We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor. The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.
Being Compassionate…
It’s natural to believe that everyone else is as confident, assured, and generous as you are on your very best day.
But that’s unlikely. Because everyone else is probably not having their best day at the same time.
Once we realize that the world around us is filled with people who are each wrestling with what we’re wrestling with (and more), compassion is a lot easier to find.
Joy of Learning…
We all know that thrilling feeling of learning something new — a new recipe, a new word in a foreign language, a new chord on the guitar. And yet, so many of us go through our workdays on autopilot without setting aside time to learn something new.
How can we introduce the joy of learning into our professional life?
Let’s start by taking control of what we read to better ourselves and our careers. Pay attention to what genuinely interests us, rather than relying on a website’s algorithm for recommendations or just going thru the flow.
Let’s also keep an open mind about what “counts” as learning — we can find unexpected opportunities in movies, conversations with friends, speeches, or social media feeds.
Finally, we can keep a list of what we’ve learned lately, how we’ve used that new knowledge, and what we hope to learn in the future. We can stay focused and motivated by tracking progress and setting new goals.
Taking the above steps will help us take both professional & personal learning and development into our own hands — and have some fun with it.
Happiness…
The happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others;
The happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates with moods outside their control;
But the happiness of the wise grows out of their own free acts.
-Marcus Aurelius
Anger As A Story…
Anger is imaginary. We create it through inner dialogue and imagination. We convince ourselves that we ought to be angry. Anger is a story we tell ourselves.
Instead of getting angry, try to find a solution to the perceived problem. If you can’t find one, maybe it’s not yours to find.
Work Stress Keeping You Up at Night…
Work stress is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Try these strategies during the day to avoid worrying about work at all hours of the night.
Make a to-do list. The act of writing down uncompleted tasks allows us to put them out of mind.
Keeping a journal, where you write down thoughts and feelings. Putting pen to paper can help process emotions and reduce anxiety.
Get some exercise. Physical activity — even a single instance — decreases rumination, which is often linked to insomnia.
Practice meditation. Researchers have found that even small amounts of mindful meditation (10 minutes before and after work for two weeks) helped calm racing minds and improved sleep quality and duration.
Lastly, be easy on yourself. Self-compassion can often break the cycle of negative thoughts that keeps you up.
Work stress may be inevitable at times, but these strategies can increase our ability to wake up feeling refreshed and able to tackle the biggest challenges.
Big problems in life…
When a problem appears too large, too intractable, and too unspeakable to deal with, it’s easy to give up.
There never seems to be enough time, enough resources, or enough money to make the big problems go away.
Perhaps we can start with a very small part of it. One task, one opportunity, one step.
Drip by drip, with commitment.
Those are the two hard parts. The insight to do it drip by drip and the persistence to commit to it.
Do it now or never…
Remember the thing you were deeply passionate about, what you felt you were “made for”? You still have what it takes to do it.
The truth is that no one holds the answers for your life; you must find them for yourself.
You can either dismiss this truth and end up filling your life with regret. Or you can embrace this truth and fill your life with learnings that make memorable and happy.
What will you choose? – Do it now or never
Let’s Reframe Challenges to Cope with Uncertainty…
We are all dealing with unprecedented — and seemingly endless — uncertainty right now.
While we may not have as much clarity as we like, we can avoid feeling disoriented by developing an “uncertainty capability” and reframing our outlook on the unknown.
Some common reframes include:
Learning. Let’s ask ourselves what we can learn from the situation rather than automatically viewing it as a setback.
Games. Remember that we win some and lose some.
Gratitude. Recognize what we already have and be thankful for it.
Randomness. A lot of life is random. What happens isn’t always our doing.
Without a clear end to the pandemic in sight, it’s important that we develop and sustain a healthy relationship with the things we don’t know and can’t control.
These shifts in what we think about uncertainty will help us build resilience and a positive outlook.
A Busy Mind Is Not An Open Mind…
You’re going to learn more by letting go than you will by repeating the same thoughts over and over in your mind.
You have to leave room for insight to make itself known. Your busy mind is merely keeping you busy, it’s not increasing your understanding.
Begin by letting go. Begin by trusting that the right answers will find you. Begin with an open mind.