Ossification

If you are trying to write a great headline, you probably DO NOT want to use the word “ossification.” But, me? I like to have a little fun. What's more, I am not going to use all the tricks and techniques. My articles are not always named, “The Four Secrets to Guarantee Unlimited Success.”

At any rate, let us talk, for a minute, about ossification. If the word is not coming to mind, the word ossification is defined as, “A tendency toward or state of being molded into a rigid, conventional, sterile, or unimaginative condition.” As we age we tend to ossify. And, often times, that is not a good thing.

In some ways ossification is inevitable. I mean, I figure rigor mortis is a form of ossification. But, let us talk about something we actually have control over. Namely, the thoughts and beliefs that run through our mind.

As we get older, we tend to get set in our ways. Becoming set in our ways can be a good thing and it can be bad. First, the good. Routines are not only good, they are necessary. They save us much time and brain power. Could you imagine having to figure out how to shower every day? Yikes!

At the same time, set patterns of thought and action can also backfire. The world is a fast moving place, and evolution is life's imperative. If we are stuck in old ways of thinking and acting, if we succumb to ossification, we can set ourselves up for failure.

To warn against the perils of ossification I want to tell a little story about Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was expert at keeping a flexible mind. As you probably know, Ben was of one three people assigned to negotiate the peace with Great Britain.

After the Revolutionary War Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay were the three people in charge of making peace with the English. A difficult task indeed. Once an agreement was made, it must be upheld. This is where we encounter something of a conundrum.

Just think about it. The Americans entered into a peace treaty. A treaty that was only as good as it was honored. Part of the treaty involved the repayment of debts. In order to pay those debts, the American government needed to collect taxes.

This is where a big problem was encountered. The entire Revolutionary War was largely fought as a tax protest. We all know about the Boston Tea Party and the famous saying, “No taxation without representation.” So, how does one square this circle?

I will not get into all the ways America repaid her debts. The point of this blog is to highlight an element of Franklin's genius. Old Ben was 78 years of age when the war was over. And, he had long preached the virtues of frugality.

The American colonialists, like a lot of people, enjoyed their luxuries. And Franklin had long warned against the folly of over consumption. Especially while he was trying to convince his fellow countrymen to repay their war debts.

Here is where Franklin provides us with such a genius model. Even at the ripe, old age of seventy-eight, Ben was able to invert his beliefs and assumptions. An idea I wrote about here. Having spent a lifetime promoting the importance of frugality Dr. Franklin was still able to consider the virtues of luxury.

Specifically, Franklin thought about the motivating power of luxury. He asked, “Is not the hope of being one day able to purchase and enjoy luxuries a great spur to labour and industry? May not luxury, therefore, produce more than it consumes?”

I have to trust you can appreciate the genius of Franklin's mind. F Scott Fitzgerald is quoted as saying, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind, at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” And, Ben Franklin's 78 year old mind clearly demonstrated first-rate intelligence.

As we all know, the founding of America was a truly profound event. And, it took profound intelligence to catalyze such as event. Ben Franklin being perhaps the most profound of all.

What I am recommending, in this post, is that we all remember Dr. Franklin. I am recommending that we keep our minds elastic and flexible. One way to do this can be summed up in three words, “Invert, always invert.”

See ya soon :)