Sunday, June 12, 2005
It's all in what you're looking for
The way you look at life has a lot to do with what you get from it. Take the example of Dr. Percy Spencer. In 1946, he was doing research on improving radar systems. As he worked on some new equipment, he discovered that a candy bar in his pocket had melted. It was a mess.
Now most people faced with that would probably see that as a bit of back luck. Dr. Spencer saw it in a different way. Instead of saying, "Bummer," or whatever was in vogue to say in those days, he viewed the loss of his candy bar with curiosity. "Hmm, why did that happen?"
So he tried a few more experiments regarding that equipment and other foods. And out of those experiments came the realization that the type of radiation that equipment emitted could cook food faster than conventional cooking—a lot faster.
That melted candy bar led to the invention of the microwave. Actually, though, it wasn't the candy bar—it was Dr. Spencer's outlook. Remember how I said that most people would have simply written off the melted candy bar as bad luck. We have microwaves today because Dr. Spencer didn't take that outlook.
He was too busy looking for good things to happen to see it as bad luck. So instead of dwelling on the pile of goop in his pocket, he looked for what he could make of it.
He looked for what could have caused this strange occurrence and how he could use it. And by doing so, he made a lasting mark on everyday modern life.
Look for what positives you can make out of the things that don't go the way you planned. Granted, not every miserable mess of goop in our lives can lead to something that changes millions of lives. But everything that takes us off the path we expected gives us a chance to view things in a different way and act on opportunities we didn't expect—if only we're willing to see them as the opportunities they are.
Jeff
The way you look at life has a lot to do with what you get from it. Take the example of Dr. Percy Spencer. In 1946, he was doing research on improving radar systems. As he worked on some new equipment, he discovered that a candy bar in his pocket had melted. It was a mess.
Now most people faced with that would probably see that as a bit of back luck. Dr. Spencer saw it in a different way. Instead of saying, "Bummer," or whatever was in vogue to say in those days, he viewed the loss of his candy bar with curiosity. "Hmm, why did that happen?"
So he tried a few more experiments regarding that equipment and other foods. And out of those experiments came the realization that the type of radiation that equipment emitted could cook food faster than conventional cooking—a lot faster.
That melted candy bar led to the invention of the microwave. Actually, though, it wasn't the candy bar—it was Dr. Spencer's outlook. Remember how I said that most people would have simply written off the melted candy bar as bad luck. We have microwaves today because Dr. Spencer didn't take that outlook.
He was too busy looking for good things to happen to see it as bad luck. So instead of dwelling on the pile of goop in his pocket, he looked for what he could make of it.
He looked for what could have caused this strange occurrence and how he could use it. And by doing so, he made a lasting mark on everyday modern life.
Look for what positives you can make out of the things that don't go the way you planned. Granted, not every miserable mess of goop in our lives can lead to something that changes millions of lives. But everything that takes us off the path we expected gives us a chance to view things in a different way and act on opportunities we didn't expect—if only we're willing to see them as the opportunities they are.
Jeff
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