Introduction

The Tuesday Thursday Paradox is a collection of ideas, concepts and theories about life that popped into my head over quite a few years.  When I eventually rounded up all the little scraps of paper they were born on, they seemed to suddenly go in a particular order.  When I ordered them like that they suddenly felt a little like the instructions for a board game, which was rather unexpected at the time but now seems obvious in retrospect.  I like things like that. 

As with any writer or speaker, it’s important to be clear that these are just my opinions and ideas though – not definitive facts or truths.  I don’t think I am ‘right’ for everyone at every time, but these are things that are right for me and some of which could well be right for other people. 

I don’t intend that they all have to be read together or in this order, originally they were all standalone thoughts or observations about how life works.  If you do read them all, you might think they would be better in a different order or that there is a better analogy than a board game.  That would be a good thing because it means you’d have found something in here that was intuitive or logical for you, and there’s a good chance that means you’ve already taken something useful out of it all. 

My background is in performance psychology and behaviour change, areas I’ve worked in directly and indirectly now for twenty-odd years.  They are fascinating subjects, and in my opinion at least as much art as science.  One of the things I figured out early and which I’ve tried to apply throughout my life and professional career, is that to have any chance of working, an idea needs to be both sound and practical.  It doesn’t matter how great a plan is, if it’s too complicated or requires too much of a person, then they just won’t do it.  If a gloriously practical and well-intentioned idea doesn’t really link to the desired outcome, then it’s not going to do much good even if people do it.

I hope that at least one of these ideas contributes something insightful for you about how the world really works and is also practical to actually use.  That was how they worked for me, anyway.  I think one of the key things about practicality is not trying to do too much at once.  If you do hit on some ideas or thoughts here that sing to you, maybe try just adapting them one at a time until they become normal and habitual thoughts rather than trying to use so many at once that it’s too much to really work.

If nothing here feels like it is for you, then keep looking. If you’re reading this type of thing at all, chances are you’re the sort of person who’s already ahead of the personal development curve.  If this collection doesn’t add anything to what you know and do, it’s pretty much inevitable that you’ll find, or better still create, something that does. 

In my field, the concept of ‘Behavioural Economics’ has had a lot of currency in recent years.  It’s a theory or model that, at its heart, assumes it’s the path of least resistance that is the most widely used.  A lot of what this collection is about is being aware of when we are falling into that habit, and about putting up at least a bit of resistance so we get more out of life than might otherwise happen.

​As I write this I’m reminded of a quote by one of my favourite authors, Neal Stephenson.  The full quote is rather long, but the essence of it is that if you keep moving in life you have a kind of immunity to a lot of the things that can happen to you, but if you stand still you are at the mercy of what other people and the world do to you.  The fundamental premise of this collection is probably encapsulated in that quote: keep moving. 

Chapter 1: Tuesday Thursday

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