A Full-Circle Tangents Blog on Mechanics, Birds and Shortcuts

“Maybe you need to see a specialist.”

That phrase can be alarming. Whether you’re at the doctor’s office or a mechanic’s shop the phrase indicates you need expertise beyond what’s available to you at that moment. You’re going to need to invest time, money or both on a potentially complex solution.

Specialists are shortcuts. 

Specialists know the things the rest of us don’t.  They don’t have to fumble through the learning curve.  They are experts and though they can be more expensive they can also to save you time if they can cure your issue faster and better than a generalist.

When I have problems with my lungs (thanks COVID!). I go to a specialist. 

We call them pulmonologists.

When my eye sight needs a fix.  I go to a specialist.

We call them optometrists. (Hi Dr. Amy!)

What kind of bird is that?  I go to a specialist.

We call them bird-ologists or wait, I think we call them ornithologists.

When my car needs repairs. I go to a specialist. 

We call them mechanics. 

Am I mechanically inclined? No, I’m inclined to hire a mechanic.

Could I fix my car?  Sometimes. It depends on the issue and a specialist can save me time, money and honestly reduce suffering and the number of times I curse.

Tangent: I’m in awe of specialists.

Mimi from Bliss Chiro will ask “What did you do yourself?”

She can tell me what’s up with my body by just watching me walk in the door.

The ability for humans to specialize is so impressive. Expertise is so valuable and can change your life in the snap of a finger – or in this case the gentle crack of my back. I go from in pain and restricted to loose and healing in 15 minutes.  And Dr. Mimi finishes each session with a kiss on the forehead that fills my heart.

If I’m inclined to do anything it’s to enlist the expertise of a specialist.

Full-Circle: Are you happy and fulfilled at work, at home and in your community? If not, maybe you need a specialist like a happy-ologist.  I don’t think that’s a real type of “ologist” but the study of happiness is real and the findings are extraordinary.

So how is the study of happiness defined? The simple definition of “the study of those things that make life worth living” is pointed and comes from the late Positive Psychologist Chris Peterson.  That phrase is so simple but so perfect.  But Positive Psychology is more than just the “study of” because we need solutions to the symptoms.

Like with a headache you don’t always understand the root cause (bloodflow, dehydration, tequila) you’re experiencing only the symptoms. I understand the underlying symptoms of your happiness headache and can offer solutions tailored to your challenges. So call me a shortcut, a Happyologist, a Sherpa of Satisfaction, a Positive Psychology Practitioner. 

No matter what else you might call me – call me a specialist and let me be your shortcut.  What makes living is what we need to focus on. And that is my focus, my expertise.  I call it Focus on the 40.

Anthony Poponi is a Corporate Trainer, Coach, Motivational Speaker and author of “Focus on the 40” specializing in improving team dynamics, communication and productivity for teams and individuals. His work is based on the research in the fields neuroplasticity, positive psychology, and leadership to focus on a flourishing life.