Friction and Resistance

Yet another set of lessons on influence from analogies with physical force. This time it's about friction and resistance. Think about a two-sided kind of influence.

At the most basic level, frictional force opposes motion. The first useful thing to note is that there are several types of friction. This is useful because it is consistent with the observation that the forces that can slow one down in the journey of life cannot be placed into a single category. There are different types.

Of the several types of friction that can be identified, static and kinetic friction come closest to the other points I want to make here. Static friction exists between non-moving surfaces and kinetic friction arises as soon as there is relative motion between surfaces. This simple distinction leads me to the major points of this post.

By definition, static friction does not require motion for its existence; in fact, it actively prevents motion. While this property is of immense benefit in that it ensures that things can stay in place without sliding around, it also constitutes a huge disbenefit because it has no respect for dynamics. It has been said that good is often an enemy for best. What that means is that once someone starts to do well, there is a high level of static friction that needs to be overcome at that point because they tend not to see the need for higher levels of performance. That's the point where you hear people talk of 'attachment', 'comfort', 'satisfaction', 'just good enough', etc. And that is why many will resist change. (Doesn't that suggest that past achievements do not necessarily make good influence?)

Now, that static friction is useful because, just as a rolling stone gathers no moss, it is hard to achieve anything meaningful without staying in one place for some time. However, the static friction becomes a disbenefit because, even when it's time to move, it does not go away; in fact, it fights until it is overcome. The unfortunate part of it all is that many people simply give up too soon just because it seems nothing is moving though they're pushing so hard. Think about this. Suppose you placed your fridge in one corner and your furniture in another. You're fine with whatever amount of static friction is holding them in place as long as they are where you want them to be. Now suppose you suddenly saw the need one day to have them moved around. Then the static friction becomes an enemy! That's exactly how it works in real life as well. In my mother tongue there is a saying which essentially translates as 'nothing good wants to get done.' Most people, I know, will move the furniture and the fridge despite the friction; I wish I could say the same about the more important situations of life.

So much more can be written but I prefer to move on.

Consider, for one moment, what kinetic friction -as earlier defined - might imply. Many will think that two surfaces in contact need to be moving for there to be kinetic friction. That's only partly true. Kinetic friction just requires relative motion. This means that even when only one object is moving and the other is stationary there will be kinetic friction so long as they are in contact. The intriguing thing is that this friction is mutual - acting on both the moving and the stationary object. Thus, there should be little wonder why those who seem to be going nowhere with their life will tend to resist those who appear to be purposeful. Friction!

The next major point is the importance of understanding that there is something called a coefficient of friction. That is the constant quantity which determines how much friction will be at play between any two surfaces. The nice thing about this coefficient is that it depends, more than anything else, on the nature of the two surfaces. That's why lubrication can help to reduce friction because it temporarily alters the nature of the surfaces in contact.

However, lubrication is not a permanent solution to friction (and I don't know any so don't ask me). That's why lubricants need to be replenished. Also, lubricants do not guarantee perfectly smooth rides - they only reduce friction not remove it. Whatever you believe your lubricant is, never run short of supply, never go far away from your source. I can tell from my experience that God makes a great source.

Before wrapping up, it's crucial to point out that as negative as friction seems to sound, it is extremely beneficial. I have hinted earlier how static friction helps things to stay in place. Kinetic friction is the reason why we can run and not fall, why cars can ride and not skid, why wood can be planed, why floors can be scrubbed, and so on. Thus, for as long as one is wanting to make progress, there's going to be need for friction. For as long as one will need cleaning up - internally, I mean - there's always going to be friction. That, to me, is the single most important reason why breaking addictions is very difficult - specifically static friction.

The final thing I'd like the reader to note is the importance of contact. Friction, as a concept, is meaningless without physical contact. That's good news in the sense that whatever source of friction one experiences, reducing contact will always help. But one needs to be careful enough to tell when the friction is good or bad.

Influence from contact

In physics, the term 'applied force' could be used in reference to any type of force.  However, it is most often used when talking about the force that one person or an object directly applies to another person or object. All applied forces are contact forces. In other words, the source of the force must be in physical contact with its object. For instance, picking up a book from the floor, pushing or shoving someone and kicking a ball are all examples of applied force. As every action has an equal but opposite reaction, so does every source of force experience a counter-force from its object.

Applied force is parallel to what I call influence from contact. Just as an object acts upon and is acted upon by every other object in contact with it, so does a human being influence and come under the influence of everything to which he is exposed.

