Happiness and excitement - keys to a fulfilling life

Most people are in a constant pursuit of happiness and most of our big decisions are made thinking about if this thing or that person would make us happy or not. But the biggest fallacy of thinking this way is to put your happiness into others or certain things instead of yourself.

Happiness is about feeling fulfilled with what you have and with what you are creating and taking advantage of what's in front of you. We all know what being unhappy is but most of us actually struggle to understand or even recognize what happiness is all about.

And one key ingredient is excitement - and i don't mean it in a sexual context but in a more well being one. 
Ever had days when you wake up and feel the world is your oyster and that you are energized and looking forward to what your day/week will bring? Or not being able to sleep because you want the next day to already be there? Or the anticipation of something that will happen like going on a trip?

Well, those are examples of what I think of as excitement and it is when we start feeling this way about most aspects of our lives when happiness then simply happens!

I love being excited!

The pursuit of happiness!

It's very easy for a myriad of things to affect our happiness. In a way, human beings are pessimistic in nature and very easily focus on the negative and the reasons why one isn't happy or what is affecting our ability to be truly happy!

But I think that the common misconception that we look into being happy as a destination to reach, is extremely flawed and a main cause of stress and disappointments. But achieving happiness isn't about getting to this magical place of happiness. In reality it's all about the journey and enjoying its ups and downs along the way and appreciating things everyday. That is what happiness is all about!

It's the ability to appreciate what we have and enjoy it without falling into the common trap of thinking what else are we missing? what else i still need/want?

The more I get older the more i understand this concept and the more i realize that happiness comes from oneself and it's also a choice! Everyone has plenty to be happy about if one looks carefully into their lives but when we fall into the trap of looking at what others have or what else we wish we had, we forget what happiness is all about

We should all smile more often as happiness attracts more happiness!

 

Flaws of democracy

Democracy is flawed and until we come up with a better system, it's the best of the different evils.

While I believe in the democracy principles, I'm not a big fan of how it works in practice. Over the last decade, the different results of democratic processes where the outcomes are disasters for many countries makes me wonder why we haven't been able to devise a better system.

For all of you that are parents, would you like your kids to decide who their teachers are? Or you rather have the school hire and focus on the best education possible? Because in politics and elections, what we pretty much ask people is to choose their leaders on a popularity contest basis and then hope for the best. It's akin to children choosing their teachers as to who promises them more candy and longer recesses.

And being Mexican, i'm "looking forward" to next year when the mexican elections and the USA elections circus will be in full display! Comedy central got nothing on those circuses!

Airfare pricing - Fair or unfair?

 This is one of those things that is more of a mystery than a black box. In general most goods and services are priced based on their cost plus the margin and that's what you pay for. IN dummy terms if i buy a $1000 TV, pretty much it cost the manufacturer less than that to make, sell, transport, advertise, etc.

But airline tickets don't work this way. The are priced dynamically to try to maximize profits irrespective of the cost of to provide the service. Why I say this? Well, here's an example:

Flying from San Diego to Dallas costs $300, but if instead I book a ticket from San Diego to Tampa which connects in Dallas might cost me $200. So i'm buying the same leg of the trip plus an extra one but paying less...Just don't do this if you check bags as your bags will go to where your ticket is going!

So this practice is something airlines scorn and have even sued people and companies for booking trips this way. Or if you are a frequent flier and abuse this loophole, your account might be terminated.

So is this fair?

I don't think so? When I pay for a service or a product, it's my prerogative as a customer to decide how or what of a service I use and it shouldn't be at the discretion of the one selling its service. To give you a few examples:

• Hiring cable TV with the full package even thou i only plan on watching ten channels - It's my choice!
• I go to Disney or any amusement park and get a full access with skip the line ticket but decide to only ride a few rides and never use the skip the line feature. It's my choice
• I buy a train ticket  From point A to point B and decide to get off in a town in the middle because I felt like it!

And i can come up with dozen more examples. But for airlines, because they price certain routes higher to maximize profit, they don't want you to book empty legs to pay less and according to their nonsense this is breaking their contract of carriage....yes the same one that when they do something wrong you are in bad luck as they will tell you to sue them!

Personally I think most airlines have become so crap with their service and charge for everything that therefore why shouldn't I optimize my trips to pay the least no matter what they think!

And this way of booking tickets makes so much sense that there are even websites that focus on finding such fares: https://skiplagged.com/ (I'm in no way associated with them) that can help you save quite a bit of cash!

So would love to hear people thoughts on this!

