On expectations

It's a tricky thing, managing your expectations. Expectations of yourself, of those around you... It's especially difficult with others, as the outcomes are totally outside of your control.

Set them too high and you're bound to be disappointed.

But setting them too low isn't really fair either. Isn't there a certain standard that you should be able to expect?

Maybe those of us who expect a lot out of people are just setting ourselves up for a lifetime of disappointment.

The Good News Channel

The UAE recently launched its own news network. Before the launch, I guess I hadn't even considered the fact that the UAE didn't already have it's own television news. Was it possibly the only counrty in the world that didn't? Ok probably not, but it just seems strange.

So anyway- they launch this news program. It's very exciting for everyone (I use that term loosely). And after a few times watching, when the novelty has warn off- I start to grow skeptical of the content. The entire broadcast is spent discussing business successes, and royal decrees, and what fabulous things are going on in the government. Nothing even remotely skeptical or critical. And nothing really resembling what anyone else in the world would probably call 'hard news'.

The other day there was a big break-in at Wafi City- an extremely snobby mall in Dubai. A few people robbed the DMAS (diamonds) store with machine guns. 7 Days (the more liberal daily newspaper) ran a front page story on it. You'd think this would be everywhere. It's kind of a big deal. And afterall, Dubai is not that big of a city. So when Emirates news came on that night, I went to change the channel, because frankly, it's boring. But Shady suggested we watch to see if they talked about the robbery.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

They went on about how one of the princes or something went and inspected some company that day and showed footage of him walking around the floor, and other things equally uninteresting or relevent. But nothing on the robbery.

The cover-ups are really ridiculous. Laughable.

But I guess its probably a good news broadcast to fall asleep to. I should put a TV in my room.

a pain in the bureaucratic neck

If you worked on a team that provided services related primarily to strategy and innovation- but you couldn't use the term strategy- what would you call it?

I hate corporate politics...

A creativity website lists some 'new words' for consideration. Some are quite funny. My personal favorite:

'Mugabe'd'
(as in, I've been Mugabe'd)
To inadvertantly exchange pleasantries with someone you despise. (I was Mugabe'd the other day by my friend's loathsome ex-boyfriend, when he said hello to me while I was getting on the bus.)
Created by Sarah Sherman of Fuse PR

Check it out here.

Call me childish

but I can't help but giggle when people talk about pirates.

I've gotten used to the term in reference to copyrighted material and IP- but in reference to robbing ships in modern day- it still gets me.

I was wondering though, if 'pirating' HAD to be at sea. If someone jacks your car at a stoplight, are they commiting vehicular piracy? I think we should start using this more. It makes people smile.

Ok, it makes me smile. Probably wouldn't if it happened to me... but then again it might be cool to say that I was captured by pirates.

what are you trying to prove?

It's an intriguing question. And when followed with, 'Who are you trying to prove it to', is likely to send someone, at least someone like me, into a tailspin.

At work the other day, after receiving rave reviews of my recent presentation ; ) , I got into a conversation with some of the people in my department's about direction and purpose. All of them were saying how they just kind of fell into their current careers haphazardly, or because they happened to be good at something, whether or not they actually wanted to do it. They talked about how they had never done any guided introspective thinking to find out what they really wanted out of life.

This blew me away.

I have done countless 'personal mission' and 'vision' sessions either as a facilitated workshop or in a group- and these people are twice my age! I consider myself to have pretty good direction in life. I know what I want, and how I want to get there. But I wouldn't have figured that out if I hadn't gone about it in a deliberate way.

But this goals, plans, etc- these things that I have down pat- they are really an entirely different question than the subject line. And frankly, that is one that makes me question all of it, just a little. I still want all the things that I have always wanted. But what's the reason behind that? Who am I trying to prove myself to? Maybe this means that I am chasing all the wrong dreams- or rather, the right ones, but for the wrong reasons. Is that really any better?