Thought Triggers Weekly | Edition #4

It's week four. Wow – a month of Thought Triggers Weekly already!

This past week saw the start of the Olympics in Tokyo. The Games symbolise global togetherness, yet it's shaping up to the least wanted in history. Toyota lead the announcement among brands stating it won't air its Olympics-related ads on Japanese television. Speaking about Toyota's decision not to run Olympic games-related TV adverts in Japan, its chief communications officer Jun Nagata said, "There are many issues with these Games that are proving difficult to be understood".?@Mana Ionescu's post?generated a lot of discussion on Toyota's decision and what it meant to its employees and broader masses.

In this fourth edition, I explore the idea of "perspectives". The three stories explore how might we shape our happiness, are conflicts binary and a fantastic piece on our future of work & worth.

?#1 Different cultures define happiness differently

The Atlantic

This story provides four different constructs based on an "inner" or "outer" focus that we might use to shape our well-being and define our happiness. It, among other things, surfaces how our definition of happiness varies widely based on our cultures, even within a country's border — sharing the example of India's cultural, linguistic and ecological diversity across its northern and southern states. More broadly, it references the cultural differences in the definition of happiness between Western and Asian cultures. This may reflect further why some in Japan are ambivalent or take exceptions to the hosting of the Olympics. The Japanese government is spending $15.4 billion of public funds. Yet, the people of Tokyo won't even be able to use these facilities due to heightened pandemic restrictions.

In the West, they found happiness to be defined as “a high arousal state such as excitement and a sense of personal achievement.” Meanwhile, in Asia, “happiness is defined in terms of experiencing a low arousal state such as calmness.”

Also, read @Matthew Alt make an eloquent and insightful assertion on the Tokyo Olympics.

#2 There are three sides to every argument

TEDEd

This essay I shared earlier in the week provides a perspective that no argument is binary, yet we continue to operate and approach every conflict as just that. This is particularly important as inclusion and cooperation are central in our debate on the diversity of thoughts in an increasingly polarised world engaged in intense political conflicts. As William Ury shares the secret to peace, each of us takes a single step to bring the world one step closer to peace. Through this African proverb he reminds us of the power we wield, when we unite.

?When spider webs unite, they can halt even a lion.

This one is also special to me as it reminds me of my father and his nuanced view on wisdom & knowledge, as I shared earlier this week.

#3 The Ponzi Career

Dror Poleg

Did you know that David Bowie had issued the "Bowie Bond" in 1997 and that Prudential Insurance had bought the first batch for $55 million? David issued the bonds as a way to share his risks with people who were more optimistic about the future of online media — or was passionate enough to want to own a "piece" of David Bowie, regardless of the risks. In this mind-blowing blog, Dror explores the future of work and worth from Bowie bonds to Income Share Agreements as a way to share the risk of studying an in-demand profession to the Human IPO of Alex Masmej. Over the past 18 months, we have all learned that the best way to manage risks and uncertainty at scale is to share them.

In such a scenario, every career becomes a pyramid scheme. If you can attract enough people to buy your tokens, and they can attract enough people to buy even more tokens, the whole enterprise will continue to increase in value.

?Dror does a fantastic newsletter; if you haven't subscribed – highly recommend it!

Monday Motivator

For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. – Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb

If you enjoy reading my three reads from my past week, do let me know in the comments, and share it with others and yes, tell me what caught your attention as well. Richness of perspective is also what I am hoping to achieve through this exercise.

Have a great week ahead.

#DiversityofThoughts #Perspectives #Happiness #Well-Being #Conflict Resolution #Polarisation #Inclusion?#FutureofWork #SelfWorth #HumanIPO #Bond #RiskMitigation #OwnershipEconomy