Little wonder, then, that parents and teachers and peers are considered very influential in human development. In fact, I personally consider it a big blessing for one to have good parents and teachers because they both constitute some of the most significant influences for every person, beginning from the first days of life. It is for this reason that they are worth following. However, as they teach, guide and lead, they are also influenced by the ones they influence. People suddenly become more attentive when they have children. Teachers often become irritant or pleasant depending on the responsiveness of their pupils. And, of course, we speak of peer pressure only because peers are influential, and
they don't do that from a distance.

Now, those are just two clear examples of how influence from contact works. One can think of many more. As a matter of fact, the bottomline is that everything - note, EVERYTHING not just EVERYONE - you come in contact with influences you one way or the other. This brings up the challenge of how to deal with the influence. If we realise and accept that the next date, the next meeting, the next conference, the next protest, the next programme will have an influence on our lives, then we will take seriously the kind of contacts we make. We will also take seriously how we respond to contact requests. The other side of the coin is that you play a role in the shaping of the things you come in contact with. If I were you, I would take seriously every activity I get involved in. Why? The specific answer to that you have to figure out by yourself; but the generic answer is that your role has an influence.

Next time the focus will be on friction and resistance.

A little more about influence

When I wrote on influence the last time, I used the analogy from physics about inertia and forces. In this post and several more to come, I continue along this line. Just as there are different types of forces in the world of physics, there are several types of influence; some good, some bad, some ugly. This is where choice matters.

Speaking of choice, I do not only refer to choosing the kind of inluence you want to be or expose yourself to. I also refer to an equally, if not more, important choice: the choice of response to different influences. Making this choice appropriately starts from understanding: understanding what kind of influences there are, identifying them when you see them and knowing what options there are.

In my next series starting at the end of this month, my attention will be on drawing parallels between the forces known to physics and the influences that mankind always has to deal with. 

Let's start with this basic classification. In physics, there are contact forces and there are non-contact ones. Contact forces do not exist unless there is direct touch between at least two objects. The force will arise as a result of the action of one or all objects in contact and/or their reaction. An example is the support force that bears you up when you lean against a wall. Non-contact forces do not require material contact, they act from a distance and in some cases they're so far away that the object experiencing the force does not even know it's there. An example is gravity. Most of us do not even realise that our body weight is simply the downward pull that the earth exerts upon our body.

In a more practical sense, there is the direct influence of parents and teachers (when you discount the effect of the internet) and there is, of course, the non-contact influence of celebrities, government policies and so on. Responding rightly to any of these requires that we know they're even there and that they affect us. A closer look at specific examples of each influence type will start at the end of this month.

On Influence

As a noun, the word influence means many things. I highlight just 4 of them. First, influence refers to the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others. Secondly, influence means the action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others. Thirdly, a person or thing that exerts influence is taken to be an influence. Finally, for my purpose here, influence means the exercise of the power of influence by human beings.

All of the foregoing have at least one thing in common: a cause and effect type of relationship. For influence to mean anything, there must be something to act upon, and the action must show some effect. In the absence of an object of influence, the concept doesn't even exist; and when it brings no changes to the status quo, it can't be reckoned with.

According to the Law of Inertia, every body persists in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed. It is no coincidence that this law represents the first law of motion and one of the most basic yet extremely profound laws in the entire universe.

The physical implications of the law are two-fold. One, an object (of any kind) at rest will remain so forever unless acted upon by an unbalanced force, that is a force large enough to overcome the counteracting effect of the forces that keep the object at rest. Two, a moving object will continue to move forever without changing its speed unless forced to move faster, slower or to stop by an unbalanced force, that is, a force large enough to overcome the forces that have kept the object in its current state.

What do these mean in a practical sense? Simple! As a human being, no one's life will amount to anything unless they have been subjected to some influence. And what one's life will amount to will depend first on the magnitude of the force in action, and secondly on its direction - towards good or towards evil, towards success or towards failure.

Whether we call it motivation, drive or anything else, it's still influence. The good news for mankind is that one can mostly choose what influences one gets exposed to or succumbs to, at least after a certain threshold. As well, one can choose what sort of influence one exerts. As one who knows what he/she is doing, you want to watch what influences you; and as a parent, because your child(ren) can't effectively make this choice, you want to watch how you infleunce them and help them to make their choices carefully. It matters a lot.

I bet you want to think about this as you get on this year!

