How We Choose: Half Ironman Training Plan Selection

It turns out that Dogwood flowers are more complex and interesting than I realized, and insects see a whole other story. Photo by FitOldDog.

“The true dogwood flowers are actually tiny, yellowish to yellowish-green and insignificant, being compacted into button-like clusters. However, each flower cluster is surrounded by four showy, white, petal-like bracts, which open flat, giving the appearance of a single, large, 3-4” diameter, 4-petaled, white flower.” Ultraviolet Photography

The world is not necessarily as we perceive it.

Some of us are so sure that we know what is going on, and trust our volatile memories implicitly. Such people often react angrily to any challenge to their world, view, I’ve noticed – yes, I’m studying human behavior, and it is so odd! I sure learned plenty from a fascinating book, entitled, “Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion,” by Robert Cialdini. I think I learned more about myself, from this book, than I did about other people.

It is clear that our memories are fluid, changing over time, with careful edits improving or degrading their quality, and with it our impressions of ourselves, so why not our ‘choosing systems?’

It is really odd how we choose, this process being influenced by memories (bitten by a dog, don’t buy a dog!), the people around us (everyone wants to fit in, to some extent), and our world map, that we build and, if we are lucky, modify daily to bring it in line with reality as best we can. This brings me to a recent choice I made, online, the selection of a Half Ironman Training Plan.

To find a suitable plan, whilst avoiding the expense of a coach (the best option, but not an option right now), I Googled. Should I have Binged or Yahooed, I wonder? Within moments I chose the plan below, based upon a single feature – can you spot it, I wonder?

Click image for source, to whom I say a sincere, “Thank You!”

I’m really enjoying not having to think about each days workout, ahead of time.

Mia’s lovely Blue Velvet Cake. Photo by FitOldDog, with permission, from Mia.

Recently, I was again reminded of the different ways in which we each see (smell, taste, hear and feel, for that matter) the world around us. I was offered a piece of cake, remarking on it’s green coloration, only to be told, by Mia, the chef,

“Kevin, this is a blue cake. A Blue Royal Velvet Cake, in fact!“

Yes, I’m mildly red-green color blind, making for some differences in how the world appears. We each have such minor, or major, phenotypic differences. It’s what makes this wobbly Biosphere so stable.

No wobble, no life, believe you me.

Or believe your genome, anyway.