Observations

Whatever your mission or goal, preparation is an essential ingredient to success, for sure. But if you find yourself entangled in a cycle of continuing to “prepare to prepare,” thinking that there’s one more thing that has to be in place before beginning, you’re just plain stuck – because there will be “one more thing” and then another and another. Believing that every iota of detail must be in place to ensure a successful outcome is a surefire way to [...]

When we encounter someone who frequently goes negative on us regarding a new rule, a change of some kind, a proposal or a certain situation, we often default to figuring out what we can do to make them happy – or at least appease them. So we start contemplating what kind of compromise we can strike, or how to better appreciate their objections and respond in a way to gain their favor. It may be though, that being oppositional is [...]

It's easy for us to become disappointed with ourselves. And although we may not share this with others, whom among us haven't, from time-to-time, compared ourselves to others -- whether it is income, looks, house size, number of cars or whatever else we deem worthy of comparison. These are worthless, pointless comparisons because there's always somebody richer and better looking, living in what looks like a palace three times the size of your place, with much fancier and more expensive [...]

If you find yourself sharing your thoughts and ideas about something important to you with someone you trust, and you’re also revealing how you intend to handle the situation, finish up with this question: Why am I wrong? It’s win-win for you. If your confidant thinks you’re wrong, they’ll tell you and hopefully set you straight; if they think you’re right, you’ll feel validated enough to go forward with your approach. Asking this question does require subordinating your ego -- [...]

It’s not that we are unaware and don’t know about it, it’s that we don’t act on it. Awareness and action -- two different things. We don’t act because we don’t know it’s a sure bet. But there’s no such thing as a sure bet. And the good things so often occur when we pull the trigger in spite of our trepidation about not knowing how it’s going to go.

We all do it, to some extent. Sometimes it’s just reflexive in response to something that’s gone wrong we feel responsible for and it passes; sometimes it’s protracted punishment because we conclude that leaving ourselves bruised and battered are our just deserts. Doing this not only hurts our head, knuckles and any other vulnerable body parts, it also serves as a worthless distraction from the task at hand. Mostly, it stops forward motion in its tracks. Probably better to learn [...]