Welcome to the Classy Problems weekly mash-up for Monday, September 30th – Sunday, October 6th, 2024.
Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding.
September 30 – Paradox of Observation
Observation reveals what is AND obscures what could be.
October 1 – The Leverage of Intersections
Intersections represent essential moments where singular paths meet multiple routes, and where multiple routes converge into a singular path.
Intersections contain the power of cohesion, amplification, and integration that emerges from the interaction of coming together.
An intersection is cohesive when one meets more, AND where more meets one.
An intersection amplifies when one equals more, AND where more equals one.
An intersection integrates when one aligns with more, AND where more aligns with one.
One becomes more. More become one.
How can you leverage the intersections in your life to get more of your effort to come together?
October 2 – The Opposite of Survival is Contribution
As a global species, we’ve never been so good at not dying. I’m not saying we’ve solved every horrific thing, but we have temporarily solved not dying.
If you’re reading this post, you have definitely, at least for the moment, solved the not dying problem.
The classy problem we face now is that we’re still hard-wired and soft-wired to be obsessed with survival. That obsession no longer serves us when we’ve already mastered survival.
What is life’s purpose if it isn’t survival? Contribution. The opposite of survival is contribution.
What could you contribute with your moment?
October 3 – The Critic’s Resolve
The critic reaches for certainty in a solution AND has the confidence to deny what could be.
Where is your certainty denying you from seeing what could be?
October 4 – It’s in The Actions, Not The Results
I’ve found that what most people compliment me for is what has been provided by theboss. They compliment me on my intelligence or being successful in my career. Both of which are winning lottery tickets.
Where I’ve made my contribution is in attempting to make the most out of my intelligence and having the courage to take actions in my career. The results of both are above my pay grade.
It’s in the actions, not the results.
What actions are you taking, regardless of the results?
October 5 – The Intersection of Survival
Survival is found at the intersection of imagination and resources.
October 6 – Dropping Pieces of Myself That Look Like Entire Trees
The other morning, I came into work to find a tree blocking my usual parking spot. A storm had come through the night before, knocking down several branches—and this tree. I got out and, as I was attempting to clear away the wreckage, it struck me. This wasn’t a whole tree. It was a branch. A branch from a much bigger tree. A storm came, and the weaker parts were ripped away as part of the process.
That’s been my experience with life. A storm comes through and the weaker parts are removed—sometimes as abruptly as an overnight storm, other times more subtly—but the net effect is the same: the older parts are replaced with new ones. Eventually, I barely resemble a previous version of myself. The more progress I make, the bigger the pieces that get dropped, and it’s rarely a smooth or elegant process.
For those chasing Zen and a state of flow, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But the world I live in—the universe I’m trying to align to—seems to trim and grow in ways that don’t resemble smooth, Zen-like states. It appears to me that development is grossly uncomfortable. Zen, flow, and all those wonderful states are often the aftermath of development, not the process itself.
If I want flow or Zen for any period of time, I have to be willing to drop pieces of myself that might look like entire trees to other people. It’s not about getting bigger; it’s about letting go of what’s weighing me down so I can get better. The storm doesn’t create new branches—it shapes what remains.
Progress isn’t about holding onto every limb. Stability isn’t about keeping every branch. Sometimes progress means dropping a piece of yourself that others thought defined you. Those losses aren’t signs of decay or weakness—they’re opportunities to refine and align with what comes next.
In the end, it’s about understanding that shedding those pieces isn’t an act of destruction, but an act of transformation. Stability is always the first casualty of new growth.
What branches are you holding onto that are keeping you from what you could be?
Classy Problems is a daily post of thinking in motion by Dan T. Rogers. Each post stands alone as a thought-provoking piece, yet together, they create a puzzle of ideas. They invite you to see things from a different angle, rethink what you thought you knew, and explore what’s beyond your current understanding.
What is a classy problem? A classy problem is when we’ve been afforded the opportunity to figure out what to do. Time to figure it out. Time to practice. Time to discern. When faced with the time to figure out a classy problem, it is more effective to focus on what NOT to do than trying to figure out what to do. In a word: restraint. JOIN US in exploring the distinction between what to do and what not to do in the pursuit of clarity.
SPIRITUAL GANGSTER: Welcome to the ‘Spiritual Gangster’ wing of The Sober Curator, a haven for those on a sober journey with a twist of spiritual sass. Here, we invite you to plunge headfirst into a world of meditation, astrology, intentionality, philosophy, and spiritual reflection – all while keeping your feet (and sobriety) firmly on the ground.
A Disco Ball is Hundreds of Pieces of Broken Glass, Put Together to Make a Magical Ball of Light. You are NOT Broken, Friend. You are a DISCO BALL!
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
