S:0852 Distinction: Unseen vs. Invisible
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) There is a big difference between having something be invisible and having it be not seen. Remember when you first learned to drive. Your full attention was initially on the basics of accelerating, steering, and braking. […]
S:0850 Distinction: Grade A vs. Grey Day
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) This is, of course, a phonic Distinction. Grade A and Grey Day sound the same (in English), but have very different contexts. When you think of a grey (or, if you prefer, gray), overcast, perhaps chilly, […]
S:0849 Distinction: Embrace vs. Capture
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) Imagine putting your arms out and embracing someone. That feels quite a bit different from reaching out and trying to capture them, doesn’t it? When you embrace an idea, an adventure, a direction, a relationship, or […]
S:0847 Distinction: Mystery vs. Puzzle
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) Mystery and puzzle are words which are often used interchangeably, but there is a big difference — which causes a Distinction — between them. Jigsaw, crossword, and Sudoku are all forms of puzzles. Puzzles share the […]
S:0846 Distinction: Allowing For Someone’s Humanity vs. Giving Them The Benefit of The Doubt
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) On the surface it sounds like a good idea to give someone the ‘benefit of the doubt,’ but it has hidden problems. You may think you’re being gracious, open for different viewpoints. You may think it’s […]
S:0844 Distinction: Cause vs. Correlate
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) In a world of sound-bites and Wiki-bits, of watching Talking-Heads instead of doing our own reading, of assuming ‘experts’ are unbiased and telling us the ‘truth,’ we have the potential to mistake Cause for Correlate. Cause […]
S:0843 Distinction: Read vs. Read Into
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) Have you ever had someone receive an email you sent and read into it something different than what you meant to convey? Why do they do that? It’s because everybody — everybody — processes the world […]
S:0838 Distinction: Question vs. Answer
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) This Distinction may seem backwards; the answer may seem more important than the question. But maybe not. When confronted by a situation — an issue, a problem, a barrier — it’s pretty normal to immediately jump […]
S:0836 Distinction: Happy vs. Unhappy
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) Yes, this Distinction seems obvious, but there is a key question you can ask which opens it to deeper use. “Do I do things to be happy, or do I do things to keep from being […]
S:0835 Distinction: Learner vs. Seeker
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) Learners and Seekers appear to be in the same game, but they’re not. Both enjoy data, information, knowledge, and, of course, wisdom. Both tend to be engaged in life, reading, studying, taking classes and attending seminars. […]