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The Sky in the Morning
It’s been said that we see what we look for. And, it’s true. For example, when you decide you want a new Jeep, it seems that only Wranglers and Rubicons fill the roads… Another way to think of this adage is that we see what we attend to. Considering the degree to which our thoughts inform our perceptions, becoming intentionally attentive is powerful. And yet, to be deeply attentive is not easy in a world of distraction. Giving our attention to one thing necessarily limits our ability to attend fully to another. Like the fallacy of multi-tasking, we simply cannot focus totally on two things at once. Even the way we talk about it, paying attention, reinforces the idea that being attentive comes…
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Relevance
“I’m just trying to matter.” – June Carter Cash From the habits of favorite pets…to tales of audacious entitlement…to sharing existential beliefs, there is nothing like a 5-hour car ride to fuel a lively conversation. On a recent trip home from volunteering in Louisville, KY at the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference, my travel companion and I wandered into a conversation about the underlying need that all humans have to be relevant. He started it, stating matter-of-factly, “Of course, everyone has a need to be relevant.” As though it was the most basic of common knowledge. And while I agreed with the premise that we all want to be relevant, I had not though of it in…
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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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Swimmers
Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own heart. –Albert Einstein Swimming is not intuitive for most humans. Our physiology isn’t designed for it–no webbing or gills. And yet…with a longing for water, we learn to swim. We practice. We take lessons and swim laps. Until, the unnatural becomes natural. Knowing our own opinion and expressing it, can require a similar discipline. With competing voices seeking our loyalty, it is at times difficult to discern our own preferences. If we are able to sort through the clamor to a singular idea or focus, there comes a second challenge…expressing it. Not all corporate waters are welcoming pools. Some are the organizational equivalent…
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Conditional Statements
“If we can get the funding, this project will make a huge impact on the community.” “If she is willing to work for it, the job is hers.” “If he will devote the time, the results will be remarkable.” Very often, the outcome we want follows an “if”. Sometimes, it’s glossed over…or phrased slightly differently. Sometimes, it’s only implied. But with most affirmative conclusions (aka solutions), there is a conditional phrase that precedes them. What’s tricky about conditional statements is that it’s the outcome that frequently dominates our focus . We rush through the underlying requirements to allow our minds to reflect lovingly on our desired outcome. “Once the funding is allocated, we can really…
