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What You Do Next
It happened. You did it again—that thing you thought you were done doing, or worse yet, that thing you thought you’d never do. We hate the feeling of that place. Engulfed in shame. Exhausted by regret. Overwhelmed by the embarrassment of what people will think. Good people. Important people. Maybe people we have hurt. People who trusted us. So now what? We’ve all had those moments. Moments of epic failure. Of embarrassment and shame. At least for me, self-loathing is not too strong a word for how I feel the moment it happens. What I want to consider today is the question of what follows that moment. What do we do next? The reason…
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Three Words
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. This quote, or one similar to it, has been attributed to several sources including Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi. Regardless of its origin, its verity is without question. Another way to think of it is “what we focus on…grows”. Or, most succinctly “as you think, so you become”. Earlier this year, I was listening to a favorite podcast, the One You Feed. It is named for the parable of the two wolves at battle within each of us.…
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It Takes a Village – Part II…or How to Find Your Village
Now where am I to find this “village” you ask…? You’re probably in a hurry, I’ll sum up. Your village will find you…if you’re paying attention…and that’s the hard part. Let’s back up… Our “villages” are no longer made up of shamans, bakers, and fish mongers who ply their trades within a reasonable walk of our huts. In the modern world, we come into contact with ideas from hundreds of sources constantly. The internet is literally a network of connections. There is no richer source of tribes and villages. Think of every app and blog, every tweet you read (or send). These are all sources of content—tenants of a virtual village. Then…
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It Takes a Village
Tell me whom you frequent, and I will tell you who you are. ~ French Proverb They say it takes a village to raise a child. What I’ve found is that it takes a village to do just about anything. Growing up, I didn’t know getting through life took a village. I thought everyone I came into contact with was competent, knowledgeable, and self-reliant…that somehow my needing help was a personal deficit. The insecurity I felt was my proof of this. Most unfortunate was that I believed that this deficit must be hidden at all costs. What I have come to learn is that self-sufficiency is a lie. Not just that it’s impossible, but…
