Einstein Was Not That Stupid

At one time or another, Albert Einstein has been credited with saying or writing just about every clever word ever uttered. Mark Twain runs a close second. Will Rogers no doubt comes in third.

Then, there's Honest Abe. I posted that famous quote on my Facebook timeline from Abraham Lincoln when Abe smartly opined, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet."

The world wide interweb offers a daily deluge of meadow muffins because of our ability to take a tired cliche, drop it on a picture of, say, John Wayne, and within just a few hours, millions of people think the Duke said something that he simply was not bright enough to say.

One of the more famous attributions goes to Albert Einstein for defining insanity. Although, there is absolutely NO  historical evidence to support the claim, Einstein supposedly defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results."

It's kind of cute. Maybe even a little clever. The Recovery folks have spouted this nonsense for years. It's even in their literature. The problem is this....IT'S JUST WRONG!

Just relax. Take a deep breath. Think about it. Really think about it. Expecting a different result is actually kind of healthy thinking. The desire for a different or better result is evidence of a healthy, positive mind. If this were not the case, no one in the world would ever cast a rod & reel in hopes of catching a fish. The professional fisherman or hobbyist will cast and cast and cast again with the certain expectation that the NEXT cast could very well bring a different result.

Stainless made this very clear to me several years ago during one of the darker points in my life. He lovingly and patiently pointed out that "Kevin, I know THEY are telling you that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That is simply not true. You are doing the same thing over and over again, knowing *&%$ well what the result is going to be. And you are doing it ANYWAY! That sir, is insane!"

Hopefully you have had one of these "Ah Hah" moments! This was a game changer for me. This change in perception has profoundly impacted how I go about my daily walk.

Einstein was not stupid.  Old Albert probably understood that "expecting a different result" is really healthy thinking. In fact, "expecting a different result" is really a sign of HOPE!

And isn't HOPE what we really need anyway?