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Criticism

Criticism in many instances is not aimed at ourselves but rather to our ideas, attitudes or works such as art, writings, sayings ... etc. This distinction is crucial as it helps us to listen without taking the criticism personally as an insult. This requires a great deal of maturation as well as a humble attitude and insightful open mindset. Honesty and openness to criticism or affirmation of our opinions is a cornerstone principle and that goes both ways to myself and others.

#principles

#criticism

#amgadwritig

#Amgadwriting

#amgadwriting

Beautiful mind

I remember watching the movie "Beautiful mind' with an awe. It was one of these biographical movies telling the story of a contemporary genius, the Nobel prize-winning mathematician 'John Nash'. The beauty of the movie was not alone in the cinematography or the well-written and skillfully-crafted scenario. It was the angle from which it looked at Nash's story. The movies makers did not choose to speak much about Nash's academic contribution, though it was hugely represented in the movie. Instead, they chose to look at Nash's story from human perspective. They managed to showcase how this beautiful mind that was highly creative mathematically was suffering also mentally.

This brings to my mind an older movie called 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' which was released in 1965 that told the story of Michelangelo painting the Celestine's ceiling. The bottomline was that 'no pain, no gain'. There is no creativity without pain. Nash's pain though was severe and very challenging as he struggled with schizophrenia. His medications that controlled his very pervasive delusions and hallucinations made him numb and less intimate with his wife who against all odds supported him with love and perseverance. Nash in the movie (starred beautifully by Russell Crowe) stopped his drugs which meant that his visual hallucinations, paranoid delusions and all other array of abnormalities were immediately back. Instead of fighting them, he chose to go on 'mental diet'. In another words, he chose to ignore them.

The hallucinations and the delusions were there all the time, but he chose not to engage with them. That was an extraordinary insight. We do not have to engage every idea that crosses our minds. We rather get to choose our healthy mental diet that is formed of these ideas good for our wellbeing. In another words, we have to be careful with what we consume. What we see. What we hear. What we say. What we think. This requires a great deal of awareness. Actually, painfully great deal of awareness and honesty. We can simply deceive ourselves by choosing these ideas that makes us 'happy and content' even though they are inconsistent with our realities.

To be aware is to feel and to recognise the reality as it is. And pain is one of the most vivid and real feelings. We can use pain as a guide to these areas we need to work on consciously to improve and evolve. Alternatively, we can choose to suppress pain and live with our pleasant but deceptive delusions and hallucinations. What I learned from Nash's story that a beautiful mind is not always happy, euphoric and over the clouds. Sometimes, depressed, anxious yet conscious and honest mind makes a beautiful mind as well.

Amgad Samir 18/03/2023

#amgadwriting #movies #beautiful mind #insights

Be the adult..

In a room filled with baby elephants..

Even if you are as small as rat..

A rat can ..

Think..

Maneuver..

Stop..

Run..

Or jump..

A rat can after all do it his own way..

While a herd of elephants just follow suit

#prose

#amgadwriting

We are as close as 2 opposite banks

Yet a river sets us apart.

No matter how much we are close,

We will never meet.

#prose #amgadwriting

To me, helping someone who is confused is not to lecture them about the right path, nor to affirm there idea of who they are or what went wrong with them. Rather, I try help them find out who they are truly. This may involve asking questions, experiencing the dark night of doubts and questions. Yet, without crossing this abyss, there might be no salvation. Actually, the most honest answers lie waiting in the depth of darkness at the end of this dark tunnel. On finding them, light breaks. Light can be sometimes very bright though, so people rather stay in the darkness than seeing the truth.

#insights

There are movements in our day and age that assume moral superiority. They tend to judge history in puritanical terms. They tear down statues and condemn great persons for alleged flaws like 'white supremacy ' or being racist. Attributes that never existed before our day. These moral supremacists and puritanical fanatics forget that history evolves and that they will be judged tomorrow the same way they judge the past. We cannot judge the past with today's standards simply because the social context was different. Instead, we should appreciate how unusual and extraordinary these people were for the time and how they pushed the steer wheel of civilisation forward towards what we take for granted now.

Amgad Samir

29/12/2022

theculturalnarrator

The wildreness years...

They are these years when you seem to have lost everything and stood by yourself forgotten or left behind by all.. They are dull, silent and boring. Years that are void of any excitement.

In the life of almost every great figure in history, there was a stage of struggle, loss of vision, confusion and self-doubt. Churchill faced this wilderness for many years between WW1 and WW2. He wrote several books and spent his time building his career as a politician and sole voice crying agains the Nazi threat. The Israelites were lost in Sinai desert before they entered their promised land.

