How willing are you to apologize? How well do you accept apologies? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”
“Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”
Who in your life deserves a sincere apology and a shift in your behavior?
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We’ve all heard the phrase If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything.
This concept has served me well over the years when it pertained to other people. It works well — except when eye rolls and our body language betray us.
Turning this idea on ourselves is bit more difficult. It seems impossible to stop our inner critics and an external speaker isn’t necessary to deliver the bad news.
EXERCISE:
How often do you catch yourself talking to yourself?
How kind or critical are you during these inner dialogues?
What positive triggers can you put in place to send a little more kindness your way?
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What are your thoughts about the statement You get what you expect? How do your own personal and professional results align with your expectations?
I am all about the power of positivity when and only when our efforts are consistent with our thinking.
In my observations and in lots of social science studies there seems to be a strong correlation between the harder we work, and the luckier we get.
EXERCISE:
How and where is it necessary to up your level of effort to match the expectations you have for yourself?
Where would raising your expectations and your level of effort be in order?
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Today’s quote sends us all on a treasure hunt, challenging us to explore our inner and outer worlds to see what truly offers heartfelt contentment.
What aspects of your life feed and keep you fed — body and soul?
In today’s media-flooded world, many of us have been brainwashed into the myth of having it all. So many of us play this game only to find that long-term satisfaction and contentment eludes us.
Having what we want versus wanting what we have is a perspective worth a closer look.
EXERCISE:
What aspects of your life are essential for you to close your eyes at night with a contented heart?
How many of these treasures are already in your possession?
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Just before 7:00 each morning you can find me playing Wordle. I consider it a form of cerebral stretching that helps me warm up my mental muscles. My interest in its statistical feedback is one of the reasons I haven’t missed a day in over a year.
In the early stages of my Wordle-ing efforts it often took more attempts to solve each puzzle. On a number of occasions, I failed completely.
Every few months I evaluate my progress with some grade school arithmetic to get a broader view of my running average score.
EXERCISE:
Where would taking a broader view of your track record over time serve you best? What critical lessons have your learned? What motivates you to keep going when you occasionally stumble or fall?
How do you define courage? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: Turn Back!”
“Follow your heart but take your brain with you.”
Take your own yellow brick road and meet your own inner wizard.
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What did you want to be when you were a kid? Who were your heroes, and how often did you imagine being them?
What about these days?
How often do your thoughts detour to trading places with the rich and famous? If you were to find a magic lamp, how would you use those wishes to swap out your life for some alternative picture of perfect?
Where do you currently feel the pangs of envy and jealousy?
Who are the people you actually know that seem to have it all? How do you feel around them when your habit of making comparisons kicks in?
EXERCISE:
Take a closer look at your life.
If possible, dig below the surface of your initial superlative assessments of others.
Perhaps they may actually be a bit jealous of you.
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When I was eleven, I started my first business.
My dad loaned me $75 to buy a Sears Craftsman lawn mower, and I got busy knocking on all the neighborhood doors.
Prior to my gas-powered efforts, I used one of those rotary mowers that would always get clogged with grass if it was too long or wet. After one multi-hour effort on a neighbor’s neglected lawn with only three dollars to show for it, my rotary mower was history.
Where in your life have you and do you trade your time for money?
Where over the years have your learned to use your money to more efficiently and effectively allocate your time?
EXERCISE:
Where and in what ways have you learned that time is the coin of life? In what ways can you spend and invest it more wisely? How can you use your money and other resources to get far more bang for your bucks?
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Do you or have you participated in winter activities such as skiing or sledding? Although I tried my hand at skiing in my late teens and made it down a few bunny slopes, sledding was my thing as a kid.
When our wintry prayers were answered for snow days, I was out the door with my friends to visit venues we named Suicide Hill and Dead Man’s Drop.
As fast as we would race down each run, we would immediately dart right back up each incline again and again, holding on tight to our flexible flyers, snowboards, and toboggans.
We couldn’t get enough and only frozen toes, growling stomachs, and looming darkness would have us head home.
EXERCISE:
How many good runs have you had in your life? What intentions and actions are you planning and taking to make the most of every day you wake up to see the sun?
Image from Unsplash by Towfiqu Barbhuiya
Of all the coaching tools I’ve come to value most over the years, one is the good old open-ended question.
I love that the trigger words of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How allow us to dig deeper into answers that can differ widely for each person.
When we combine questions like these in sequence with sincere interest and honorable listening, we often discover many of life’s most important answers.
EXERCISE:
Consider picking up a copy of The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stainer or A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger to help you and others live into the answers of your life.