Being Happy, or How to Probably Be a Pragmatic Leader

Everyone and everything is 'okay' until you zoom in. This thought process creates the context of cynicism. However, the take away from this shouldn't be the view of a cynic.

Instead, we want to understand how the same event can have all these different levels of perception/detail/zoom/knowledge. This concept may be hard to grasp; however, we all know the saying "Everything looks perfect far away" Why is this? You should be able to figure this out. Someone standing infront of you will take up like 30-40% of your eyes "view". Someone far away might be 1% of your "view".

Just like a clock without minutes can still be used to tell the time, changing your zoom reveals minutes, seconds, milliseconds, and microseconds that can all be plotted. Most of the time, we don't need to focus on all the different layers of a clock. We just need to catch a glimpse and act upon it in real time.

To lead effectively, you must develop the ability to change the zoom levels of whatever you're examining. The key question becomes: "What zoom level is required for this situation at this very moment?"

Being aware of these zoom levels allows you to set aside what scope of time you may not have and simply act on what you do have right now.

This is where pragmatic leadership begins - understanding what level of detail is necessary for the current decision. Remember, just as one sees all the flaws in furniture once they've been pointed out, you need to be able to change this filter/zoom level on the fly. The goal is to optimise for the present moment while keeping long-term goals in mind. True pragmatic leadership isn't about ignoring details or being overly fixated on them. It's about knowing when each level of perspective serves the situation best.

A pragmatic leader understands that different decisions require different zoom levels:

• Strategic planning requires zooming out to see the entire landscape
• Crisis management often requires zooming in on immediate details
• Team development requires alternating between individual concerns and group dynamics

Perhaps happiness itself comes from mastering this skill of perspective shifting. When we zoom too far in on problems, we lose sight of progress. When we stay too zoomed out, we miss the meaningful details that bring joy. Happiness means finding the sweet spot of perspective that allows for both effectiveness and contentment - knowing when to dive deep and when to rise above.

Be happy and go help someone in need; your neighbour could be a great start.

(or for the ambitious of you; go create something that helps people. and be clever and apply as much leverage as possible.)