We know for sure that in every life time there will be years of wilderness. The key ideas is not to spend these years wondering aimlessly. Invest this time in yourself and your dreams. Find out your life goals and you work on your transient life goal in each stage. You may fall in love and form a family. You may read, study, or just enjoy your time. But when the time is ripe, make sure you are up to the task at hand.

So it's Christmas..

And what have you done?..

One of my favourite Christmas songs. So it's Christmas again. 2022 is nearly finished and it's for reflection. Yet, reflection is overwhelming. I have been through a lot in this years. Ups and downs and unexpected turns. Relationships have ended and new relationships are forming. Career developments and moving across cities and states. A war in Ukrain and worldwide anxiety about impending global war. Political chaos in the West and revolution brewing in the East. Yet, connecting with God and the church have been my safe haven and source of hope. Many hopes were smashed. Many tears were wept. There were a lot of laughs and good times. In one word, it was a "tiring" year.

Yet I believe that still to see God's goodness in the darkest of times. As Sir Winston Churchill said in the most hopeless and bleak times of world War 2:

" Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”

It seems to me the more I think that there is an abuse of the notion of 'discrimination' in the society today. Every group and even individuals who are denied a given privilege start to make the case thar they are denied an entitled right. This is a very dangerous and uncharted waters that we should stop and think deeply about as a society. We need a very clear and defined statement about what is an inherent right and is a given privilege. This will make the whole society avoid a lot of unnecessary schism and conflict.

#rights

#entitlement

#victimisation

#discrimination

#contradictions

#amgadwriting

#rights

#entitlement

#victimisation

#discrimination

#contradictions

#amgadwriting

Righteous life does not mean religious life.

Religion is a set of beliefs, rituals and practices. Righteousness is to live rightfully. The former comes from habit and often external and easy. The later originates from deep within and very hard to stick to. If we associate the religious with the righteous, we will miss the target. And that's sin.. literally. Yet, in my experience, it's very rare to find the path to true Righteousness outside religion ie away from God. As by definition God is the source of Righteousness. That's the meaning of us, humans, being made in the image of God.

#contradictions #insights #amgadwriting #righteousness

What to look for when assessing a new job opportunity: 5.d. Evidence-based/logical approach

Logic means to think right and philosophy is to think hard. Logic is also loosely synonymous with common sense. It is self-evident fact that sound logic leads to great successful work decisions. It is almost universally true that we rarely make 'correct' decisions based on our feelings. The risk with emotionally-based decisions that they are made in hurry. This means we miss many factors and information that should be taken into consideration before making the final choice. Emotional people usually tend to rush to one choice enthusiastically or run away from another choice with equal fear without taking the time to think. This is exactly the opposite of logical approach.

The logical approach is a systemic way where the higher levels of our brain take over the decision making process. Information should be gathered within reasonable timeframe. Options are consequently synthesised preferably via constructive discussions and team effort. Afterwards, these options should be weighed against certain measures to test their credibility. Eventually, an informed decision is made. This may be time-consuming but it carries less risks and more benefits on the long run.

A successful outcome is almost always associated with evidence-based decisions. These are the decisions that have been informed with true information and was triangulated against the opinions of experts and the standard measurements. Successful organizations are those that have culture in which evidence-based decision making is the norm rather than the exception.

#amgadwriting #work #culture #insights

What to look for when assessing a new job opportunity: 5.c. teamwork and transparency as workplace values

As I write about workplace culture, I figured out that I'm actually writing about 'values'. Because writing about workplace values may drag on with no end, I decide to be more concise and put few ideas together on the values that I think are important. Of course, there is no definite list of right or wrong in that matter. Instead, there is a set of values that are more important depending on the context of the workplace. Every organisation is different and some values are more needed in one place over others depending on the weaknesses and the strengths of place.

