Excuse = Reason = Story
Excuses, reasons and stories are synonyms. But people relate to these words in very different ways. People don’t feel good when they feel they are providing an excuse. They’d much rather prefer if their response was considered a reason. And we adore telling stories, especially to ourselves! At the end of the day, you are […]
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
It is not helpful. In fact, it is probably the worst possible way to use your energy. Beating yourself up because you haven’t met arbitrary expectations you’ve set of yourself is such a waste. And yet strangely, on some level you may feel it is useful. It’s not. There are so many other ways to […]
Don’t Have One Routine. Have Many.
Sometimes when we try to make changes in life, we focus on creating a perfect routine. But what happens when something happens outside of this routine? What happens if you need to wake up an hour earlier to catch a flight? Or if you can’t make the gym of an evening? Or something critical happens […]
10 Star Experience
When the founders of airbnb were launching their platform, they did a very cool exercise to enhance the experience for the users. It’s commonly accepted that “5 stars” is the highest standard. But the founders asked what a 6 star experience could look like. And then a 7 star. Then 8. And they kept pushing. […]
100% is easier than 99%
When we want to make a change, our energy and motivation are highest at the moment of commitment. Unfortunately it then subsides as we are tested through familiar patterns. The sentiment that “100% is easier than 99%” can be a great way to clear these initial hurdles when a commitment is made. It means that […]
Encourage Means “Give Courage”
When you encourage someone, you are not persuading them to simply take an action or perform a task. You are not giving praise or trying to get them to do something they may not want to do. Encouragement is the act of inspiring someone to live through their heart. It is tapping into their inner […]
Capture First, Then Action
Here’s another gem from Getting Things Done. When you’ve got a heap of tasks that need doing but don’t know where to start, get them all out of your head first. Don’t perform any actions until you have finished this brain dump. The reason is because too often we will try to action things in […]
Your Day Isn’t Written-Off By One Event
You’ve just had an amazing day! You were in a state of flow, you were loving the impact you were having on the people around you, and you were just rocking life. But then something happens on your way home from work. You remember there was an appointment you had set and now it’s too […]
Calories Consumed < Calories Burned
That’s the secret to losing weight. Burn more calories than you consume. That’s it. You don’t need a self-help book on the New York Times Best Sellers list. You don’t need the latest fab diet. You don’t need the hottest workout craze. You just need to figure out a system that works for you every […]
Standing in line for coffee
I really enjoy coffee. It’s such an immersive experience – the aroma, the taste, the sound of the beans grinding, the anticipation of the first sip! But recently I’ve begun questioning if this enjoyment has become a vice. And I can recall exactly the moment this happened. Do you know what happened? I was standing […]