Technology is a marvelous thing. In an always-connected world, if we hit a problem with a piece of software or a gadget – the manufacturer can issue a patch or a firmware upgrade to solve the problems.
When it comes to humans, however, fixing our problems isn’t as straight forward as downloading an upgrade, plugging in, and re-synching.
If we were able to upgrade our ‘personality firmware’ however, here’s how I think it might look, with the ‘Personality 2.0’ firmware release notes!
Personality 2.0 Release notes
Main features of 2.0 release:
- Improved ability to cope with stress
- Increased positivity
- Augmented time and money management capabilities
- Improved networking capabilities
Features removed from previous firmware:
- Procrastination
- Excuse-making capabilities
Known issues with Personality 1.0:
1.
Personality 1.0 was known to become overwhelmed with pressures and stresses, resulting in avoidance, procrastination and shirking of responsibilities.
Fix:
Personality 2.0 allows the user to face perceived stresses and pressures head on, as soon as they are recognised, so that they can be dealt with as quickly as possible. The new software uses interfacing with friends to discuss stress so that the user is better equipped to deal with stress, eliminating procrastination.
What I mean is…
In 2010, I was too quick to feel defeated and overwhelmed by the things that stressed me out. In 2011, I plan to deal with my stress honestly and up-front as soon as possible, and to use my friends for support.
2.
Personality 1.0 was flawed as it suffered from excessive negativity, hampering productivity and happiness and resulting in increased stress.
Fix:
Personality 2.0 gives the user a positivity upgrade which forces the personality to consider the bright side of life, cataloguing the user’s blessings and creating increased contrast between the positive and negative.
What I mean is…
This year I am pledging to be a more positive person, and I plan not to dwell on my perceived shortcomings. My attitude in 2010 was holding me back and having a detrimental effect on my life. In 2011 I plan to smile more, seize more opportunities and attempt to look on the bright side of life.
3.
Personality 1.0 encountered difficulties with planning processes, resulting in poor management of time and money.
Fix:
The new firmware (Personality 2.0) features better tracking of appointments, spending and deadlines. The fixes will allow for more efficient management of money by creating savings and employing new financial classifications.
What I mean is…
Many of 2010’s stresses came down to poor planning on my part. Surprise expenses like car repair bills wouldn’t have been so stressful if I had money in savings to pay for it, or if I had changed my attitudes to credit cards which might have been appropriate at the time, had I been better educated about them.
4.
Personality 1.0 suffered from networking problems which saw users experiencing limited connectivity with peer networks.
Fix:
Personality 2.0 features increased connectivity with peers as a result of an upgraded networking infrastructure. The fix allows better connections to friends and family via the network.
What I mean is…
In 2010 I wasn’t a great friend; I did not make enough time for my friends and made excuses for not attending social events. In 2011 I plan to make sure I see my friends more often, get more involved in the lives of my friends and offer to help them out when they need it.
Summary
It might not be as simple as fixing a bug in a piece of software by upgrading the firmware, but thinking of your personality in terms flaws in a previous version and the fixes you would like to see in a firmware upgrade is a fun way to think about what you would like to improve about yourself, given the chance.
Right, I’m off to download the latest firmware – wish me luck!
Photo by warrenski
Trouble ticket:
Upgrading your firmware with personality 2.0 won’t fix the problems you mention.
Personality 2.0 may make you more charming and outgoing, but it wont fix your stress levels, money management, excuse-making, or procrastination problems.
You will need to upgrade your character and integrity to the new and improved versions. Character and integrity 2.0 will allow you to maintain a resolution after the spirit in which you made it has past. This upgrade will compel you to do the things you need to do no matter if you feel like doing them or not.
This upgrade will cost you $1000. I take Visa, MC, Amex, and cash. You can send that directly to me at http://www.contrarianism.net ;-)
That’s really creative. I like it.
I think for many people the first step is to run a diagnostic. Before you can fix the issues or areas you want to improve you need to know what your strengths, weaknesses, behaviors, values, and such are.
Going from there it is much easier to follow through with an effective patch or update.
You might be interested in this blog we wrote that talks about some substantial personal assessments that can help people get started with change.
http://balancedworklife.com/blog/personal-assessments/disc-test-improve/
Hi Mark,
This is one of the most clever posts I’ve read in awhile! Your message is perfect! Thanks for your creativity!
~Dandy
Mark that was a fun post! Very clever!
I think that sometimes it is great to remove the emotion a little from a personal change that we want to implement, as it doesn’t have the normal emotional ‘hooks’ that have the ability to cloud the simplicity behind what it actually takes to make a change.
Thanks Mark :-)
Looks like specially written for me :-) great to have some ready made solutions for known bugs.
Thanks a lot for the great post
And wish me a luck too.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for a unique and very enjoyable guest post. All the best with the upgrade.
Peter
Thanks for the kind words everyone!
So what bugs have you all identified? And what patches are you working on?
The most critical ones are
Procrastination: I have decided to take care of everything as and when it comes, If you keep it aside for later, it’s turn never comes. There is very well know phrase in Hindi language “Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab” which means, “Whatever you are planning to do tomorrow, do it today and whatever you are planning to do today, do it now.” So far I am doing great here.
Networking problems: I was all alone during previous couple of years, my wife is the only other person in my life, and she has identified this bug long back. Still trying to figure out the exact method to fix this one.
As told in my original comment, I am suffering from all of them but these two are most critical and if I fix these two, i guess other will not be very difficult.
A very creative way to look at goals and resolutions! If only our mind can be upgrade simply by uninstalling and downloading new software. Alas, human mind is much more complex, intriguing and at the same time more fascinating than an electronic hardware. Thanks for the fun post!
hahaha, i liked the analogy you made, quite a creative post:)
haha, love the style of this post! Hope you don’t have too many bugs when you first install the upgrade!