How do you define and react to failure? Here are a few failure-related posts you may have missed.
“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”
“If you call failures experiments, you can put them on your resume and claim them as achievements.”
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What does it mean to live a good and meaningful life?
How important is it for you to be kind, thoughtful, generous, and of service?
Where do you see yourself on the saint-to-sinner spectrum of human behavior?
Many of us look at life and others with a critical eye. We often make comparisons to justify our predominate good-deed-doing status, and give ourselves pretty good marks on most days.
How many “brownie points” it takes to get into Heaven, no one knows. Keeping score of other’s sins is unlikely to increase your chances. Finding fault may actually be the type of sin we all should avoid.
How can and will you more fully express your values through virtuous actions?
Where and how can you more fully seek and find the saintly efforts within your personal and professional communities?
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In today’s quote, Epictetus suggests there are seven clear functions of the mind.
Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman break each of them down in the following manner in their book, The Daily Stoic:
Choice: to do and think right
Refusal: of temptation
Yearning: to be better
Repulsion: of negativity, of bad influences, and what isn’t true
Preparation: for what lies ahead or whatever might happen
Purpose: our guiding principles and highest priorities
Assent: to be free of deception about what is inside and outside our control (and be ready to accept the latter)
Consider printing this post out to work on and think through one of these functions of the mind each day. This exercise could be a crash course in Stoicism in itself.
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Take a look at the past year. What was your level of productivity? What results were achieved and where did you come up short regarding your expectations? How often did you feel like giving up?
We all desire to see our actions pay off, and taste the sweet fruits of our efforts. We also know that sometimes the weather and circumstances of our lives can be harsh. Like trees, we sometimes need to conserve and reserve our energy to stay alive for the coming season.
Acknowledge yourself and others who found the courage and strength to withstand the elements of this past year, regardless of the harvest.
Consider picking up a copy of THE DIP (A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit and When to Stick), by Seth Godin.
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How much do you know about the California Gold Rush? Although about 750,000 pounds of gold were discovered, only a small percentage of the 300,000 people who participated in the rush found their fortune.
At the beginning of the rush, there were no property rights laws in the goldfields, and a system of “staking claims” was developed. James Wilson Marshall recalled his discovery while working to build a water-powered sawmill on January 24, 1848. He was noted as saying, “It made my heart thump.”
How can you more fully claim the richness in life by discovering the golden nuggets in each and every day? I hope you have a heart-thumping day!
What are your favorite topics to explore? When has exploration made a significant difference in your life? Here are a few exploration-related posts you may have missed.
“We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.”
“Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.”
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What is your natural reaction when someone yells at you? Consider your childhood and your interactions with parents, teachers, or other authority figures. For many, such verbal attacks cause the receiver to shut down and back off.
During a counseling session in the early years of my marriage, I was told by our very kind and perceptive advisor that when my wife disagreed with my perspective, I simply raised my voice and said the same things, only louder. This approach silenced my message and often resulted in raised voices on both sides.
Speaking quietly to be understood and of course seeking to understand one another has helped support our successful marriage of 41 happy years.
Where is too much yelling occurring in your world? Where and with whom would calmer, quieter voices help us hear one another better?
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What are your dreams for 2021? To what degree are they still unshaped or in a formative state?
What projects have you already begun, and where are you tentatively waiting to take that first move?
How hopeful do you feel about your ability to influence and impact the future in your various personal and professional communities?
Where are you holding back to dream, to begin, to hope?
How can and will you courageously and passionately release your fullest potential to realize the possibilities and opportunities that await?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of my favorite books. I have read and re-read it many times. Over the years, I’ve discovered its wisdom and brilliance goes deeper and becomes even more relevant.
Habit Number Six, SYNERGIZE, points to the combining or coordination of the activities of two or more agents to produce a joint effect greater than the sum of their separate parts.
Where have you seen examples of synergy in your communities during this past year?
Where have you seen examples of the opposite, where groups appear to be divided or even at war with one another?
Where, how, can, and will you choose to take a synergistic leadership role to bring people together to fulfill a worthy purpose?
Image from Unsplash by Ben White
How are reading and reflecting a bit like eating and digestion?
Depending on what you read, you may consume both good and not so good nutrients. Just like reading the labels on packaged foods, we all need to be more discerning as to what we take into our minds as well as our bodies.
With many having made resolutions to be healthier and fit in 2021, we could all more carefully reflect on concepts worthy of digesting and assimilating into our lives.
How would greater selectivity in your reading and far more thoughtful reflection help you lead a more wonderful and wiser life?