Category: Motivation

No Need to Be Perfect

When you are driving and a great song comes on the radio, do you find yourself singing? What if you don’t know the words? Do you hum? I think many of us do.

Life can be a lot like that. Sometimes we sing. Sometimes we don’t know the words, so we hum. Sometimes we whistle, and sometimes we just listen.

When I find myself in a situation I am not familiar with, I spend time observing. When I find myself in a situation that is familiar, but I am not sure how to proceed, I do my best to follow along. When I am in a familiar situation, it is fun to just jump in.

Even though I strive for productivity, and continuous improvement, life is not about being perfect. Life is about participation on whatever level we are able to contribute at the moment.

Next time you find yourself struggling to make progress, instead of searching for the perfect next step, just hum.

Can We Change?

“Tomorrow we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose to change.” – John C. Maxwell

I love this quote because there is so much wisdom in just fifteen words.

1. Change takes time. We must work today for what we want tomorrow. Our focus needs to be on the future. Very little permanent change occurs within one day.

2. Change is a choice. It will not occur without intent. We have the opportunity to decide what we wish to change.

3. Change is never ending. Every day we can work towards tomorrow’s goals. Incremental change has a huge impact over a lifetime of effort.

Often we stumble on these points, and we don’t change as much as we expect. We can choose to change to meet our goals in our professional life, our personal life, in our diet, our exercise, or our habits. Can we change? Each day we can strive to make ourselves better tomorrow.

Stopping the Distraction

When I agree to something I really don’t want to do, it can remain on my list of things to do for a long time. It can make me feel unproductive. It affects my attitude about my day.

It’s funny that most of these commitments are made with myself. Repairs around my house that I need to do. Emails that I intend to write. Books that I would like to read. You get the idea.

All of these open commitments slow me down. The more I have open the less agile I am during my day.

The lesson learned for me is to not accept responsibility until I am ready to take action. Instead I keep a list of all the things I need to do, but not yet ready to start.

Then I focus my priority on three to five areas that need my attention. This system makes me more effective. I accomplish more within a shorter period of time. As I complete one item, I add another from my list.

Too simple? It is easy to manage on a daily basis. Aren’t the best systems simple?

If you feel overwhelmed with all that is on your daily agenda, maybe a similar system will help you. With this approach, I am able to stop distractions and create a sharp focus.

Perspective. A Little Something Extra.

“The more we narrow the definition of beauty, the more beauty we shut out of our lives.”  – Jim C. Hines

That quote appears in a fantasy novel. In this particular section of the book,  one of the main characters is thinking about the other characters in the book. This sentence intrigues me for several reasons. First, I think it is true.

Second, it reflects a chicken or the egg puzzle. Did the author craft this part of the story to make this point, or did the author have this thought while crafting this part of the story? We may never know, but just like the chicken and the egg, we get to enjoy both. We can appreciate the story, and we can appreciate the egg.

The third reason this sentence intrigues me because it gets at a very important point about our lives. We live day to day from our own perspective. Our view of the world is unique to ourselves. If we are not aware of the limits our reality, then we are not aware of our potential. We limit ourselves. I find it important to always challenge our own thinking.

I did not expect to find this quote in this book. Many people probably have read that sentence and not spent time thinking about the implication. But it is a great example of what we can find when we take the time to pause, become aware, listen, and think.

It also shows us that not all great ideas have to come from a textbook, or a professor. There are lessons all around us.