Instead of a sugar-filled candy bar, have a sugarless protein bar. Instead of driving 80mph on the freeway, slow it down to 70mph. Instead of scrolling through an endless stream of Facebook posts, search for a long-ago friend and say hello. Instead of making a fun-filled purchase, pack up a piece of clothing you really like, and drop it by Goodwill. Instead of an angry, profanity-laden response to someone, take a couple of deep belly breaths, and jot it down [...]
Want to give yourself a gift to get 2021 off to a good start? Choose a fear that's been dogging you, and devote some time to vanquishing it. Seek help if warranted. Fears are notorious for masking talent, impeding progress, and are the worst energy suckers ever! Have a candid face-to-face with what scares you, and do a dive into its underlying cause. Conquering a fear is one of the most liberating accomplishments we can experience.
Each and every one of us knows this – from experience, and for sure, from good old common sense. Are the reactions of the naysayers weighing on you? If yes, what to do about it? How do you respond? It doesn’t do any good at all to know that you can’t please everyone and not proceed to use that knowledge to do your best work for those you can please.
One day while listening to a podcast discussing effective strategies for using affirmations in our lives, I typed up these words on a simple 8.5x11 sheet of printer paper in a large, bold font: Today Will Be A Fabulous Day, Because I Will Make It So! I taped it to a desk speaker directly in my line of sight. I didn’t put a lot of thought into doing this as I perceived it as a mere experiment, but now I [...]
Worry happens when we focus too much on outcomes instead of process when it comes to doing or accomplishing something. It can emanate from general pessimism, a lack of confidence, past failures that were never resolved or concern with things outside of our control. To clear your deck of worry, do the following: Get a stack of post-it notes. Grab a note and write this: “I am absolutely exaggerating the number of monsters under my bed and the extent to [...]
I write often about decision-making in my blogs and articles; how it’s wise, I believe, not to dawdle when making them because rarely is a decision something from which we can’t someway recover. But might there be exceptions? I got to thinking about bad decisions and what influences our doing so. Two reasons: We’re in a big hurry and don’t take an adequate amount of time to process all the nuts and bolts of the incoming information. More often the [...]
For all of us – at least from time-to-time – there’s a gap between where we are now, and where we believe we ought to be or want to be. It’s a space between our current reality and our future possibility. Think of this space as vast and expansive as the Pacific Ocean and you’ll be immobilized, stuck in the present situation. Refuse to look at it at all and you’ll be ensconced in the bosom of denial, and just [...]
The pessimist sees what’s happening today, but expects only an eventual drop-off. After all, the glass is already half empty, so it’s bound to develop a crack, with the contents eventually leaking out all over the place. The future is only going to get worse. […]
Fear that we experience day-to-day is most often imagined. This is because in the mostly civilized society in which we live and function, we’re not often confronted by imminent danger and threat – mobilizing the flight-or-flight response. So when fear arises in non-dangerous situations, the emotional sensations that result are perception-driven and not governed by any objective reality, as we’re not actually in harm’s way. […]
Do the following: First determine whether or not you’ve identified the entire scope of the issue or problem. You don’t want anything hanging on the periphery to go unnoticed as that will slow the solution process. Notify everyone affected by the miscue. If this is just a few folks, pinpointing them should be relatively easy; if it’s a sizeable number of people, start comprising a list, search your database or contact management system and go from there. Take FULL responsibility [...]
