The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.
C. Northcote ParkinsonRead
The man who is denied the opportunity of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take.
Interpretation
People tend to value the decisions they can make when they are restricted from making more significant choices.
This quote by C. Northcote Parkinson highlights the psychological tendency of individuals to assign greater importance to the decisions they are permitted to make when they are deprived of making more substantial choices. It suggests that when faced with limits, people often overvalue the limited options available to them, illustrating how human perception can be influenced by the context of control and autonomy.
In practice
In a corporate seminar about decision-making, to emphasize the importance of empowerment.
The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.
The man whose life is devoted to paperwork has lost the initiative. He is dealing with things that are brought to his notice, having ceased to notice anything for himself.
Delay is the deadliest form of denial.
Parkinson's First Law: Work expands to fill the time available.
In such doubtful matters, where you have to work as a pioneer, you must be able to put some trust in your intuition and follow your feeling even at the risk of going wrong.
Abra DeMadrigal didn't look young enough to be my sister anymore. Her sorrow weighed her down and aged her. She was still beautiful, but she looked very far away. No wonder our people had raven eyes, so distant, so sad. No matter how wise she was, my mother looked like a woman who hadn't truely believed how much evil there was in our world. Not until this moment.
Search, no matter what situation you are in. O thirsty one, search for water constantly. Finally, the time will come when you will reach the spring.
I'm often guilty of overcooking and too much arrangement and throwing too much at it. But I think as I get older, I'm learning better when to be empty and when to be full.
Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it. Many will read the book before one thinks of quoting a passage. As soon as he has done this, that line will be quoted east and west.
Complaining begets more complaints. Anger begets more anger. And optimism begets more optimism.
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