A long time ago I read the biography of the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. This story led me to curiously find and read Musashiâ??s own strategy book, called â??Book of Five Ringsâ?? (Go Rin No Sho). Musashi developed the skill of fighting with a sword in each hand. He also had a list of seemingly simple recommendations for the reader. Among the recommendations that Musashi had which stuck into my mind was the advice:
Know your favorite tools and techniques for key tasks without getting overly attached to any one
This advice is on the surface extremely simple. We can all intuitively understand the importance of not getting stuck in a rut, learning new things, challenging our established beliefs and principles. BUT this is not an easy thing to do. We are (or at least I tend to be) simple solution people. We identify a problem from memory and apply the same solutions from the past – even if these did not work so well then.
This philosophically sound advice is important. But on a simpler level â?? I miss my mac. After having handed it in for repairs I have been using a loaner. Itâ??s a great machine. Itâ??s an IBM â?? I shouldnâ??t be complaining. But I miss my mac. I realize that it is not the actual software solutions that I miss. What I miss is the familiarity of the tool I am accustomed to.