Shortcuts To Get It Right?

Shortcuts, anyone? Is there a better way to get something right without going through so much gyration and thought of Nickle and Diming the subject to arrive at an answer?

I dunno!

Here’s a number – 1,440. Now, tell me what it represents.

Fourteen Forty (1440) are the number of minutes in a day. Multiply by the number of days a week, and you get Ten Thousand and Eight (10,080). Now, how many minutes in a month? You would assume that multiplying the last two numbers is all you have to do. The answer? 40,320, and 483,840 minutes per year.

Whoa! That’s not correct! What? How?

We were taught to double-check our answers, but I like to do it from a different approach to ensure the numbers match both ways.

Okay. We know there are 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. According to our Gregorian calendar, there are 7 days per week. Generally, there are four weeks in a month. But is that the truth? No. The number of days is unequal in most months. Remember that grade school rhetoric?

Thirty days has September,
April, June, and November,
All the rest have thirty-one,
Save February at twenty-eight,
But leap year, coming once in four,
February then has one day more. [Source]

We know that there are 365 days per year (forget the Leap Year configuration for now). So, let’s take the 1,440 and multiply it by the number of days in a year (365), and the answer is 525,600 minutes per year.

It’s easy for minutes to drop to the wayside along the path of life.

Without accurate understanding or a complete picture, this is how we can easily make mistakes and assumptions. False conclusions are following!

Math Is Not My Strongsuit

Complex math may not be my strength, but the equation above is pretty simple. You can write it many ways if you know the numbers involved.

((60 * 24) * 7) * 52Weeks = Total Minutes in a calendar Year.
((60 * 24) * 365Days = Total Minutes in a calendar Year.

The Key? You must know what variables to use and their values, and make sure you are calculating correctly. You know, not mixing apples and oranges inappropriately.

I wouldn’t say that I like the math that asked you to figure out when you will meet the car coming from the opposite direction, and both of you are traveling at different speeds, and you left at different times. Even when you algebraically put the math into a formula format, you must be schooled to know how to work the formula.

In programming, we had routines where we populated the variables, and the routine would return the answer. This standardized our programming. Important? Sure. Why reinvent the wheel, or take a chance on mistakes that costs the company and consumer?

It sounds like a smart calculator, right?

Do It Right

Throw a problem my way, and there are specific steps I take to decide how to address the moment. Based on my experience and history, I may have a shortcut to arrive at the answer more quickly.

Not every problem has the same solution. Every situation requires a unique path depending on the moment at hand.

When learning to be a pilot, I had to put on an instrument flight practice hood that ensured I could not see outside. This was when you learned how to fly by instruments; only the flight instruments were before me to tell me how the plane was flying. After closing my eyes, the instructor would flip the plane around. This way. That way. Up. Down. Turns. Stalls. Maybe even a spin for good measure. Then, I was told to take control of the airplane, get it into the correct flying configuration, point in a particular direction, and maintain a specific altitude.

One of the most challenging things to do.

I can always land the plane (at least in my limited time as a fair-weather pilot.) Equally, I can take off and aim for the distant horizon. But recover from somebody else’s devious mind? D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T!

Ignore what your senses are telling you. Read the instruments, make decisions, and correct the configuration, course, and altitude. Perhaps you did everything correctly. The first few times were scary! Your inner ear is spinning like a gyroscope. Your eyes are wavering, your mind is skipping through all possibilities, and maybe you can make sense of the moment.

Doing It Better, No Matter What It Is…

I’m facing decisions right and left all day long. Learning to manage the barrage of sensory inputs, I put my mind into gear to handle the most important problems first. Even with staff or volunteers, you still work through the decisions so that everything works out for the best.

Recently, I found myself having to do something I can handle when required, but the moment put me into the mind of how someone else might deal with the moment. Distractions. Demands for attention. All the while trying to lay out a plan of attack and sort through all the mental variables so that everything works. Go Live!

Distracted Driving, Anyone?

We know it’s against the law, but we still do it. It’s getting personal with me, and I’m trying to deal with that pesky communication device, but when you take another life and don’t even have to deal with the consequences because the Grand Jury says, “No Bill.” Essentially, they are saying, “That’s okay… Do better the next time.”

Getting Results

This morning, I’m celebrating 105 days of continuous blogging. Why? Well, why not? My attention span is shifting, and I’m headed into book draft mode, so I need to unload a daily habit and put my mind into gear for production.

Some things cannot co-exist. You know it, so why do it?

John the Baptist understood from a different viewpoint. He must increase. I must decrease.

Peter stood up to Jesus when he was supposed to have his feet washed by the Master. No, Lord! Peter, if you don’t, then you cannot join me. Yes, Lord.

Again, Peter was given a vision where a sheet was let down out of heaven with all manner of animals within it. Clean and unclean. A voice said, Rise. Slay. eat. No, Lord. I’ve never touched anything unclean. The response? What I’ve called clean, don’t you call unclean? Finally, Peter understood.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said:
“In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
But in every nation whoever fears Him
and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
(Acts 10:34-35 NKJV)

When reciting the events to the other apostles, the comment is made:

When they heard these things they became silent;
and they glorified God, saying,
“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
(Acts 11:18 NKJV)

We must change, so that change can occur. Without change, life will stay the same. Improvements come when we are willing to deal with the needs and find better solutions. If we are going to get it right, we must start by doing it right. The answer may be in a shortcut, or it may be in the long slog of doing the work the hard way.