“Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered. We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%.” ThinkingShouldEvilOpportunityStrongForgetWorryAmountWasteNegativeProgramRootsImpactCriticalSpeedEnormousEfficiencyProgrammersMaintenancePrematureOptimizationDebugging Author:Donald Knuth
“Competition can be viewed in two ways. It can be viewed in a negative light and be seen as destructive, but one can also have the view that it is competition that drives people and institutions to higher and higher levels of excellence and, therefore, to more and more opportunity.” PeopleWayTwoLightOpportunityLevelsViewsHigherNegativeInstitutionsCompetitionExcellenceDestructiveTwo WaysHigher Level Author:Lee R. Raymond
“Relief is a great feeling.It's the emotional and physical reward we receive from our bodies upon alleviation of pain, pressure and struggle. A time to bask in the lack of the negative.And yet, think about it—relief is really the status quo, a negation of the suffering, a nothing in itself. It is the way things were before the pressure and struggle began.So, is it a step back? A regression?Or is it an opportunity to regroup, start over, and move in a different direction?Use your moment of relief well.” ThinkingWayWellsDifferentMomentsUseFeelingsBodyPainMovingSufferingOpportunityStepsStruggleEmotionalNegativePressureRewardsReliefStatus QuoStarting OverYour MomDifferent DirectionsNegationGreat FeelingsRegressionPain Relief Author:Vera Nazarian
“Since you are "in the market," you need to set standards of what you are seeking in a partner and in a relationship. Dating is not simply a prelude to a committed relationship or marriage. Dating is an opportunity to evaluate whether the person you are dating is a good candidate for you. You need to pay attention to your partner's positive and negative characteristics. Ask yourself whether you could live with this person for the rest of your life.” NeedsPersonsAsksOpportunityPayAttentionStandardsNegativeDatingCommittedSeekingPartnersPay AttentionCharacteristicsCandidatesRest Of Your LifeEvaluatePreludeCommitted Relationship Author:David Price
“If you view everything through the lens of fear, then you tend to stay in retreat mode. You can just as easily see a crises or problem as a challenge, an opportunity to prove your mettle, the chance to strengthen and toughen yourself, or a call to collective action. By seeing it as a challenge, you will have converted this negative into a positive purely by a mental process that will result in positive action as well.” IfsWellsProblemActionOpportunityProcessChallengesChanceResultsViewsSeeingProveNegativeCrisisCollectivesRetreatLensesCollective ActionMettle Book:The 50th Law Source: The 50th Law
“To say that a schlemiel is a luckless person is to touch only the negative side. It is the schlemiel's avocation and profession to miss out on things, to muff opportunities, to be persistently, organically, preposterously and ingeniously out of place. A hungry schlemiel dreams of a plate of hot soup, and hasn't a spoon.” PersonsDreamOpportunitySidesMissingNegativeHotLuckProfessionHungryPlatesSoupSpoonsHot Soup Author:Maurice Samuel