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Eyes Wide Open
Both my parents were trained in the visual arts. As a child, my father would sit me down, set a mug or an apple in the center of the table, and entreat me to draw “what I saw, not what I knew”. He knew, of course, that the artistic efforts of children are based on simplified elements of the object we were trying to represent. All trees resemble lollipops. The sun is the yolk of an egg in a Lego blue sky. Fast forward 35 years, as an adult problem solver, the directive is still relevant. How do we, as adults and as leaders, “open our eyes” to address the issue actually…
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This Too Shall Pass
My friend hurt his back a couple of days ago. He had breezed through a tough workout at the gym and was doing some simple task at home when he “tweaked” his back. In the course of our conversation, I offered my sympathy and reminded him that the pain was “only temporary”. Everything is after all. Even good stuff. The temporary nature of everything is one of those proverbial good news/bad news things. Good news, it’s only temporary! Bad news…it’s only temporary. As a culture, we place considerable value on permanence. We prize owning over leasing…tenure over annually renewable contracts. We even prefer our best friends to be forever. We approach new or…
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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…
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Rule of Three
It’s been said that if you feel surrounded by three or more blockheads, the blockhead is you. (During the holidays, you might convince me to go to four; but under normal circumstances, three is the rule.) In this way, our perspective of others’ behavior is actually a helpful barometer of our own. Some people seem to stay wonderfully on the beam all the time. They don’t get rattled. They don’t “take it personally”. They are unflappable. They seem to have discovered ways to remain tolerant and kind effortlessly. I don’t think it’s effortless. Disclaimer: I’m no expert in this space…but I have learned a few things. I like you best when I’m okay with me. When…
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No Complaints
“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.” –Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture Nobody likes a whiner. Consider this…most, if not all, of the situations in your life you have had the privilege of creating. Your environs–home and work, the relationships in your life, and even the nature of those relationships are the direct or indirect results of your choices. You’re the chooser. It’s a powerful thing to look around your life and acknowledge that you chose it. At the very least, we choose our response to our situations…if not the situations themselves. Whining for…
