How Much Does This Cost? You Have to Be Joking!

Imagine walking into a bakery to buy a loaf of bread. The scent invades your nose as soon as you enter. You notice that none of the loaves have any prices. There are at least a dozen different types but no prices.

The person checking out has a loaf of whole wheat, and you notice the charge of only $0.79 on the register. That is a great price. You grab a loaf of the whole wheat bread, and get in line.

The person in front of you has a loaf of whole wheat too. But when his purchase appears on the register it is $4.59. That’s strange. The person pays and leaves.

The cashier takes your loaf of bread to scan, and the register shows $28.99. You ask the cashier, “How can it be so much? It was much cheaper for those other customers.”

He responds, “I am sorry sir, this is the price for you. Some customers are on a bread plan. Others have discounted prices based on their employer. Some of our customers actually get their bread for free from a government program. But it looks like your price is $28.99.”

Can this actually happen? You would think in today’s global and competitive marketplace you would not experience this. But this is exactly the system we have for prescription drugs in the United States.

I don’t want to start a political debate, but want to encourage you to think about the consequences of our current system for healthcare. It does not matter if you believe in a free market based system or a government subsidized system. What we have now is a mess and neither of those. Two people can be on the same medication, one paying $20 a month, the other paying $1200. The prices are not market based or subsidized.

Before you respond about the need for companies to recover their development costs, consider this. Other countries are buying the same drug for less. In effect, we are subsidizing the whole world for the development costs of prescription drugs, because companies are able to charge more in the US, than elsewhere.

Whatever your views, I encourage you to think for yourself, not just listen to the political rhetoric. For me, I like to know what bread costs before I pick up a loaf.

3 Lessons I Learned About Keeping a Positive Attitude

President Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Keeping a positive attitude can be challenging in certain situations. Here are some lessons I have learned that help me.

1. Protect myself from negative attitudes that I encounter. If I am not careful, I find myself adjusting my attitude to those around me. Attitude is contagious after all. But when the surrounding attitude is negative, I must be strong enough to keep my positive attitude. I have two choices, allow my attitude to influence others, or leave the situation.

2. Focus on tomorrow’s possibilities rather than yesterday’s results. When I find my attitude slipping away from the positive, it is usually because I am too focused on what has happened rather than the opportunities of tomorrow. Walt Whitman said it best, “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”

3. Learn more about myself. Carl Jung said, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” When I find myself getting irritated, it affects my attitude. The aggravation however is within me, not with the other person. If I spend time understanding myself, then I am better prepared to turn negative situations into positive situations.

Another thing to consider when faced with differing attitudes. My attitude is mine. The attitudes of others are owned by them. I am not better, just because my attitude may be more positive at the moment. As Ziad K. Abdelnour said, “Don’t judge someone’s attitude until you’ve felt their pain.”

Where Is That File?

When I am putting away the clean dishes in my kitchen, I know where to place them. There is a shelf for plates, a shelf for drinking glasses, a drawer for silverware, a drawer for cooking utensils, a cabinet for cutting boards, etc. There are not two drawers where we keep forks.

But yet, when I am looking for a specific computer file, well let’s just say that I know what directory it should be in!

My computer directories are organized, at least compared to what I have seen from others. But yet, I can select any folder on my computer, look at the list of files, and I won’t know what some of them are without opening them.

I don’t believe that I am the only person that has encountered this situation. I can do better at organizing my files and naming my files. Too many times I let programs automatically name my files. Maybe you too have a photo named CIMG3098.jpg.

Why am I even writing about this? Last week my hard drive crashed. I lost my most recent data. I did have a backup of most. Trying to recover has caused me to reconsider the amount of organization it takes to be efficient on a computer.

I can put away the dishes in my kitchen quickly. Getting to the same level of efficiency in putting away files takes a bit more planning. The benefit comes from finding the file you need, at the time you need it. It should keep me from screaming, “Where is that file?”

Hard drive crashes happen. My recovery plan will include better data backup, and better file organization. This event is an example of how to turn set backs into improvements. I have learned some lessons. Can you learn from my mistakes?

Stopping the Distraction

When I agree to something I really don’t want to do, it can remain on my list of things to do for a long time. It can make me feel unproductive. It affects my attitude about my day.

It’s funny that most of these commitments are made with myself. Repairs around my house that I need to do. Emails that I intend to write. Books that I would like to read. You get the idea.

All of these open commitments slow me down. The more I have open the less agile I am during my day.

The lesson learned for me is to not accept responsibility until I am ready to take action. Instead I keep a list of all the things I need to do, but not yet ready to start.

Then I focus my priority on three to five areas that need my attention. This system makes me more effective. I accomplish more within a shorter period of time. As I complete one item, I add another from my list.

Too simple? It is easy to manage on a daily basis. Aren’t the best systems simple?

If you feel overwhelmed with all that is on your daily agenda, maybe a similar system will help you. With this approach, I am able to stop distractions and create a sharp focus.