When I put my workout facility membership on hold in March because of the pandemic, I began walking in our neighborhood weekday mornings. Those early efforts lasted about two miles. Slowly I built up the distance and since June am averaging more than five miles, including a few 10Ks and one 7.2 miler thrown in for fun. I’m focused on ‘Don’t break the steak,’ which, as of today is 107 consecutive weekdays and counting.
Since I’m no longer surrounded by the silence of the pool, I have increased my podcast listening. One new program I came upon is “Flashback with Sean Braswell.” It takes moments in history and suggests the unintended consequences – “stories of disastrous turning points, dangerous ideas, crazy coincidences, unsung heroes and forgotten villains” – that occurred because of them.
Some Season 1 examples:
How Henry Ford inspired the Oklahoma City Bombing
How the YMCA helped launch the tobacco black market
How a meth peddling doctor changed the course of WWII
How a baseball strike saved basketball
There are unintended consequences in many things. I’ve been thinking about them in my life. What are some in yours?
Note: Jerry Seinfeld is credited with saying ‘Your only job is to not break the chain’ about writing comedy every single day. He rejects coming up with the approach, which is apropos.: “This is hilarious to me, that somehow I am getting credit for making an X on a calendar with the Seinfeld Productivity Program. It’s the dumbest non-idea that was not mine, but somehow I’m getting credit for it.”
