All tagged Mental Mindset
What would you choose?
Would you rather be happy or special?
For so many of us, our identity is wrapped up in our work, to the extent that we let it become the defining element. That’s not hard to do, especially if we think the work we’re doing is important.
Taking risks is a challenging idea when it comes to implementation.
When the rubber meets the road, and we have the opportunity to actually do something, that’s when we find out whether or not we’re actually ready.
It’s tempting to think that the right resources will help us bridge the gap, or that having the right people around us will help, or even that our own personal (decades of) expertise will be enough.
If you’re at all into football (soccer), you’ll no doubt have watched the World Cup Final yesterday.
It was, in my view, the greatest world cup final in history - with goals, drama, late comebacks and ultimately, penalties. Argentina were amazing winners and, of course, as everyone’s talking about, Lionel Messi got his World Cup, rounding out one of the most storied careers in the history of the sport.
It’s been a heck of a week (on many levels), so my head has been in a few different places the last few days.
My natural instinct in times like these is to make sense of it all, to put everything into a construct that makes sense (to me). But as I tried to do so…
It's tempting, when we've achieved some measure of success, to believe that we've arrived.
The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, counseled against this idea of "arrival" and believing we are important, as I discuss in today's episode.
Taking on challenges can be daunting. We worry about the commitment and we worry about all of the potential outcomes. In doing so, we can be tepid in our approach.
But, as I discuss in today's episode, the only way forward is as simple as it can be challenging to execute: we need to forget to be afraid.
One of the most common conversations you’ll have, as someone who manages others, is the conversation about goal achievement.
That is, what will it take to achieve our goals? What needs to be in place for us to get there? It’s a good discussion (usually) that keeps all of us grounded on the practical steps that should be taken to enable us to get to where we want to go.
We tend to think of successful people as alternate beings - people who come to their work with a mindset that is always on, always without doubt. In other words, not like the rest of us mortals.
The truth, in my view, is different. Successsful people are more like the rest of us than we think. There's just one intentional difference, as I discuss on today's episode.
There’s a golden rule that applies in all aspects of our professional lives:
Look for agnostics, not atheists.*
An atheist is someone who is convinced that there is no God, while an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves that God exists.
That’s a meaningful difference in perspective.
I've found that when I focus on the idea of the work I'm doing - as opposed to the work itself - I don't quite deliver as well as I could.
I get too caught up in the external, on the trappings than on the content. The key, as I discuss in today's episode, is to let that go and focus instead on the content itself. That's what matters.
A while ago, a good friend of mine sold his company in what was regarded by all parties as a wildly successful outcome. In a little over a decade, he had taken it from an idea to a material, profitable entity, one that was valued enough to be bought out by a major industry player.
From the outside looking in, then, every decision he ever made looked to be validated…
Forecasts and projections come with the territory, regardless of whether we’re speaking to business, social or political subjects. From new industries to climate change to our own companies, we’re desperate to know what the future holds.
What’s the potential? How long do we have? How serious is this?
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
My last episode talked about the value of the team, even when we have a star performer in our midst. Today's episode discusses the idea that, while it still is about the team, we should all strive to adopt the star performer's mentality.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I speak to the importance of being an optimist, to fight cynicism. Many view unbridled optimism as a weakness, because it requires a health measure of vulnerability. To the contrary, I believe it's a superpower.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I talk about a decision to remove someone from my LinkedIn Network because of their constant negativity. There's no point in encouraging that behavior, and in fact, I'd argue it demands a stronger response.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode closes out the month with a few thoughts on mindset and how we tend to define standards that, frankly, constrain us more than they help us, especially when we're just starting out.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode focuses on our belief systems, the boxes we tend to put ourselves in and how an interview with a famous classical musician reminded me of the need to think differently.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast take on the idea of Work From Home (WFH) and how it's changed many of our views so significantly this year. That said, I also think the idea that it's here to stay is overrated.
The ability to be present is, it seems to me, a talent. It’s a hard skill to develop and hone.
I don’t know if that’s the case for you, but it’s certainly been the case for me, something I’ve personally struggled with over the years.
Part of this is a tendency to take on multiple priorities. Part of this is a tendency to obsess over a situation or a task, to let it absorb me entirely.
If we look at who we are today, we’re really an amalgamation of the experiences we’ve gone through and the lessons we’ve taken from those experiences - lessons that have, over time, become ingrained in us.
I think of it a bit like a mental ‘patchwork quilt’ that’s been sown together over time. In some areas, the work is seamless and the colors and patterns flow naturally together. In others, though, depending on who’s done the stitching, it’s less elegant and the resulting work is jarring and ill-fitting.
