In Rearview Reflections: Paving a Future Path | Waddah AlHashmi | TEDxDilmun

Quick Overview

Dr. Waddah Al-Hashmi shares his personal formula for success, "The Lavit Equation," emphasizing that continuous learning, purpose alignment, and valuing time and impact are essential for navigating life's journey, especially when balancing professional engineering work with family responsibilities.

Key Points: Dr. Waddah Al-Hashmi introduced his personal formula for success called "The Lavit Equation," which involves continuous learning and purpose alignment. He noted that 50 years ago versus today, the difference is one decade versus two decades in terms of expected life span, emphasizing the need for continuous adaptation. A key realization for him was that his learning style was predominantly reflective, contrasting with his father's operational excellence focus. He shared a personal story about his young daughter's reaction (screaming and crying) when he tried to enforce a strict 35ml limit on her milk, highlighting the difference between rule-following and understanding purpose. The speaker stressed that time is critical, stating that humankind is losing time, and that one must align actions with purpose. He defined purpose as being a function of learning value, encompassing both tangible and intangible impacts on society, industry, friends, and family. The presentation slide displayed the Kolb Cycle of Experiential Learning: Concrete Experience -> Reflective Observation -> Abstract Conceptualisation -> Active Experimentation.

Context: Dr. Waddah Al-Hashmi, an engineer, delivers a TEDx talk at TEDxDilmun reflecting on his life journey up to age 50 and the lessons learned, particularly concerning learning, purpose, and impact. He uses personal anecdotes, including one involving his young twin children and his father's influence, to illustrate the importance of aligning one's daily activities with a guiding purpose.

Detailed Analysis

Dr. Waddah Al-Hashmi begins his talk by thanking the audience and setting the stage for reflections on his journey, noting that the pace of life has accelerated such that 50 years ago felt like 25 years today. As an engineer, he always preferred thinking in numbers, but realized that his life's equation needed a deeper purpose. He points out that his learning style is reflective, contrasting with his father, who valued operational excellence. He illustrates this difference with a story about his young daughter, who became upset when he tried to enforce a strict 35ml milk limit, teaching him that understanding the 'why' (purpose) is more important than rigid adherence to rules. He introduces 'The Lavit Equation' (likely standing for Love It, Value It, Time, Impact, or similar, though he only mentions the acronym's components later as part of his equation). He argues that whether working with younger or older people, or in academia or industry, one must focus on creating tangible and intangible value. He concludes by stressing that time is finite and that one's purpose must be clearly defined and aligned with all actions, as this alignment is the key to a meaningful life, contrasting this with rote memorization, which he struggled with as a child.