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Word Choice
In the months since I started writing this blog, I have occasionally been asked by acquaintances what it’s about. In the very beginning, that was difficult to answer. It wasn’t as though I began with a description and then started writing. Quite the opposite. I had something to say. So I wrote. Eventually, the most accurate description was provided by a dear friend and faithful reader. He said simply, you write about what’s important to you. Exactly. While that may seem vague, it is appropriately capacious. Thought Works posts have been inspired by everything from lackluster leadership to little green men. The common thread throughout all of them is the significance…
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Deep Roots
“I am Groot.” – Guardians of the Galaxy Walking through our neighborhood this week, my son pointed out a half-moon shape cut out of the edge of the sidewalk. He was curious as to why the sidewalk would be shaped that way. I explained that a large tree had probably grown there, and the force of the roots had buckled the original walk. A new sidewalk had been poured to accommodate the trunk. Like trees, sometimes the most visible parts of us are not our strongest. While leaves play a central role in the growth of a tree, without an established root system, a sapling will fall in a storm. Our…
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What’s In It For Me?
What’s in it for me? or WIIFM is an idea first popularized about a decade ago. From business journals to blogs, marketers were proclaiming the way to win over audiences was by explaining your product, service, or idea in the context of the individual benefit the recipient would experience. Looking at WIIFM from a different perspective, the question can also be a useful tool in personal reflection, self motivation, and drawing meaning from what we do. Instead of asking WIIFM about a future option, we reframe it to evaluate our present circumstances. Asking ourselves why we do what we do can help us connect, or reconnect, with the reasons for our choice. Like a mathematical shortcut,…
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In-Between Days
There are times when our days feel like they are all the same. Moments move past our consciousness without leaving an impression, one blending deftly into the next. They pale in comparison to the glamour of birthdays, death days, or the days a truth is revealed and changes you forever. Yet it is the in-between days that bind our lives together like a humble cement. It is on these days that we are afforded the time to practice, rest, and wait. We practice new skills, test our theories, and hone our existing talents. In-between days are made for rough drafts, sloppy copies, and trial runs. They give us time to rest. A moment to catch our breath…relax, exhale, and sit back. Resting…
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Must-Do List
Over the weekend, a friend of mine mentioned that he had sat out a recent company fire drill by slipping into the men’s room as the rest of his peers paraded out. He worked email on his laptop until they returned. He’s retiring and, as a short-timer, just didn’t feel like participating in what was probably his 50th career fire drill. In high school, we called it senioritis; symptoms included laziness, fashion negligence, and a generally dismissive attitude. This time of year seems to awaken this mindset in people regardless of whether they have a scholastic affiliation or not. There’s a certain indolence common to the onset of vacation season that seems to…
