Where Are You Heading? How’s Your Jerk?

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When you drive a car, just as you stop, you can feel a sudden jerk. You can slow down pretty smoothly all the way from driving at highway speed to walking-pace crawl, but when you go from walking pace to stopping, you’ll feel that jerk.

That jerk is a sudden change in your acceleration. You’re slowing down, you’re slowing down, suddenly you stop, and you go from slowing down to not slowing down in one instant. Your acceleration suddenly changes. Physics geeks have a pretty appropriate name for the rate of change acceleration. They call it a jerk.

So jerk is the rate of change of acceleration. Acceleration itself is just the rate of change of speed. Which is the rate of change of your position. Another fun fact: You might normally place a limit on how fast your car can go. Hey, you might even place a limit on how fast you can accelerate, for example if you’re carrying an unstable load. Well, the Hubble telescope has a set limit on the rate of change of jerk! In other words, it has a set limit on the rate of change of the rate of change of the rate of change of the rate of change of position. Woohoo!

By the way, you can try avoiding that final jerk when stopping your car. (as Bill Beaty calls it – “Don’t drive with a jerk!”) Do this by slowing almost to a halt, then gently releasing your break pedal so you don’t quite stop, and just keep releasing the pedal so you keep going as long as possible (yet always slowing down). With a bit of practice, you can make the final jerk so small you almost don’t feel it. I hear airline pilots use this technique to fool passengers who are eager to jump up from their seats as soon as the plane stops. Try it the next time you fly. You won’t be able to tell when the plane has actually stopped without looking out of the window.

How’s your jerk?

Ok, after that long-winded intro, here’s the point of this article:

It doesn’t really matter where you are in life. What matters is in which direction you’re moving, and if you’re accelerating or slowing down. (and if your rate of change of acceleration (your jerk) is positive. And if the rate of change of your rate of change… okay, forget it :p)

Back in the old days I used to look at people who were more successful than me, and make myself feel bad because I wasn’t in their place. I would wish I was as famous as Arnold Schwarzanegger, as rich as Bill Gates, or as wrinkled and grey-haired as my maths teacher.

Then, one day, instead of looking at what others have accomplished, I looked at my own life. I saw how far I had come in the last couple of years. And I was like “Damn! I never realized! I’ve come a looooong way!” And I realized it’s ok that I’m not in my ideal place yet. Because I never will be. I just need to keep moving, and my life will become so much better. So here’s my next message for you:

It’s ok to be where you are. In fact, it’s the perfect place for you to be right now.

Let’s jerk you into the future!

Okay, let’s get you accelerating in the right direction! First things first… let’s figure out what your core values are:

Grab a pen and paper and write down what you think are the 5 most important values to you. For example, mine would include:

• open-mindedness
• freedom
• curiosity

This might sound like some wishy-washy spiritual nonsense at the moment. (it sounds like that to me anyway). So let’s make it specific. As you think of your core values, come up with three specific examples in your life of each.

For example, to me, open-mindedness means:

• not accepting stuff thoughtlessly just because the majority of people believe it. Like nutritionism
• not rejecting stuff outright because most people think it’s nonsense. Like fork-bending (I still haven’t tried that one out myself. I will try to organize a fork-bending party next term though )
• trying out a bunch of different stuff to find what suits me best. For example, my favorite language to learn is Esperanto
  

Ok, once you know your core values, and know exactly how they apply to your life, let’s move to the next step! Think of huge long term-goals that would support your values. And by long-term I mean 5 to 10 years. Is one of your values freedom? Maybe become self-employed. Is one of your values curiosity? Maybe decide to spend a year living abroad (ideally somewhere pretty different from where you live now). In any case, pick huge, challenging goals that align with your values. Don’t be afraid to think big.

It’s better to shoot for the stars and land in the mud, than shoot for the mud and make it.

- Doctor Paul

Next, decide what you need to do to make them happen. Contact the people you need. Start saving money if you need to. Ask around what kind of books will help you with your goals. Write down on paper everything you come up with. Feel free to brainstorm without restrictions. You can pick out the most valuable ideas later.

Once you have figured out what you need to do, do what’s important, not what’s urgent. There will always be something urgent demanding your attention. Like that homework assignment, or that party you just have to go to. And yet a week later, you will barely remember them, let alone think of how they enriched your life. Take the time needed for truly important things – like striking up a friendship with someone who has similar goals, or writing that book you’ve kept delaying.

And once you know your values, your long term goals, and have a pretty good idea of your short term goals, use The 70% solution. Once you’re roughly 70% certain about the right course of action, just do it. You’ll do the right thing most of the time, and you will be able to correct your course of action the other times. Moving forward boldly in roughly the right direction is more important than moving forward timidly in exactly the right direction.

And, with that thought, I’ll leave you for today. Enjoy the jerk

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