New year

On this day, exactly one year ago, I spent a lot of time dreaming. I took several long and hard looks at the new year and thought a lot about what I would do with it: 365 long days, with 24 constant hours in each. These days, I am looking in the opposite direction. So far I have taken several long and hard look back on the year that is now spent. Some of the most important things I have realised is that the year was very fruitful for me. I made several mistakes but was not buried by them. I took several radical decisions but have not regretted any of them. And I have learnt, most important of all, that one year is a really long time during which a lot can get done.

Particularly today, I am looking ahead at the new year. The keys question I'm trying to answer are: 'What things do I want to stop doing, what things do I want to keep doing and what things do I want to start doing?' While thinking about my answers, I have noticed that the 'why' motivates the 'what'. 

As you also might be considering making some resolutions for the new year, I think you should consider the following:

1. Whatever you do not have a strong enough reason for, you will end up not doing at all, not doing well or not doing for long.  
2. Whenever it seems like you're falling short in performance, then think again about where you started from. It might well be that you're forgetting the 'why'.
3. Never resolve to do anything in the new year that you cannot convince yourself is right by EVERY standard. Being socially acceptable is not good enough. 

See you next year!

My work, so far...

Today, my stock taking went in the direction of my day job. For about a half decade now I've been a researcher - teaching, writing and publishing - in innovation, entrepreneurship and policy. I have just analysed the top 100 words that appear in the titles of my written output mostly since 2006 (excluding my BSc thesis which was completed in 2002). The resulting word cloud is here (reproduced below). 

Obviously, it's about Nigeria; it's about development; it's about innovation; it's about sustainability; it's about technology; and it's about learning. The people with whose support I've been able to do this much are arranged here (reproduced below). 

Chances are you don't know any of them, and that doesn't matter. The message I'm passing is that productivity needs support. It is extremely difficult for anyone to do anything meaningful with their lives without laps to sit on, shoulders to stand on, arms to lean on and backs to ride on.

MEN THAT WILL SUCEED 24: They just know...

This is a post long overdue. It's supposed to be the last in my 24-part series of the traits of people on their way to success. By success I mean the fulfillment of some transcendent purpose and not just the attainment of some trumped-up human standards.

A lot has been written about knowledge and how it is strongly connected to performance. I have even heard it said that you are what you know. That's true, of course, but I see a special dimension of knowledge that every serious mind should seek.

Today in some disciplines we speak of many types of knowledge: know-how, know-who, know-what, know-when, know-why...but one that is rarely ever mentioned anywhere is what I'd simply call 'just-know'. Call it intuition, unction, perception, instinct, inspiration or anything else you like. The name is not important, all I know is that you'll know when you've got it. How many times have you felt so convinced about something for no obvious reason, even when everyone else seems opposed, and you turned out to be right? That's exactly what I'm talking about.

People who can consistently demonstrate this level of consciousness are often the most successful, and history bears this out. They are the ones who just know that what they're doing is what they should be doing. You see, no matter how much information we could get about everything, there always comes a time when we have to proceed with limited info; that's when we need to 'just know' what is right. This has even become much more necessary because the world we live in today is becoming increasingly complex and uncertain.

How does 'just-know' come. Honestly I can't tell. I just know that it's important. I also know that it thrives in quietness and a consistent habit of useful thinking. Above all, I know that it thrives in the practice of seeking God.

According to Newton's first law of motion, an object just keeps standing still or consistently moving along on a straight path unless compelled to do otherwise by an external force. By extension, every object needs an exogenous force to make it useful, otherwise it will just keep doing what is most convenient for it even when it's totally nonsensical. Two major lessons I see here. First, nothing comes to its full potential unless moderated by an exogenous power. The force that causes a change of state or speed or direction is never internal to a body, it is always from an exogenous source. Second, what is being moderated cannot fully comprehend its moderator, just as car cannot by itself master its engine. Even the most intelligent robots today only know to connect themselves to power when they're running out but they don't necessarily understand how this power gets there.

What should you take away from the preceding paragraphs? One, nothing is truly exogenous to your world - however you define it - except God. Two, the fact that you don't seem to understand why there could be a God does not mean there can't be one. Arriving at such a conclusion would be as vague as claiming that your mum is not your mum just because you were not there when you were born!

Some reflections...

Hi there,

As this year runs to an end, I'm planning to wrap up my series on MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED. Twenty-three posts so far, and just one more to post. Thereafter, I'd try to share with you some of the most important lessons I learnt during the year. However, I'm around the point where I normally take stock and I've decided that this blog is one of my starting points. 

