True But Useless!
Dr. Harry Cohen recently visited with Joseph Jaffe on CoronaTV, and shared some of his life’s work that is truly helpful and useful.
Spread Wisdom, but not ‘TBU’:
TBU – true but useless.
My life’s work is to take that which is true and make it useful and helpful.
My hope is that you all build the habits and practice of being helpful and useful, not just smart. Anyone who has watched my TedTalk knows I had to learn this the hard way. It is a really simple and profound principle, and I want you all to get it. All of us are plenty smart, but we often times make the mistake of giving people more information than they need and it’s not helpful. It’s like when someone asks for a glass of water, don’t hose them down, don’t over load them, all of us do this sometimes.
So how do you be more helpful? Just focus on the person, when you are talking to anyone, focus on how you can be helpful to them. We are all plenty smart, but we often make the mistake of giving people information which is not useful. It’s like the food pyramid, that tells you how to eat, it’s TBU, True But Useless! There is no value in it! This is what we have to be mindful of when we are talking to anyone, am I being helpful to you? Here is how to do it, ASK THEM! Their face and their words will tell you. So, your whole thing is to be helpful to people you are talking to, by asking them and seeing if you are. It’s that simple! You are plenty smart, you don’t have to be smart, you just have to be helpful!
I created a mnemonic to be helpful, to remember how to be helpful! I find this incredibly useful!
Which is:
H- Be heliotropic—be compassionate, kind, forgiving and helpful! All the things we have talked about in terms of being Heliotropic, and being your best version of yourself!
E- Put a little bit of effort into being helpful, just a smidge. You don’t have to make a big deal of it, but you do have to be mindful of how can I be my best self in this circumstance.
L- Less is more, be brief! When someone asks for a glass of water don’t hose them down, make your simple point and move on. People will appreciate this. Less is more.
P- Be Positive, in every way that you can, talk about the glass being half full not being half empty.
F- Facts aren’t feelings, but feelings matter even more than facts. How we make people feel, is a fact. We need to be mindful of how we are helping people feel, and helping them to feel good.
U- You are part of a larger group, you are part of more than just yourself.
L- Become an Olympic listener. There is nothing more helpful than listening to another person.
I hope this was helpful!
Peace!
Harry