An old definition of the word fate is "the will of the gods." We might say that it is a fitting metaphor, as it suggests that fate comes from a source much larger than ourselves. Its immensity will stretch way beyond what is in our control. We can ask: How can we create a life that reflects our dreams and what we hold to be important, when so much lies outside our sphere of influence?
At the height of my success as a realtor in Washington, there was a moment when I was being offered incredibly high-valued listings. People were calling me and offering me opportunities that I had worked so hard to get, and in that moment where one might expect me to feel victorious or excited, I felt nothing. I received a call and was offered an amazing listing, in one of the best locations in Washington and my first thought was, no.
For my colleagues and me, whose task it is to improve population health, we architect specific health interventions because doing so gives us a measurement advantage. Through good intervention design, we (or the intervention's facilitators) can track attendance, program completion, vital signs, functional capacity, clinical labs, and downstream health utilization. Yet, despite our best design efforts, we still chronically face a fundamental challenge: program adherence.
This past fall, OpenAI, the source of the ChatGPT app that 800 million people now use every week, chose to restructure its organization to prioritize generating revenue for stakeholders over providing ethical and objective information for the world. Reporter Frank Landymore summarized the decision: "The move completes the company's metamorphosis: from its origins as a non-profit devoted to developing open source AI technology for the betterment of humankind to the closed-source, profit- seeking juggernaut that it is today, with its staggering half-trillion dollar valuation."
The oil tycoon J. Paul Getty was rumoured to have said that his three rules for how to become rich were: Rise early. Work hard. Strike oil. It's one of those eminently quotable remarks because it captures something we all know to be true, that luck and chance have as much to do with success as anything else. Yet we don't value people for their luck.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law, first described in 1908, suggests that our performance improves with physiological or mental arousal-but only up to a point. Picture a bell curve: Too little arousal ( boredom, fatigue), and we underperform. Too much arousal ( anxiety, panic), and performance drops. Somewhere in the middle is our "zone of optimal arousal," where we're alert, focused, and effective (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908).
What's the big idea? Why do we fall into the same patterns-whether that's people-pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional numbing-even when we know they're not good for us? These strategies help us feel safe, but replacing that armor with inner strength lets us move with freedom instead of fear. Listen to the audio version of this Book Bite-read by Kati herself-in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Control is a survival strategy.
While goals can create structure in your life, give you something to strive for, and even inspire you, reaching the goal itself is a result of what you do to get there. The actions you take are the process-how you're actually filling the time that is your life. Sometimes, if you're lucky, what you do is fulfilling; it brings out the best in you-your talents, interests, and skills.
Personality traits are simply labels that summarize typical patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. For example, some people tend to interpret situations pessimistically, while others naturally expect things to work out. Some react quickly with irritation when they're inconvenienced, whereas others are more inclined to assume good intentions. Some people plan ahead meticulously, while others rely on last-minute bursts of effort.
In astrology, the Moon exists within each of us. She is internal, subjective, intuitive, and felt. She is illuminating of what is both conscious and unconscious, what is ours and what has been inherited. When she exists in a fire sign, we are offered powerful expression, release, and transformation. Fire moves quickly and burns brightly. Under this lunation, so do our emotions.