Beside the usual stats (which I check regularly anyway) I've made an analysis of the most frequently occurring (main) words in all of the posts that appear on this blog. The picture here is the result (reproduced above). Two things I make out of it myself. 

One, no matter how much we say or write in our lives, only a little will matter - really. Think of the 80/20 rule here. And it's been said that one of the ways to facilitate personal success is to identify the few activities or factors that drive outcomes the greatest, and then concentrate on them. 

Two, people are at the centre of our lives, and that's why relationships matter. This blog is of a more inspirational and motivational nature. Maybe that is why the two words, PEOPLE and FIRST seem to stand out the way they have. However, I can confirm to you that this was in no way deliberate, I just found that out after my analysis. Bottomline, in our quest towards personal development, achievements and success, whether we control for them or not, it is the people around us and our attitudes towards them that will make or mar us.

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 23: They care about first impressions

'Actions may speak louder than words, but until they get to judge your behavior, which can take a while, people will inevitably trust their initial impressions.' (Steve Tobak)

First impressions last really long. And you will never get a second go at it. That is why the first things you do will tell a story and leave a mark that’s going to stick around for long, if not permanently: the things you say when you first meet someone, the way you come across in that first presentation, the way you treat your friend’s siblings the first time you visited, the way you approached your first job, the way you spent your first earnings…

Surprisingly many of us don’t seem to care – or we care too much about the less important things. I am sure one of the first things that will come to your mind as you read this will relate to appearance - what people see you wearing. Of course, that's right - one of my brothers actually told me many years ago that when you're meeting people for the first time, you will be addressed the way you're dressed. Now that's true; but up to a limit. Judging by my own experience (and you're free to compare yours) the idea of first impression deals with the way people appear when I first meet them, TOGETHER WITH the things they say, their level of alertness and above all, their attitude - which unfortunately can’t be concealed! Your dressing only creates a good impression if you don’t speak at all (which leaves people thinking ‘Wow, isn’t that dress nice!’) or you say something really smart (otherwise people will only think ‘This is an idiot in a good dress!’).

Recent research has actually shown the power of first impressions. Naturally, most of us will treat people subsequently on the basis of how they have come across to us the first time we met. Even if we find later that our initial impressions are wrong, it takes time before we shift gears. I quote from the work of Bertram Gawronski and co at the University of Western Ontario: ‘When something that violates the first impression occurs, it is treated as an exception from the rule, rather than as an objective reality.’ And how does this relate to success? Because you need to be in the right company for you to go in the right direction and go fast (see the post on keeping good company). Leaving people with the wrong initial impressions of you only deflates your circle of influence.

Of course you can correct a wrong first impression but it’s expensive. “What is necessary is for the first impression to be challenged in multiple different contexts,” says Gawronski. That’s a natural experiment that even scientists know is hard to set up. Who wants to stick around to observe you all over the place when they already have decided that you’re not worth walking with?

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 22: They have a sense of purpose

I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made by those who strive to make something useful. (Oscar Wilde)

There are two dimensions to purpose: the first concerns the basis for our existence, the kind of thing that Darwin wanted to explain away; the second has to do with defining a reason for everything we do.

In the first sense, purpose is the ‘why’, the rationale for everything that is exogenously defined: the reason why you’re here, the reason why you’re not dead yet, the reason why you’re a male or female, the reason why you’re black or white, the reason why you have those parents, and so on. What this implies is that one will always underperform when out of purpose. You will never rise to the fullness of your potential unless you’re doing what you were designed for in the first place. For instance, if you had a nice Ferrari parked in your garage and a tree just fell across the road in front of your house, would you use your Ferrari or an ugly chain saw? To the Intelligent Designer who made you, there’s something you should be doing, and until you’re doing it, you’re under-utilized, wrongly utilized or utterly useless.

In the second sense, purpose is your ‘why’ for whatever you do – your choice. Daniel Pink, in his bestseller, Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, brings out strongly the power of purpose as a determinant of better performance and self satisfaction. The main idea is that when people do things for a specific reason – a purpose that is higher than themselves or any mundane considerations, their performance hits the skies! And that is being proven true everyday: Google, Skype, Apache, Facebook…all started with a clear mission, something of a need they wanted to fulfill. So, in general, purposeful people tend to perform consistently better; purposeful businesses grow faster; purposeful athletes last longer…Why? Because they do whatever they do for a reason – and even more, they know what their reasons are for doing those things. 

If only you will take the time to find out the ‘why’, you will spend much less time worrying about the ‘what’.