motivation

Not Automatic

/ Scott / Leave a comment

It’s been a while since my last blog post!  I decided to take a 3week break from posting while my wife and I were traveling.  My intention was to get back at it when we returned home.  What I didn’t plan on was how non-automatic it would be to start back up.

Writing a weekly post is enjoyable.  I find I’m more observant when I know I need a topic to write about for the week.  I assumed I would automatically get back in the habit of writing a weekly post once upon my return, which wasn’t the case.  I was reminded that any discipline required action, and that discipline is, indeed, not automatic.

So that’s what I did this week; I took action to write this post.  While intentions are good, intention followed by action is where results happen. 

Is there anywhere you need to start or resume taking action?

Make An Effort First

/ Scott / Leave a comment

It’s easy to make statements declaring that we aren’t good at something, for instance, “I’m not good at remembering peoples’ names.” While that might be true, before making such declarations we should first ask ourselves, “Have I made an effort?”

This may not seem like a big deal with regard to remembering name, but the implications are much higher when, without even trying we state things like:

  • I’m not good at…
  • I’m not smart enough to…
  • I’d never be able to…

Let’s not be so quick to put lids on our potential with these limiting beliefs.  Sure, it’s easier to make declarations of our perceived incompetencies than it is to make an effort at becoming competent.  However, these declarations come at a high price as they keep us living small, unchallenged, stagnant lives.

Before deciding all the things we aren’t, let’s make an effort first to find out what we are.

That’s OK

/ Scott / Leave a comment

I have not made a blog post for the last 2 weeks… and that’s ok.

Since January 2013, I’ve been posting weekly to this blog.  I like the process of having an idea, thinking on it, and organizing that thought into a weekly post. I especially like how this process has improved my thinking, writing, and aided in my personal development.

As a result, I’ve been hesitant to skip a week because I didn’t want to “break the chain”.  The past 2 weeks, however, I intentionally decided not to write a post in order to free up some time to focus on other things.

I admit, it felt strange not to write those posts, but I also realized that it’s ok to skip a week (or 2) to make room in my schedule.

The point of this week’s post is to say that sometimes the right thing to do is to say, “No” to something good and productive, in order to say, “Yes” to something more pressing. 

Sometimes we need to say, “No”, and that’s ok.

Use It

/ Scott / Leave a comment

Last week my wife and I were walking through a wetland on a trail that lead to an Oregon beach that not many people visit. I was wearing a favorite sun hat that had a wide brim that would keep my face and neck protected from the sun. As was my habit, I did not have the chinstrap secure. This would turn out to be a big mistake.

As we were walking, a gust of wind lifted the had straight off my head. I watched in slow motion as I unsuccessfully reached for the hat, and watched it sail over a thick hedge and into a creek surrounded by a swampy inaccessible marsh. It was gone, and I wasn’t getting it back.

It’s not a big deal to lose a hat. Even though I really liked that hat, I can, and did, get another one. What was frustrating to me was that I would still have it, if I had only used the hat’s chinstrap. Chinstraps, much like seatbelts, sunscreen, and other preventative devices, can only do their job if you use them.

I’m reminded that preventative devices like, chinstraps, can’t work if we don’t use them.

Change Gears

/ Scott / Leave a comment

This week I was working on a project that just wasn’t coming together.  The task I was trying to complete became a problem solve to solve.  I worked for the better part of a day on it and still wasn’t having much success.  While I am confident I’ll find a solution, I decided it was time to change gears.

Since I was stuck on this particular task, I decided to change gears and focus on another task that involved a slightly different skillset.  It was great, because I able to make some great headway on this part of the project, while letting my subconscious work on the other task I was having trouble with.

Sometimes I find it’s helpful to focus on something else, instead of continuing to head down a dead end.  Pointing our mind in a new direction can help us gain some success and hopefully come back to the challenging task with a fresh mind ready to solve the problem.

I’m eager to see how this works for me.

Waiting For Perfect

/ Scott / Leave a comment

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of “waiting for perfect” before making a decision.  Perhaps we were waiting for the perfect scenario, circumstance, job, opportunity, or even person to show up before we committed to taking action.   In some cases, we might even be waiting for perfect from ourselves. 

This will come as no surprise: if we’re delaying action while we wait for perfect to arrive, we’ll be waiting a long time.

A better choice might be to consider good enough for now.

No, I’m not telling you to make bad choices, or to say “Yes” to dangerous or harmful people or things.  What I am suggesting is lifting the expectation of perfection in everything, and considering the very good possibilities that are now available.  You’ll find there are far more very good options than perfect ones.    

Deciding to Deprioritize

/ Scott / Leave a comment

I’ve been consistently making weekly blog posts here since January of 2013.  During that time, I’ve only missed posting 3 or 4 times, and was because I simply forgot.  Last week was the first I intentionally decided NOT to write a weekly post.  It was a busy week with too much to do and not enough time to do everything on my list, so I decided to forego the weekly blog post… and that’s OK.

While I like the discipline of putting a weekly thought into words, I equally dislike putting undue stress on myself.  I simply looked at all I had to do and did some prioritization.  Quite simply, writing a blog post last week wasn’t a high enough priority, and didn’t make the cut.

I share that story for two reasons.  First, so that you might consider letting lower priority items drop from your “To Do” list, either for the short or longer term, when you list exceeds the time you have available.  Second, so that you might not feel guilty about deciding to drop a lower priority item on your list.       

Lifting and Being Lifted

/ Scott / Leave a comment

I like encouraging people.  Whether it’s through letters, email, text, phone, in person, or through prayer, I love lifting people up.  What I’ve also been embracing the last few years is to let other people lift me up as well, especially through prayer. 

What this looks like for me is letting those close to me know what’s going on in my life.  How can someone encourage you if they don’t know what you’re facing? 

I didn’t use to do this much because I didn’t want to burden people with what I was facing.  I’ve realized that when I keep my life close to the vest, I keep others from experiencing the joy they would receive from lifting me up.   

A Quick Thought On Bringing Up Concerns

/ Scott / Leave a comment

Have you ever been in a meeting or a conversation where you wanted to bring up a concern that you had, but you didn’t?  I think we’ve all experienced something like that.  I know I have. 

If we choose not bring up a concern when we have the opportunity to do so, it’s important to remember that we are then giving up our right to complain about it later.  

Something Different

/ Scott / Leave a comment

The next time you’re trying to decide where to go out to eat, what movie to go see, or what to do over the weekend, perhaps consider trying something different.

It’s easy to default to the familiar or the “safe” choice, but new adventures, and perhaps new favorites, are potentially on the other side of a decision to try something different.