Hey buddy,
Checking in.
Hope you’re doing alright today.
One of my guiltiest pleasures these days is watching YouTube shorts. Interestingly enough, I often can’t bear the thought of watching most 45-60 minute videos, but I sure as hell can sit and watch Shorts for 45-60 minutes without even realizing it.
It’s not great. I know.
However, the one possible benefit (besides an ever-increasing knowledge of outdoor survival skills and breakdance moves) is that it helps me tap into the zeitgeist and pick up on current social trends.
The number one trend these days?
People are upset.
Half the time, I can’t even tell what they’re upset about but they are UP. SET.
I get it. I’m human. There are things that are upsetting to me. There are great evils afoot on this planet and there are people doing some really terrible things to one another.
However, one of the most interesting types of video that I encounter features someone who is completely losing it who is then asked why they are completely losing it and they can’t formulate any kind of response.
“I’m upset because I’m upset!!”
I don’t want to be on YouTube acting like that.
I don’t want to be on Substack acting like that.
I don’t want to be in a real-life conversation acting like that.
A quick classic YFD side-trip here.
I work in production. I am good at my job but I know my limitations so I’m constantly looking for ways to improve what my team does. My current rabbit hole is Lean/Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, etc.
You break every step down into smaller substeps until you have your whole process laid out from start to finish. This technique can be applied to any size organization and it helps to identify inconsistencies and bottlenecks. That way you can increase consistency and quality and decrease time and cost. It got very big in the 80s, especially among Japanese manufacturers and pretty much set the stage for modern production, standardization, and AI integration.
There is a sub-technique called the Five Whys to identify the root cause of a problem.1
Let’s bring it all together.
Here’s the problem, my friend:
You’re not supposed to be upset all the time.
If you are, I would suggest putting that emotion in to the funnel and asking yourself why.
I’m not suggesting that you need to be happy all the time because that’s unrealistic. I’m not even suggesting that you shouldn’t be upset with the thing that you’re upset about.
I think we all just need to take some time and figure out why.
It works on your physical well-being too. I work with some guys in their mid-20s who are tired all the time. Do you know why?
they don’t budget the money that they get
they spend the money that’s left on over-priced over-processed food
the food doesn’t fuel their bodies properly
they rely on caffeine to compensate
they are dehydrated from the sodium and caffeine and don’t drink enough water
I want the best for you, friend, and I hate to see you upset all the time. So let’s take a beat, take a breath, and figure out why (x5).
Your Friend,
Dave
Gemba means “real place” and refers to the location where the problem is occurring.