Tag: Reading

Confirmation Bias

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Kathryn Atkins

“People are prone to believe what they want to believe.*”

How much of what we think we believe is true? How much do we believe it because we want to or because it fits our previous decision on a topic, a medical issue, a political candidate, our hobbies—ANYTHING.

I like to think I’m challenging myself to grow in new ways by reading different genres of novels, a variety of non-fiction books on a broad spectrum of viewpoints. But am I really? What about podcasts?

How can we be sure we’re not seeking agreement with where we are now? What are the signs? Are we doing the same things again and again, but thinking we are doing something different? I pride myself on my creativity. My fearlessness. But I now must challenge myself to understand if I’m really just confirming what I already think or know. So, I’m going to try the following. I’ll let you know what I find out.

Make a list of the last six novels I read.
List the last five non-fiction books I read (not purchased, read).
What were the last four classes I took?
Name the last three times I ate a food I’ve never eaten before.
Summarize the last two conversations that I shared with someone twenty or more years younger than myself and twenty or more years older than me.
When did I try a different browser than the one I normally use?

Confirmation bias keeps people in a rut. Scary but true. Stepping out of our rut is REALLY scary!

Change scares everyone to an extent. Knowing when you’re suffering from confirmation bias might be the first step to changing your mind, even a little. We’re not suggesting which way to think, but we would like to know if you are brave enough to confirm that you have confirmation bias. Or not.

Source: * Psychology Today

Image compliments of Pexels.com

A Book Review

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Kathryn Atkins

The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved “The Fortune Teller.” I won’t tell you how it ends, but I was hooked from the first page. I liked the main character, Semele, because she was almost as much in the dark as we were, which made her discovery all the more satisfying. I was intrigued by the Tarot cards, impressed by the research, and enthralled by the mystical feel on each page.
There was a tinge of foreboding, as we don’t find out the identity of the enigmatic “VS” person until almost the end, and the villain is, well, a very good (or bad, depending on your POV) villain. Other characters were well-drafted and moved Semele’s story along, from the boyfriend, Bren, to her boss and her client, who . . . No. I can’t tell you. It would ruin it.
Suffice it to say that I’m now seeking my own “perfect” set of Tarot cards.
Also, Gwendolyn does an excellent job of speaking. She presented at the California Writers Club in September and taught us how she uses Tarot cards (along with runes and other unconventional tricks) to help inspire and move her writing projects.

I wonder about the forces around us, and about the fortunes we create for ourselves, realizing that we may not be in control at all. Ever.

“The Fortune Teller” was one of my favorite books.

View all my reviews

Possibility

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Kathryn Atkins

I stand at the edge of possibility. It takes my breath away.

Every single moment of every single day, we can choose to be the person we were meant to be. I think it’s simple. Mostly, we have to get out of our own way.

I’m reading The Art of Possibility for the third time. I am convinced that we must commit to being open to the universe, as the authors Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander state. We have to be prepared to receive; able to live in the present; willing to slide through our mistakes on our way to a hope (but not a guarantee) of perfection because we are one of the lucky ones that get to do our life’s work.

I love the idea of a happiness that we can obtain by the way we approach our days. Here’s a great suggestion from the book. Rule No. 6 says,

“Don’t take yourself so seriously.”

What a great concept. Yes, but how do I slow down enough to inhale possibility on the days when I am just not feeling it? I can always start by counting my blessings. I have lots.

Then I will close my eyes and imagine myself on the boat pictured below. It’s always there: Possibility.

light sea dawn landscape — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Leave Room in Your Suitcase

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Kathryn Atkins

apple book break color — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

So, did you think this post was going to be about travel? Great. It is. But, it’s not.

Hopefully, we are all going somewhere. However, we are not always going on vacation. Or going out of town. Or going on a safari, per se. We are, however, traveling through life. We need to have our suitcase packed, our selves ready, open, and available to step, fly, jump, and fall forward into the next place. Our metaphorical bags should always be packed, as in why slow down to throw in a toothbrush when the next adventure may have toothbrushes waiting for you at the other end? Or better yet, we won’t need toothbrushes there at all. Our teeth will automatically be cleaned by busy nanobots grinning as they scrub, singing happy tunes, and making you happy to boot.

So while the suitcase should be ready to go, it should have room to add stuff. We want to leave space in the suitcase of our minds to put in cool new ideas, experience an image in a way we’ve never done so before, or taste a new aroma, or savor a different apple with a cool name like “Jazz” or “Envy.”

We save a spot for experimentation. We can pause in the quietness to read an author we wouldn’t have tried without the clarity that white space in a suitcase brings. We can “hear” a not-my-usual color; “wear” a not-my-kind of music. (Not typos: Hear a color and wear music were on purpose.)

I invite you on your next journey to leave room in your suitcase. In fact, I will leave room in mine, too, and maybe we can meet in the middle.

Always keep a bag packed!

Add A Brick

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Kathryn Atkins

I stood up in front of the small crowd of people last night. Naked.

brick building with stairs — Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Kidding. I might as well have been. Two other authors and I were reading from our work, and I was the least accomplished of the trio by far. So, I can choose to engage in self-flagellation . . . or I can view it as a brave opportunity to add a brick to the building I’m constructing. The building of me.

Notice… the building at left has fire escapes! That’s me, too. I’m a building with what I hope are little escapes to help me exit the building when I need to save myself. OR they can equally be ladders or steps for when my wonderful friends and family come up to the floor I’m on that day and chat. Solve problems. Hang out. Are you ready for a climb?

If I’m not building (or being a building), I’m backsliding. I’ve stopped growing. Stopped trying. Stopped embarrassing my self — when that by itself is a lovely (albeit painful) way to get better. Immersion. Hanging it out. Hearing and seeing other people do it differently.

I was not horrible, no. But I am not “there” yet either. Which is silly. We’re never going to get there until we’re dead. OR until we stop trying.

So add a brick today. Or as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Here’s the event, by the way. If you want to come by, we love audiences… even if it scares us! And here’s a photo of me at the event. With clothes on.

“JOMO”

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Kathryn Atkins

yellow plush toy — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

You’ve heard of FOMO… Fear Of Missing Out. I just heard of “JOMO.”

JOMO = Joy Of Missing Out.

That means forgetting Facebook, turning off Twitter, and ignoring Instagram. And evading E-Mail for a block of uninterrupted time. Call it what you will, it’s a way to decrease our addiction to the 24/7/365 bombardment of noise and distraction simply because we’re afraid we won’t know what our neighbor knows. We’ll miss the client’s email or an agent’s answer. They can wait.

JOMO is about allowing ourselves the joy of being in the moment.

Jason Fried, co-founder of 37Signals and maker of Basecamp reads a newspaper now! In a recent interview with Tim Ferriss, Jason said that knowing what’s going on in the world once a day is enough. Imagine.

The universe will continue without our seeing and hearing what happens every minute of every day. We’ll have more time for meditating, writing, painting, making music, reading books and lots more. Let’s call it Anti-Social Media. How’s that for a new term?

Unplug and enjoy life!