Teamwork comes at the top of the list. As I discussed in the previous articles, a workplace would have diversity and equality together. Teamwork is the space where these 2 concepts work closely and interactively to create a desired outcome. A good team culture involves cooperation and good communication. In sports, teams that win tournaments are not just these teams that have the best athletes or coaches. They are rather the teams that can work as one unit in the field. Every member of the team knows their part well and performs it to the best of their abilities. The culmination of these individual efforts within the group optimises for the overall team's performance. The individuals are rewarded only through the collective success the whole team achieves. Good communication within a team requires honesty and open-mindedness. Lack of transparency and availability of safe space to give opinions, share ideas, giving and receiving productive feedback is so destructive and dangerous. Being radically honest and radically transparent is very difficult habit to acquire. It is not natural because it is threatening. It risks exposing one's truth including the good and the bad. We tend to hide our weaknesses rather than sharing them. This is completely normal given the fact that usually people tend to judge us negatively based on these weaknesses. Therefore, it is important to build a culture of safe self-expression where people can safely express themselves and receive a productive criticism rather than toxic judgement. If this is not available then we should not go ahead and expose ourselves, bringing unnecessary conflict to ourselves and colleagues.

However, we should not expect that such safe haven will exist by itself. We may need to initiate a discussion with the team to start up attempts to build such culture. Usually small steps in the beginning are a must. A slow but steady and consistent growth will happen spontaneously as we practice transparency and exchange honest productive feedback. Nevertheless, transparency does not include our personal and social life outside work. When I talk about being transparent, I mean to be honest with regard to your work ethics, potentials, professional ideas and communication AT WORK ONLY.

#amgadwriting #insights #culture #work #values

What to look for when assessing a new job opportunity: 5.b Team culture: diversity and equality what they mean

Diversity and equality are another 2 values that many workplaces cherish nowadays. However, these 2 concepts evolved over time to gain different meanings from the common understanding that the society has historically. I grew up in the 1990s in Egypt where these slogans were not normal. Yet, I had a very good exposure to the American culture and history via my fascination with movies and documentaries. I was impressed by the Civil rights movement that reached its peak with Martin Luther King in the 1960s and the The Civil Rights Act of 1965. As an outsider, I found it inspiring that a racially segregated society overcame its inherent biases and took yet another difficult step to achieve equality among all its constituents.

Therefore, equality to me was defined as the availability of equal opportunities to all people regardless of their religion, race, skin colour or any other factors. For me, diversity meant acknowledging the presence of all the aforementioned factors as real differences that exist in the society. In practice, this means that we are equal yet we are different simultaneously. We are equal in our worth, rights and duties. We are equal before one law, hail one flag and share one country or in that case one workplace. Nevertheless, we are different in our capabilities, talents, social class, values, religions, racial backgrounds and ultimately the outcomes we are able to be. Thus, equality and diversity for me have been always intertwined concepts. For me the ultimate embodiment of these concepts are the equality of opportunity and the diversity of outcome.

We should celebrate our differences but we must value and protect our equality too. I think that we all as different people should stay different and retain these unique characteristics that make us who we are. Nevertheless we all should come together in one mixing pot called nation where we blend together despite our differences in favour of the emergence of one identity which is our citizenship. I think we hurt our societies/workplaces when we stress the individual and group identities based on any factor other than the shared humanity and the shared citizenship of a certain nation or affiliation with a business or organisation. Equal opportunities of good education, healthcare, transport and other services should be offered to everyone.

As far as the the potential outcome are concerned, I don't think that this ours to decide. Instead, this should depend solely on the individual determination and effort. This means that although an extra support should be offered to workers to develop, this should not come at the expense of other more qualified or skilled co-workers. Diversity allows a wealth of talents and ideas to come to the society/workplace team. A good leader will be able to allow different people to utilise their individual talents and potentials within the group for the greater interest of the whole. A good society or in our case, a good workplace will optimise the process to allow these individuals to express themselves and reach the peak of their potentials within the bigger picture of the whole organisation. In that sense, diversity does not become an obstacle but rather a strength that improves the productivity and contributes to the welfare of the individual and the group.

In conclusion, I believe that , in simple terms, equality means equal opportunities and diversity means a variety of differences. We should celebrate our differences and cherish them but we must also value and protect our equal bond that brings us all together. Equality and diversity are like lock and key and they work together through certain dynamism. if these overlapping concepts are utilised efficiently, they will optimise and improve the outcome. This will allow both individuals and groups to prosper and achieve their goals. In contrast, if they are misused and distorted, they may lead to catastrophic results at the individual level and the overall group level as well.

#amgadwriting #insights #culture #work

What to look for when assessing a new job opportunity: 5a. Team culture:

transparency and respect among other values Team culture is a notion that is used a lot when it someone talks about the workplace. Many Human Resources people will mumble this term in their meetings, courses and job interviews. For me, this sounds vague as it is hard to define the aspects that define 'a workplace culture' and how it is different from 'culture' as we understands it. Therefore, I will go with the impression the term gives me. I think it refers to the general environment that dominates the workplace. Some people may use this term in a positive way to refer to the cooperative relations between the team or the quality of the communication. In its negative aspect, it may reflect the opposite, namely lack of cooperation and bad communication. However, I will try to expand the umbrella of the concepts this term may cover for me.

