Insanity vs. Stupidity

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. “

A narrowly-known bloke by the name of Albert Einstein stated this simple, yet profound, fact…and now it’s on the wall as I enter the agency each morning. Successful advertising often entails finding new ways to tell old stories , finding new answers to old problems , discovering fresh ideas regarding stale dogmas.

As humans, many times we get used to the same routines, the same answers, and the same ideologies. We go about doing things in the way that feels most comfortable and takes the least amount of energy. Many of us go about our daily lives expecting things to change for the better without consciously doing something to catalyze that change.

And while it’s one thing to genuinely expect different results, it’s another thing completely if you don’t expect anything different and only keep doing the same thing(s) out of convenience, comfort, or because it feels good at the time. That is what I call stupidity.

We all do stupid things sometimes. Likewise, we all create drama for ourselves that ultimately makes our lives more complicated than they already are. I would say that the majority of those things (and that drama) are done (and/or created) sub-consciously; however, there is always a point where a choice is made for the good, bad or ugly. If we stay indifferent to these choices, we unfortunately will find ourselves making bad choices a substantial amount of the time.

Do I make bad choices?! Yes. That’s just another point of developmental focus for me. I’m still growing up, but aren’t we all?!