) but what information you have (like what jobs are available in your area, who among your colleagues best matches your idea of the perfect mate, which house looks the nicest in your neighborhood blah blah) determines what you do next. By "backward planning", you depend primarily on your goals. You have VERY specific goals fixed in your mind. For instance, you want to be the Chief Financial Officer at XYZ bank. You want a spouse who has a face shaped like an apple (one of my uncles assured me that apple-faced girls make the best mates). You want that penthouse at UVW condo. From these specific goals, you work backward to decide how you can achieve them. In the forward planning mode, you just know you want a condo. You will look at your current situation and just try to make as much money as you can - so that you can get a unit at any condo. However in the backward planning mode, you know you want that unit (and the penthouse one no less) at that particular condo so you try to figure out how to get it - like hiring a Private Investigator to probe how the existing owner will sell you his unit at a price you can afford. See the main difference between these two planning modes? One tries to reach forward to relatively vague goals from the current situation. The other tries to juxtapose specific goals with the current situation by bringing them towards you. I would say neither mode is superior to the other. It's just a matter of perspective and either would work as well. But hey, I am curious. So do you plan forward or backward? Or not at all? =) To see what myLotters have to say, check here.

Do you stir your coffee clockwise or counterclockwise?

I was making a cup of coffee and I suddenly realized that I was stirring it counterclockwise. I know I normally stir in both directions just so that the milk and coffee get a thorough mix - but there is always a default one I start with. It is an international convention that we turn something clockwise to lock and counterclockwise to unlock. My mind jumped and it seemed appropriate to associate constructive with the clockwise direction and destructive with the counterclockwise direction. After all, if we are "unlocking", we are removing restrictions. Semblance of order will collapse and chaos will ensue - thus destructive. So does this mean I am someone who is more apt to destroy rather than create? I paused and interrogated my inner voice. It responded that I was a good person who would rather create than destroy. ^^ So why did I stir my coffee counterclockwise? Or am I being tedious by trying to exact an explanation for something seemingly inconsequential? :P One night passed without thinking of the question and the answer came to me without bidding. However, it is still just my own hypothesis. You see, I am right-handed. I reckon that when I stir the coffee, it will be easier and more natural to turn my right wrist inwards (counterclockwise). Likewise, if you are using your left hand, you will be more inclined to turn your left wrist inwards i.e. clockwise than outwards i.e. counterclockwise. To clarify, it is not so much whether you are left-handed or right-handed. It is rather which wrist you are using. I mentioned about me being right-handed because this means I use my right wrist more than the left. I would also stir my coffee with my right hand and would thus turn the right wrist inwards which is counterclockwise. Does this make sense to you? So do you stir your coffee clockwise or counterclockwise? =) PS.: To see what myLotters have to say, check out this discussion.

Are you even in the race?

Yesterday, I went for a midnight run. It was the first after a long hiatus and forcing myself to go for it took more than a little determination. But I succeeded. Despite being cut short by an unexpected downpour, the run was satisfying. The feeling came not because of the distance covered but of the fact that I did run. Most of you would have exercised at one point or another in your lives. Just look at the mirror and it would be obvious whether you enjoyed it or not - and enjoyed it enough to make it a habit. I once exercised regularly when I served in the army. After all, it was not as if the choice was really there. :P After I was liberated, I did try to sustain exercising as a routine in my life. But you know Murphy's Law - things simply happened and the habit of exercising was broken. I did go through a cycle of (1) Routine broken (2) Re-establish routine blah-blah but it is somewhat like an infinite loop. So yesterday was part 2 all over again. As I bounced off in my jogging shoes, I psyched myself that running was fun and keeping fit was great. It worked well enough (partly because the run was cut short by the rain lol). As I was running, it occurred to me that at least I was running. It did not matter how far or fast I went but that I was running. Every little bit counts and who knows - my run last night might just had made my heart that weeny bit stronger and given me an extra minute of lifespan. Not all that bad right? So if we look at life and its challenges from the perspective of running, are you even in the race? We may lament, we may gripe, we may whine about endless things. But are we truly even in the race sometimes? Many situations in life resemble that of a black box. If you are not even truly inside, how can you change anything? I know it is so very easy to simply *observe* from the outside. But when you are just outside and staring at a black box, it's hard (not impossible but hard) to change anything inside. So, are you even in the race to begin with?

Why bother what happens after you die?

This is not a religious discussion and I do not intend to discuss afterlife, rebirth, heaven, hell or purgatory. Just simple bread and butter, apple and orange. :P So, do you care what happens after you die? I mean, why even bother? I am talking about your name, assets, and perhaps, family and friends. Name - this would be your reputation and how you are remembered after your death. Let's bring up some notorious examples - Hilter? Pol Pot? Saddam Hussein? Their deeds may not be regarded favorably after their deaths, yet where are they now? Well, they are dead! For all the good lives they enjoyed, all they got was a mere bad name. What if there is no spiritual retribution? Why struggle so hard to keep a good name and conscience when being wicked, unethical and unscrupulous might instead grant you a life of luxury in this life that might very well be your one and only? Assets - this would be the vainglory that bloats up your head. I don't deny to be different - who don't want more money than you will ever need? Who don't want to buy everything and anything you fancy? Who don't want to shape the world to your liking by sheer weight of your resources? Yet what good is all this after you are dead? Your consciousness is erased completely when you breathe your last. Is there a way to still enjoy this material wealth? I seriously doubt. Family, friends - so now you are all happily living together, just like in a fairy tale. But what happens after you wave them bye bye as you choke on your spittle? Well, it is goodbye. They cry, they powder their faces, they turn up for your funeral. I won't say they will forget you right away. But give it time. Life is for the living, not the dead. Memory stays but it fades - sooner than you realize, you are forgotten. Why would you want them to remember you anyway - more self-important ego on your part? So, do you still care what happens after you are dead? Why bother to leave a good name or reputation? Why fuss over writing your will deciding whether your pink toothbrush go to your second daughter or third? Why worry if you are remembered at all after your passing? Here's some food for thought for you to work those lazing brain cells of yours! :P Related link: http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1075662.aspx