In my opinion, one of the most important facets of a workplace is transparency. I used to work in place that took pride in the fact that it was an award winning workplace. However, when I walked around asking people to feel free to tell me how I was doing, I was perceived as incompetent, which I was not. The ability to give and receive feedback is a sign of healthy workplace and mature responsible team members. This takes me to another very important value for a team which is transparency. I cannot stress the importance of that value. It is significantly vital for development as without honesty, weaknesses will not be recognised and addressed. Equally, strengths and achievements might be underestimated or ridiculed.

Another sign of healthy workplace is good leadership. A good leader will encourage his team members, acknowledge their achievements and help them figuring out their weaknesses and addressing them. This is essential part of the overall success of any organisation. A good team leader is a rare coin, very difficult to find. Good leadership is also tightly connected to yet another very vital value ie respect. Team members should be able to respect each others. Without respect, they will look down on each others. Subsequently, the relationships will change from peers to hierarchical. This definitely makes the process of giving and receiving feedback so hard to the point that might affect the overall efficiency and performance of the team.

In conclusion, respect and transparency come first, even before compassion, as values of team/workplace culture. Without transparency and respect, it is almost difficult to synthesise and give good quality feedback that recognises weaknesses and deal with them but also celebrate strengths and celebrate achievements. A workplace that has 2 features is healthy and mature and it contributes to the development of its members as well as the whole organisation. The vital role of a good team leader is to recognise and implement these values on the ground.

#amgadwriting #insights #culture #work #team

What to look for when assessing a new job opportunity: 4. Career & personal growth

There is a famous saying that goes like that 'once a student, always a student'. In Egypt, my country of origin, my old mother used to tell me 'a teacher would die without learning everything'. It's amazing that this proverb is pointing out to a teacher, rather than a student, when it comes to learning. Apparently, the self-evident wisdom here is that learning is a lifelong process. It has no limits so that a teacher could actually die without learning enough. The more we learn, the more we understand that we still have more to learn and that no matter how great our knowledge is we simply do not know everything

This is actually one of the greatest challenges that face doctors. Medicine is an ever-changing field with almost new updates in all specialities every day. Being a doctor in this day and age means that there is a large volume of information that a doctor has to digest and put to practice. More importantly, to stay up-to-date with the most recent advances in the relevant fields of medicine a practitioner specialise in. Moreover, the digital revolution that came about with the invention of the internet has given people unprecedented free and open access to information. I usually get patients who present to me thinking they have meningitis or cancer because they googled headache and vomiting to look for the possible causes. That adds up to the responsibilities of doctors as they should be able to give the relevant knowledge to their patients and also to be well informed of the various conditions that might be rare but still could happen.

I found all of the aforementioned facts so humbling. It makes me actually more keen to overcome my shyness and to admit my limitations. Right now, I don't feel bad if I just tell my patients that I do not exactly know what they have or that I need to research their questions further. I often cross check the guidelines while they are with me in the room. However, I do not let go of my role as a doctor. I usually listen to their history, perform my examination and any necessary office investigations. Subsequently, I walk them through what I think is the possible causes and agree on a plan of management with them. Many of them find this approach very sensible and in my experience, it yields the best outcomes.

Another conclusion I made is that I cannot learn everything. Eventually, I have to be selective and get focused on a certain range of topics. This does not have to be specific medical discipline. It is more determined by the needs of my patients and my areas of interest. For example, if I see more patients with diabetes, I should seek to widen and deepen my knowledge of this disease. Likewise, my interest in cardiology makes me interested in knowing more about the new updates when they come out. Giving time to learning is difficult with the time constraints and the pressures of daily life. Yet, it is essential to dedicate that time as learning will not happen otherwise.

Ultimately, learning is so essential to the good doctor. The process of learning is lifelong and has no limits. Wisdom is unattainable and always in the move. Those doctors who cease developing and learning will eventually get rusty and outdated. Even worse they might make mistakes and patients will very easily recognise that they are out of touch with the age and stop seeing them. In evolutionary terms, those who do not learn die. In contrast, those who endeavour to keep uptodate and evolve in their careers prosper and do good for themselves and their patients.

#amgadwriting #culture #work #learning #insights #development #growth #cpd

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