Stop and Think! (continued)

Excellent! If you really got the count right and at the same time noticed the gorilla, and only watched the video once, then this newsletter does not apply to you.

Most people, including me, did not at all notice the gorilla first time. We focused on what we were told to do, and got so distracted by that that we don't even notice a big gorilla waiving at us.

Made me wonder what else we miss every day.

I am sure there are several different interpretations of this phenomenon. Magicians, of course, use it widely. Dr. Mercola (on whose web-site I found the experiment) suggests that the media and major corporations are constantly having you place your focus on this or that and so you miss the 'gorilla' and you are able to be controlled, deceived and manipulated because you are being distracted.

I think many people are simply too busy to notice the "gorillas" around them. Most people in Bolivia work more than 48 hours per week (at least that is what they report in household surveys), and many university students even more, as they try to work and study at the same time. On top of that most people have household chores to attend to, which leaves very little time for the important things in life (fun, family, friends, personal development, your health, natures wonders, doing something good for the world, etc.).

I have been brought up with the idea that hard work is a good thing, and I think that is quite widespread, even in Bolivia. In my experience (from the on-line Sorting Hat test at my kids' Harry Potter party last year), most Bolivian kids value hard work over intelligence, bravery and persistence. That really surprised me. Not even I value hard work that much. I value productivity, which means getting a lot done without spending too much time on it. If you are very productive (doing the right things with the right tools), you can get a lot done and still have time for fun, family, friends, etc.

In Bolivia, productivity is extremely low, and despite substantial improvements in education levels over the last decades, it remains as low as it was 50 years ago. This means that most of the education the Bolivians are receiving either does not show them the right things to do or does not give them the right tools to do it (or both). And the demanding working hours and study loads prevent them from having time to figure it out for themselves.

Al Gini, author of The Importance of Being Lazy, thinks that "we must all try to studiously do less, in order to be more." But he also warns of the difference between leisure and play on one side and mindless distractions, excessive consumerism, and do-nothing laziness on the other. This newsletter should definitely not be interpreted as an excuse for plopping down in front of the TV with a remote control all weekend. Rather it is an encouragement to stop and think about what is important in life, and how to do more of that.

Ó Institute for Advanced Development Studies 2006. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not necessarily coincide with those of the Institute.

If you would like to receive the Monday Morning Development Newsletter by e-mail, please send a request to newsletter@inesad.edu.bo.