Tag Archives: The Quotable Coach

“If you want to avoid criticism, create less. If you want to avoid irrelevance, create more.”

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“If you want to avoid criticism, create less. If you want to avoid irrelevance, create more.”

—James Clear, American writer and speaker

Image from Unsplash by Jason Strull

To what degree are you a creator?

What do you and have you offered others over the years, and what feedback have you received?

Consider all the assignments you were given throughout your school years. In most cases you didn’t have the option of saying No without significant consequences.

How about your offerings on a vocational level in which some authority figure sets out the objective to be pursued?

What impact does your perspective of how others view your work have on your willingness to offer examples with your own initiative as the catalyst?

EXERCISE:

Where in your world do you withhold your creative efforts for fear of being criticized?

How would greater courage and a willingness to be vulnerable allow you to champion more of your ideas to make a bigger impact on the world?

“Generosity is not a loan to repay or a debt to settle. It’s a gift to appreciate.”

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“Generosity is not a loan to repay or a debt to settle. It’s a gift to appreciate.”

—Adam Grant, American organizational psychologist and bestselling author

Image from Unsplash by Giullia Bertelli

Adam Grant’s book, Give and Take, is one of my favorites. If you have yet to read it, today’s quote could be one of the top nuggets to summarize its wisdom.

Through his extensive research of givers, takers, and matchers, it’s the givers of the world who seem to lead the most richly rewarding lives.

Perhaps the best way to show our appreciation of the generosity of others is simply to acknowledge it.

EXERCISE:

I hope you will take Adam’s advice and give the generous people in your life your sincere appreciation for their many gifts.

What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride

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What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Copper and Wild

FULL QUOTE: “What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride? What lollipops of love do you give yourself and others to make the world a little sweeter?”

Wendy and I recently spent several days with the family of a very close friend who passed away suddenly.

During this time, family and friends from near and far gathered to acknowledge and celebrate this wonderful man.

Along with the tremendous outpouring of love and support, many of the people in attendance brought all types of treats for everyone to share as we offered sweet stories from the life of this very special soul.

EXERCISE:

How do you serve and support others in your communities facing challenging times?

What gestures and offerings ease the pain to help make life a bit sweeter?

Friday Review: Limitations

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Friday Review: Limitations

What limitations do you put on yourself and others? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“If you see the world in black and white, you’re missing important grey matter.”

 

 

 

“We all have our limitations but when we listen to our critics we also have theirs.”

 

 

Where do you ignore your limits?  How might you honor them today?

 

 

 

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

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“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

—L. M. Montgomery, 20th century Canadian author

Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan

One of my granddaughter’s favorite toys is a plastic castle from the Disney animated film Frozen.

In addition to all the lights and sounds emanating from this purple and pink fairy tale toy is the song, “Let It Go” which she plays over and over, often skipping other amusing tunes from the film.

Perhaps this repeated message is for the adults around her to leave our yesterdays behind and to start each new day with a clean slate.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life are you holding on and reliving mistakes from your past?

What are some ways you can let them go to sing or hum the song of a brand-new day?

“When we raise our hopes and lower our expectations, we establish a resilient way forward.

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“When we raise our hopes and lower our expectations, we establish a resilient way forward.”

—Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, and teacher

Image from Unsplash by Pedro Sanz

I recently looked for an easy-to-understand definition of resilience. Here is what the American Psychological Association had to offer:

Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

Seth’s view on the subject is a lot easier to understand and implement!

EXERCISE:

In what areas of life would raising your hopes and lowering your expectations boost your resilience and help you move forward?

You are just as likely to solve a problem by being unconventional and determined as by being brilliant.

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“You are just as likely to solve a problem by being unconventional and determined as by being brilliant.”

—Sir James Dyson, British inventor, industrial designer, and business magnate

Image from Wikipedia

The Dyson company was officially formed in 1987, inspired by an experience James had with a Walmart vacuum cleaner, which blocked suction and failed to perform.

Using his skills as an engineer, he took it apart, fixed the issue and took it back to the store, vowing to develop a better product for them.

It took five years and 5,127 prototypes to perfect his idea.

EXERCISE:

In what ways could you utilize more unconventional methods and greater determined effort to resolve obstacles blocking your way?

Leave some wiggle room in your days to help navigate life’s unexpected events

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Leave some wiggle room in your days to help navigate life’s unexpected events.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Eric Rothermel

When was the last time you had a doctor’s appointment that occurred on time? It’s common to be told to arrive early for most visits and even more common to be welcomed into your appointed time late.

In the past few months our need for doctor visits increased and with the help of some very understanding medical staff we found some wiggle room in their back-to-back appointment world.

One doctor’s office even went on to tell us that they intentionally block off some extra time each day for such events to accommodate the expected unexpected needs of their patients.

EXERCISE:

Where and how could your life benefit if you added some extra wiggle room in your days?

How might this buffer time reduce stress and have others around you feel more at ease?

Friday Review: Judgement

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Friday Review: Judgement

’Tis said: “Beware the Ides of March” — the judgement day for Julius Caesar. Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

“By a small sample we may judge the whole piece.”

 

 

 

 

“Punishing others is punishing work.”

 

 

 

 

“Every now and then go away. For when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer.”

 

 

 

 

 

“The more I love my wife, the more I love my life.”

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“The more I love my wife, the more I love my life.”

—Jon Gordon, American author and speaker

Barry (Many Years Ago)

 

Who hasn’t heard the phrase Happy Wife, Happy Life?

If our lives are a reflection of the five people with whom we spend the most time, this idea is worth a bit more pondering for us married folk.

Wendy and I are coming up on our 45th anniversary. Like most marriages that stand the test of time, we’ve been through a lot.

if you were to look at our wedding album you would see me with a full head of hair! If you knew us well, you might also note that none of the other couples in our wedding party are still together.

Living our vows and prioritizing each other on a daily basis keeps our relationship solid.

Being each other’s “person” is a key to all the smiles that create the happy wrinkles that come along for the ride.

EXERCISE:

Where and how often do you make your significant other your top priority?

What can you do today to demonstrate your love and live happily ever after?