Values
A Positive Development
When I heard that Trump had contracted the coronavirus, my first thought was the word good. This feels like a much-needed positive development for humanity and the world. It likely means fewer deaths, less suffering, and less time in pandemic mode – and perhaps less stupidity from him and his minions. So I see it…
The Relationship Frame
One interesting frame shared in the book The Courage to Be Disliked is: All problems are interpersonal relationship problems. That isn’t necessarily a true statement, but you can think of it as a lens for viewing problems. Personally I think it’s a bit exaggerated as far as lenses go. I prefer a similar but more…
Sliding Bad Habits Into Good Ones
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on Honoring Your Hidden Goals, consider that hidden goals are similar to hidden habits. In each case the hidden aspect means that some part of you is finding a way to meet a need or desire that you’re not necessarily acknowledging. When you identify hidden habits, you can also…
Honoring Your Hidden Goals
When you look back on the past calendar quarter, consider what you actually got done, even if your actions and behaviors didn’t align well with your stated goals. Your time went somewhere, so where did it actually go? Use the lens of seeing everything you did as an accomplishment, even if your main achievement was…
Checking in With Death
Serving Beyond Yourself
You could consider this a follow-up to one of last week’s posts: Are You Most Loyal to Purpose or People? I want to share another way of framing the mindset of being loyal to purpose ahead of people, especially for those who’d prefer to shift into greater loyalty to purpose. Putting purpose first isn’t dehumanizing…
Are You Most Loyal to Purpose or People?
Where is your greatest loyalty – to your purpose or to specific people in your life? This is an interesting character sculpting choice, isn’t it? If you remain loyal to the people in your life, your alignment with your purpose will be weaker. When you have a conflict between people and purpose, you’ll stick with…
Do Nice Zombies Make Worthwhile Friends?
Some people have asked me why I don’t engage with Trump supporters, try to understand them better, invite deep conversations with them, or something along those lines. I think it’s a valid question, and the answer is simple: I don’t see any real potential in such relationships. For me they all land somewhere on a…
Becoming More Resilient
Fragile Objections
Suppose you’re sitting in a Toastmasters meeting where members are practicing their speaking skills. Suppose there are about 20 members in the room, which would be pretty typical for a Toastmasters club. Now suppose you hear a fellow member give a speech that you find objectionable, and it bothers you to hear such words spoken…