The beauty of science

Science and innovation are not linear processes. They involve experimentation, testing of hypotheses, and a lot of trial and error. This means that mistakes and bad assumptions are inevitable.

For example, initial experiments of a drug might lead to certain results due to certain circumstances. However, many years later, it might be found out that something was flawed and those results aren't valid. This doesn't mean that science is wrong, but that the methods and experimentation used weren't right.

The constant stream of innovation also allows us to do things differently and look at things from a new lens. This can lead to us realizing that some of our beliefs were not exactly as we thought. For example, many of the laws of physics work and still work, but they break down when we enter the quantum realm. This is a great example of why I think science is beautiful. The more we discover and the more we know, the more possibilities and new things we will discover. It's an eternal exponential curve that drives progress in humanity.

However, one thing is certain with science vs. beliefs. When something is proven to be a certain way, it will remain that way. Even if all of humankind's knowledge was erased today or humanity became extinct, over time the same principles will be discovered and will remain true. That's the beauty of science and what drives many scientists to do what they do.

Thank you to all the scientists and innovators out there!

You don't need to win Nobel prizes to have people appreciate you. Your work is essential to the progress of humanity, and we are grateful for your efforts.

Global Warming is real but i'm optimistic!

 Being fair I think there are valid and real arguments for both sides of the global warming debate. And in a way this debate has been a precursor to the ever growing opposing views across the world where each side thinks it's all or nothing and thinks the other side is completely wrong.

In my view the world isn't black or white, or a place where things need to only be Yes or No!. It's more of a kaleidoscope of options which are ever-changing and hence many of these debates are difficult as they aren't static and there's so much that it's unknown.

My take is that global warming is happening but I honestly have no idea how bad or how little of a problem it is. Yes, the last 100 years are the hottest on record and stats show that the trend is for this to increase. But I can also argue that looking at 100 years in a million of years history might not be completely right. But either way, it's impacting us and it poses a challenge on the medium term.

Europe is having a record heat wave this week, South Africa had a massive snowstorm yesterday. These aren't patterns that make much sense so clearly something is happening! And not doing something is akin to seeing a crime being committed and pretending it's not happening. 

As of now there aren't many global scale solutions or even plans put in place (I don't count political agreements in somewhat BS conferences as a path to action....COP anyone?) but that doesn't mean that there aren't possible solutions. I truly believe that this is one if not the most critical area where innovation is going to play a major role in the next 20-25 years. 

the solutions that technology and new companies will devise are probably not even being imagined today but they will come - why i believe so? Because the human race keeps innovating and improving living conditions and finding solutions to problems and progress is exponential. I'm very positive of this.

Some of you might know this and some not. But at the end of  19th century, before cars were common and people transported themselves in horse driven carriages, most major cities were facing a massive pollution and sanitary disaster. Horse's shit and the amount of shit that they were producing was making cities filthy to the point that it was a major health concern and even newspapers used to say that at this pace in a few decades everyone will be living under nine feet of manure!

Having a place in a basements or street level was terrible as you pretty much lived next to poop. In 1898 at the world's first international urban planning conference in NY, this topic was forefront and no solution could be found and seemed civilization and urban progress was doomed. 

But necessity is the mother of innovation and Henry ford and his mass produced vehicles as well as electric trams and motor buses pretty much solved this problem and now the manure crisis is something that was a blimp in history. Fast forward not even 15 years and by 1912 this problem had been pretty much resolved. 

Damn Henry Ford! Why couldn't you go electric then? 

So in the way that automobiles and technology solved one of the potential devastating challenges to human growth and cities, I believe that new solutions will emerge for the global warming challenges we face (and if global warming isn't real..oh well... we have new technology and new innovation in any case that will lead to even better things!

Our stomachs - the future of Medicine

Before i start let me clarify, I'm no doctor, I don't work in pharma or have anything related to the latest in terms of medicine or are even familiar with today's research.

But, from personal observations and experience, I think that our stomachs or gut probably have to do more with our over well being that many other organs. Most times when we are sick, we think of the discomfort we experience as the symptom but the more and more i think (with my sample size of 1 - myself) I think the stomach is more intertwined with the rest of our body and other organs than we give it credit to.

Some of the most important body functions are regulated by our guts. We absorb energy through the food we eat, we hydrate ourselves, our sleep is very dependant on the stomach, and if you don't believe so, try having a massive meal and then try to sleep and have a great night rest.

I foresee a future where gut health and how to fight many sickness will happen by utilizing gut health as a mechanism to regulate our bodies and helping our bodies heal themselves. I believe that we will have different ways to measure and track what goes on in our stomach and use that information to improve health conditions. 

