To be alive, you've already won the lottery. Philosopher and author of "Immortality," Steven Cave, IdeaFestival 2014
As an entrepreneur, scientist, artist or human on planet Earth, setbacks are inevitable. Ah-ha! moments are inseparable from the suddenness of oh no!
How do you handle set backs? The author linked below describes how she deals with the inevitable disappointments by, among other things, making time to quietly meditate each day. Then she said this about her astrophysicist of a brother.
When we were kids he used to show me Saturn and the moon in his telescope. I would instantly feel any negative thoughts fade away.
I can relate. If you've followed this blog for a while, you already know of my fondness for stargazing.
Here's something that works for me. Use the constellations Cassiopeia and Pegasus to locate the Andromeda galaxy, which will lie between them (Google it). Andromeda is our closest galactic neighbor. Depending on the conditions in your sky, it will appear, away from city lights and in reasonably dark skies, as the faintest smudge to the averted gaze. With ordinary binoculars and a little patience you'll be able to make out the hint of an oval.
Once you've located it, think about this: the photons emptying into the pool of your eyes have been in transit for 2.5 million years. Your mind's synaptic snap, crackle and pop of recognition was made possible not only by those ancient furnaces, but by someone you may never meet, a rumor, an intelligence that found its way to you using a technology a mere decades old on which words will fluoresce and a question will appear.
What are the odds?
That's perspective. It helps to tame setbacks.
Read the entire post, The Dark Days, And How I Handle Them, here.
Stay curious™
Wayne