If life is a game, then most of us are racking up points…on the wrong net. Even the most enlightened of us fixate on getting more money, recognition, and safety. We believe that we should maximize these so that we can–at last–have more happiness, freedom, and growth. “When I have this many dollars/this position/this situation, […]
Whether when musing about the news or choosing our next job/project, we can trip up thinking that we are here to change the world. We’re not. There’s something more delicious for us to do: change our world. The world is too distant, distracting, and depressing. It’s full of spiky obstacles, shiny objects, and competing ideologies. […]
A recent social media post that reminded me of my son Adam’s natural confidence. Whatever you do today, do it with the confidence of a 4-year old in a Batman shirt. He was that 4-year old and happily remains confident as young man. To some of us, confidence may seem a bit selfish or egotistic. […]
Albert Einstein, on being congratulated that an experiment had confirmed a prediction in his theories of relativity, said, “No amount of experimentation will ever prove me completely right, but one new fact can prove me completely wrong.” Certainty should be reserved for things which are eternally, unquestionably true. Not much meets this criterion. Let’s adopt […]
Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds. Napoleon Hill Hmm. All in our minds, eh? We can certainly find plenty of evidence that says our problems are out there, not in here. We might be right but is it helpful? Try this. Ask, “What’s the worst that could happen if […]
Here’s something that we know and sometimes forget: one door closing causes infinite other doors to open. The joy is in the choosing. “What now?” is a delicious question. Then, having chosen, the joy is in choosing to appreciate what we have chosen. Another word for this is love. In your corner, Michael
Here’s a helpful rule of thumb: head towards fear, discomfort, or tension. Not to abuse yourself (“gotta take my lumps, must work hard”), not to assert your will over anything (how silly), but to get the gift. There is always a gift hiding in there. And the gift makes things easier. In your corner, Michael
No dark fate determines our future. We do. Each day and each moment, we are able to create and re-create our lives and the very quality of human life on our planet. I love the core of joy, hope, and strength in this quote from the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. Feel it? May your […]
The word commiserate comes from Latin: “Com-” meaning with + “miserari” meaning to lament (from “miser” which means wretched). We have a habit of commiserating. We respond to others’ disconnected, low-buzz state by disconnecting ourselves. When someone is miserable, we join them. If we don’t, they get more miserable. If we do, then we are […]
Most of our time at work we focus on Do: getting done all the stuff that needs to be done. This is sometimes called Execution. We rightly invest time, energy, and money improving our Do. Sometimes, we pull back to examine What we should be doing (and why we should do it). This is sometimes […]