Even longevity is probably determined or heavily influenced by this and I reckon that many new theories and actions one can take to live longer will be determined by our stomachs.

So, thinking of all this, it's time for me to go eat some tacos and salsa!

Food as Art

I like food and i love trying new things. This is something that probably was engrained into who I am by my dad from a very young age. He will always encourage me and my brother to try new things.

For today's younger generation this is probably a given as one can go to a supermarket and pretty much get any type of food from every corner of  the world. But growing up this wasn't the case at all. So trying different and many times exotic foods wasn't as simple. I remember that kiwis (so common in most supermarkets) were not available in Mexico when i grew up. And my dad whenever he could get something different to try, he will bring it home and we will try it.

So from a very young age, I realized that food is more than just something to eat and get satisfied and get fuel to live. Food became a kaleidoscope of possibilities and something that piked my curiosity and desire to experiment and learn through.

That's how in all my travels, food plays a very important role as part of the experience. It's not about going to the fanciest restaurants but about trying different flavors and textures and invoquing different feelings. 

And over the years as i self taught myself to cook and which is something i truly enjoy doing as it allows me to reach into my creative self and try new things and experiment. Cooking for me is relaxing and an opportunity to push boundaries on the flavors I like and to simply combine things in whatever ways i think of. To this day I like cereals, but I like combining 2 or 3 or even 4 different cereals, adding condiments like ginger or cinnamon and even chili powder...just because i can and because i enjoy those flavors.

Cooking is an art form that can take many many different forms. Some people might focus on the flavors - as those stalls in the side of the road that have delicious food even thou its presentation isn't the most appealing; or some restaurants that take a simple recipe but make it look something out of this world with its presentation. Even the same dish can be so different depending on where and who cooks it. To me this is the beauty of all art forms...to each their own as we all have different things we like.

So in a way every time i cook, I feel like an artist ready to create and be surprised by my creations. Most times when i cook, i don't follow recipes but simply think about what i like, what i feel to combine in terms of flavors and just do it. Yes, i have to admit that over the years many BIG DISASTERS have been made by me that were simply uneatable....but what artist doesn't create art that he/she doesn';t like and destroys it?

How many of us when we feel sick, have had home made chicken soup that not only nourished our body but fed our souls and made us feel much better? Isn't this what art does by evoking feelings?

I'm hungry...let's go eat

New Begginings

 Fear is very common when one is starting over or starting something new and is faced with big changes in life. I’m no scientist or doctor so I cannot claim I understand the physical aspect of it or what happens in our brain but we have all experienced this one way or another.

Anything new or even just simple change brings a challenge, it means our status quo has been broken and with this, it means we need to adapt to a new reality. But this reality is something that we need to create so it is our actions that will determine the direction we take and also how we affront the challenges that a new beginning brings.

But the funny part is that in general as we grow older, we have gained more experiences, are generally speaking smarter and have a broader view of things as we have lived more. So one would think that change would become easier with time, but for most people it’s the exact opposite.

Why is it that we cannot affront change easier as we grow if we have more tools, techniques at our disposal?

Is it that we have more to lose? Is it that we like routine and what we know? Is it that we simply don’t like disruptions? And I'm sure I can think of many other reasons…

But change can bring new options; it can provides an opportunity for growth; it can teach us new things, it can even make us happier

So why is it so hard to embrace change and be positive about big changes?

The pursuit of Happiness

 It's the 4th of July and most Americans are celebrating independence day - which embodies the right to live, to be free and the pursuit of happiness!

I’m sure there are a million reasons why one can argue that in today’s polarized world we are drifting more and more far away from these lofty ideals, but even with all the current issues, I do believe that the world is a better place each day.

Yes, there are very daunting problems, many of which seem to divide us (not only in the US but worldwide) but at the same time each coin has two sides, and I believe that we should also steer clear of all the media negativity and simply look at our friends, our neighbors and realize that there’s plenty of good as well.

We are free from many diseases that a few decades ago would have killed us

There are more and more free people across the world and more and more minorities are getting more rights (with a few exceptions)

Even in a topic such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict - the number of casualties is less than 100k which is way less than previous wars (I’m not justifying any deaths or not being sympathetic to all of those that lost someone)

So on this day I encourage each and everyone of you to think about how you can pursue your own happiness while also helping others find their own. Happiness isn’t a zero sum game but something each of us should put an effort into so those around us find their own happiness as well.