Fun with the Seven Deadly Sins

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

By the time you finish reading this I am hoping you will see that there can be fun and utility with the Seven Deadly Sins. Up front I will say there is no theological agenda in writing this, as well as no disrespect at any level. 

Most of us have heard of the Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, which have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians regarding people's tendency to sin. The sins have changed over the centuries but currently they are: 

1. wrath: strong, stern, or fierce anger
2. greed (avarice): intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food
3. sloth: reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness
4. pride (vanity): excessive admiration of one's own appearance or achievements
5. lust: very strong sexual desire
6. envy: a feeling of discontent aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck
7. gluttony: habitual greed or excess in eating

Before I continue I will want to point out that Scientific America MIND dedicated a special issue to The Seven Deadly Sins - Turn temptations into a source of strength (November/December 2013 issue). This magazine focuses on Behaviour, Brain Science and Insights and is affiliated with Scientific America so I think it is fair to say that there is credibility with using the Seven Deadly Sins for insights into business thinking and anything else that strikes your fancy - I thought I would throw this out there for anyone asking themselves, "Where the hell is he going with this?"

Up front I will let you know my deadly sin is Envy... yes the little green monster. I have come to a point where I laugh at it now, as there is nothing that I have to envy in a practical sense  - But I still catch myself.

As I mentioned, I have found great fun and utility with the Seven Deadly Sins and want to share some of them with you. First of all they simply are fun as a conversation starter or even a party game - All you have to do is ask, "What would you say your Deadly Sin is?" More often than not people have heard of them but there is always some clarification as to what they are... I have been playing this game for years and always struggle with remembering the seventh myself. It is in the answers that are both fun and telling; not so much with regards to which sin a person picks but how they go about articulating it. I have had people tell me they don't have any sins. I then just smile and wonder if they are not self actualized enough, even at this playful level, to pick one, or are they so insecure that they do not want to admit a fault. We all have a sin so it's not really the point as to if you have one or not... the point are the specifics and that makes it fun.

So now you have a new party game but lets consider this in a more professional setting - For example as an interview question. Like the party game, I am more interested in whether a person  answers the question with a sin or avoids the one word answer with some justification that they really have no "sins". For me, this is an indicator of self-actualization or reflection and not being confident enough to highlight a personal challenge. With the articulation of a sin, like a perceived weakness, it then allows for the obligatory discussion as to how the person is addressing the weakness. Lets take me for instance... with envy, and I will say up front, it is one of the nastier sins, it has allowed me to strive and stretch harder to overachieve goals as well as learn how to turn my envy into a benign entity instead of something that is destructive.

Ultimately this is why I like the "Seven Deadly Sins Game": In a very simple way, it forces us to look at who we are, our triggers and biases. This can better help us understand ourselves as well as develop checks and balances particularly when we are looking at situations with a critical and objective eye...be it individually or with our teams.

gpe

PS: Check out the Robin Hood Game.... it is also fun and insightful. Click Here

In case of emergency, break glass and read...

When you find yourself standing alone; fighting the good fight on three fronts, doing what you believe to be right, when only you see it, and exhausted to the point of redefining sleep deprivation?  For you...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." *

and this...

"I know you are taking it in the teeth, but the first guy through the wall... he always gets bloody... always. This is threatening not just a way of doing business... but in their minds, it's threatening the game. Really what it's threatening is their livelihood, their jobs. It's threatening the way they do things... and every time that happens, whether it's the government, a way of doing business, whatever, the people who are holding the reins - they have their hands on the switch - they go batshit crazy." **

and finally this...

"For a seed to achieve it's greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction. ***

gpe

* Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic"delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910 by Teddy Roosevelt

** John Henry speaking to Billie Beane in the movie MoneyBall

*** Cynthia Occelli

Movember - raising the awareness of a fundamental flaw.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I will put it out there and say that there is a fundamental flaw with human nature and most definitely with being a man ...it goes something like this : "that won't happen to me", "I don't have time for being sick so it won't happen", "cancer happens to other people not me", "I don't want to know", "I don't need a map... I know the way" ... "deep down I'm strong; I'm a white knight who will not be knocked off his horse".

Mish-mash this together in any combination you want but men just don't think it will happen to them or if it does... "my super human strength will beat it".

Understand the fundamentals of Cancer.

News "fucking" flash for my brethren... cancer will touch you either directly or indirectly in your lifetime!!! You can not sidestep it,  IT IS A PROBLEM.

Up front I will say my sister, as  my well as my oldest friend passed away from cancer recently and way before their time -  so this is a sensitive topic for me. This is what I know from the experience - it is a disease that is relentless and will take everything away from you without mercy... I also know that the more you know about cancer (see video), its prevention and early detection the more you will be in a position to deal with it if it comes knocking.

So now we get to Movember - here's some quick facts for future dinner party chit chat.

In 2003, two guys from Melbourne, Australia, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, were having a beer (or two) at the Gypsy Bar when their conversation turned to fashion trends and where the moustache had gone - they joked about bringing it back. As with guys and beer, the conversation led to a "thing", and the "thing" led to a "lets do it", which then manifested itself into growing facial hair and formally supporting prostate cancer as a cause. (I was not there but I am familiar with where two guys and some beer can lead)

• About 1 man in 7 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.
• In North America 256,000 men will be diagnosed with prostrate cancer in 2014
• In North America 34,500 men will die from prostrate cancer in 2014

The Movember message has moved away from just Prostrate Cancer to a broader Men's Health message and in the grander scheme of things it is heightening awareness about cancer in general, because as we know, cancer pays little mind to gender, race, creed, religion, political stripes as well as if you are good or bad. It is very equal opportunity that way.

So cancer is a Big Problem - and with all problems, it needs to be understood so it can be dealt with it... here we are back at the fundamental flaw I speak of. 

So Gentlemen, spend a little time understanding what cancer is (and what it isn't), have regular physicals (particularly the Canadians, with our socialized medicine and all), consider donating to cancer research (the cost of a weeks worth of coffee) and know as a community we can keep beating cancer back.

Ladies, if you happened to know any "flawed gentlemen" please pass this on.

gpe