When I was about five, I saw a pigeon on the ground. It sat quietly by the fence, facing away from me. I was thrilled, so I walked up to it and gently cupped it in my hands.
The pigeon squeaked, turned its head, and bit my finger.
At dinner, I casually told the adults about my adventure. Suddenly, everyone panicked. A short while later, I was in the hospital, getting twenty rabies shots in the stomach.
As you might have guessed, the pigeon was actually a rat. Yet even now, I still remember that sweet little gray bird, as my hands reach for it. I suppose Sasha had never seen a rat before—only pigeons.
Our brain recognizes patterns instantly—but only from what we already know. If there’s no exact match, it grabs the closest thing that makes sense. Anything is better than just 'What the hell is that?!'"
Reality bites hard when we get the pattern wrong.
Something in business or life went sideways, and now you’re angry? Chances are, you thought you had a bird in your hands—but it turned out to be a rat.
Maybe the reason was naivety, pride, or the itch to get what you wanted right now. The right antidote depends on the cause:
Expand your library of patterns—knowledge and experience.
Stay humble—remember the limits of your own mind.
Reflect—why did impulse win over long-term vision?
It seems that nature is attacking us from the inside and the outside. No, it's trying to wake us from our childish dreams.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
How can I help you?
If you've long been trying to understand what is limiting you and/or your business and how to finally give important changes a push, then The Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you. Book it here.