I began this post believe I would share my perspective on the country. Now, after thinking about it, I don’t believe I can write that post. The more I travel and see the world, the more I realize that one country is not better or worse than another — they are different. The Philippines is just as beautiful and just as ugly as any other place I’ve been — including my own country. Like other places, possibly where you live, you’ll encounter hard working people. You’ll stress about traffic. You’ll know people that value time together. You’ll know people that value alone time. You’ll taste flavors that are different and you’ll enjoy the familiar. At a very high level — it’s not so dissimilar. If the country is not any different than any other country, what might I value? Experiences. Now, I believe what I lost most about visiting a new place is not the place, it’s what I learned from my experience in that place. And, from my experience in the Philippines, I’ve learned a few things:It’s hard to fine sugar-free or vegetable/seed-oil free food stuffs. I see that as an invitation to explore further! I do not remember a bad cup of coffee. I wish I knew more about the beans they grow here. Make the most of traffic jams — bring a book.I prefer less sweet and more smokey barbecue. How might I find more of that here? It’s possible that some US-based business leaders may undervalue the talents of the people here. And it’s possible some people here undervalue their own people. I believe these are people with tremendous optimism, drive, and entrepreneurial thinking. People will go to great lengths to connect with the things that matter to them.On the whole, a beautiful experience. I’ve learned much.

Possibly underrated by many who haven’t done it. Probably properly rated by those who have. Travel alone to a foreign country and be humbled, humiliated, amused, and inspired by the experience. I enjoy putting myself along, perhaps over, the margin of my competency. My experience in the Philippines continues to deliver returns from stepping over the margin of my competence in the form of personal growth and a feeling of self-effectiveness. If you haven’t done it yet, consider giving it a try.

Someone some day might call you “big.” And you might become offended. But wait a moment.For some groups of people, expressing an observation about something physical and measurable is acceptable. It may even be a sign of care or respect. But wait a moment.For some groups of people, that’s highly offensive to make mention of a physical characteristic. That type of observation is reserved for the inner circle of loved ones and family. But wait a moment.How do we communicate when the expression of a physical truth can be a sign of respect/care or a form of shame or assault? The best course is for both parties to be curious. Deploying curiosity requires the curious party to hold space for questions and for learning. That curious person must be willing to be make an update to their worldview given new knowledge. In this process, the curious person becomes more empathetic, a stronger communicator, and a more effective translator. Genuine Curiosity — perhaps the tool that bridges the divide between people, places, and things?

The best laid plans often go awry. I thought I had written blog posts since Thursday, but I hadn’t. I’m in the Philippines now — been here for a week. I wrote out a bunch of posts in advance and forgot to hit “schedule”. I’m sorry. That said — I’m still here, and you’ll be receiving one more email from me per days (just for a few days) until I’ve caught up. My goal is 365 posts per year.That said — if you try to solve for everything, you’re bound to miss something.

By the time it’s time to turn things around, life compounded. And compound interest is a powerful force.The best way to get things back on track is to go step-by-step and lower the expectations. With the right mindset, persistence, resiliency, and pragmatism you can turn around anything. Your effort must compound in the other direction.

I don’t stress about travel prep anymore. I enjoy it. I enjoy thinking about what I’ll wear, gifts I’ll share, and what I’ll do. I give myself hope. The inverse is to stress about travel. Imagine someone giving themselves stress about what to wear, gifts to buy, and planning every second of the day. Some people like that. I don’t. The more I learn about myself the more I learn that I enjoy simple, thoughtful, efficient, and value-adding experiences. Packing my bags is no exception.

I received a traffic ticket — I’m human. I want to pay the ticket online — Fond Du Lac County Wisconsin does not allow online payments. They requrie me to mail a check. Who still uses checks? Thinking of incentives — if a county made it too easy to pay a traffic ticket, more people might speed because of the ease of paying the ticket. I’m not a speed demon… anymore. After this experience, I’m happy to keep a steady 5 over the limit then have to tear up my place looking for a checkbook. Cheers to noticing the diffcult things in our life.

You and I try to figure out who we are. You and I make a decision, like a hypothesis, about who we are and act accordingly. We look at how people respond to our actions. We reflect on how our work is received and valued. We then make an update given feedback received.When it comes to hypothesis testing, when your data shows your hypothesis to be true or false, you must make updates. You don’t continue testing and testing until your data shows you want you want to see. That’s bad exploration. Given the hypothesis model of personal identity (I’m sure it’s not a novel concept), what’s your hypothesis about yourself now? What updates have you made about yourself? Where is your data leading you?Thinking about this model for myself — I believe it reduces the stress of trying to be something that I am not. Instead, I make a hypothesis and test and, hopefully if I disprove my hypothesis, I learn something about myself. A caveat… I also recognize that people do not define me. I am using people’s reactions to how I believe I am to help me learn more about myself. I don’t believe we’ll ever achieve 100% certainty. It will only be after we’re gone, when those we knew account for who we were, will we know what we became. That’s what I think… for now.

Noticing, for me, is a function of my ability to pause, still my mind, observe, and notate. It’s arguable that the waste product of my process is time. However, time is only waste if my noticing is not put to good use. Noticing requires energy — pausing, stilling the mind, and observing are energy intensive actions… or inactions. Sitting still is difficult. Not thinking about the next thing to do is a chore for many. Observing and not judging… you get the picture. If you are not skilled at noticing, the experience curve is real. You will spend more time and energy in the art of stilling your body and your mind. Eventually, with practice, you’ll become better and more efficient. The experience curve will work in your favor. Once skilled at noticing, you might notice your sense of humor changes. You might notice you start seeing the world as it is. You may find yourself more open minded to other ideas or norms. I’ve been practicing noticing for years — years! I’m not a master. I notice my sense of humor changed — I can find funny in the absurd and the ironic. I notice that I’m more open to new ideas and experience. I notice that I am more present in this moment — the only moment that matters — the only moment I own.How do you quantify the cost of owning the present?

I discovered that the more I focus on noticing the world, the more I notice the absurdity of it. I watch people change grocery checkout lines like they’re changing lanes of traffic. Where do they have to go so fast? How many more minutes did they save? And, how do they know that those minutes saved mattered? I watch people, and myself, stress and wig out about work. How silly that is. Why stress something that can’t physically harm me? And why stress something that will ultimately end? And why couldn’t there be more fun?I watch show up to church as if they’ll convene with a one true divine mystery. Many people participate in a religiion and many people believe in many different kinds of mystery. Who’s right? And who’s wrong? And does it matter? The intensity of my curiosity about the world’s absurdity postiively correlates the amount of noticing. You might find that a curse; however, I find the process of thinking and exploring quite fun.Noticing is fun.