It’s been three years since I last updated my blog, The Written Nerd. I can’t tell you why I stopped writing; as I’m sure all of you can relate, it’s not a conscious decision. It simply happens, until I realize that hey, I really do enjoy writing.
An excellent tip I hope to incorporate in my daily routine: Focus on enhancing personal energy rather than lack of time.
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Burned-out is easy. Neglect your energy and you’ll go out like an unstoked fire. Fire always cools without fuel.
Ten years ago, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz wrote, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. It still sells like hotcakes. They wrote:
“The number of hours in a day is fixed,
but the quantity and quality of energy
available to us is not.”
Those who care about performance fuel their own fire.
“Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency
of high performance.” Loehr and Schwartz
If you can’t name five things you habitually do to fuel your fire, I predict you’ll soon be ashes. Annual vacations don’t count. I’m talking weekly or daily routines.
12 ways to fuel your own fire:
- Stop trying to control others. Few things drain energy more than trying to make others…
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A different outlook on how to find one’s passion can be quite helpful!
Everyone says, “Follow your passion.” But what if you can’t find it?
Find your passion; don’t wait for it to find you.
Discontent:
Pick the scab of dissatisfaction. Hidden passion often lurks under the surface of discontent. Explore what you don’t like.
What don’t you like about you? Forget what you don’t like about the world. Passion to write Leadership Freak, for example, grew out of disappointment within me – about me.
Explore what you don’t like about what you don’t like?
Comforters kill passion. They’re enemies. Reject comfort. Find passion by following pain. Burning discontent guides. Those close to you feel compelled to help you feel better. They should help you feel worse.
Strength:
Follow your strength if you can’t find your passion. Give your abilities to others. This option falls way below following pain, but if you don’t feel dissatisfaction, try it.
Passion isn’t found in current…
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Something we can use in our real life relationships, and not just in business. Put away your inner curmudgeon today! 😀
The problem with the pursuit of excellence is there is no done, only better.
Done satisfies. Move on. Yes!
There is no check box in the pursuit of excellence.
The second challenge with the pursuit of excellence is feedback. Excellence demands feedback but feedback begins in the past. Beware, the past sucks in like black holes.
Danger of “should have”:
“Should have” is the language of regret. “You should have…,” puts down.
“Should have” corrects the past; something impossible to do. “We should have…,” belittles past wisdom, effort, and passion.
Should-have-leaders honor critics and, in so doing, create more critics. “You’re right, I should have…,” is an invitation for second-guessers, nay-sayers, and critics. You get what you honor.
Next time:
“Next time” is better than “should have.”
“Next time” honors participants and ignores critics.
Next-time-leaders:
- Honor effort, learning, and progress.
- Build platforms for future initiatives.
- Look to the future…
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Another great post by another great WordPress blogger!
We’ll all be old one day, Lord willing. So today, let’s treat the elderly as we would want to be treated: With patience, kindness, and love.
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.
But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about Grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his…
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This is a reblog by one of my favorite bloggers on WordPress. Even though it’s directed towards folks in leadership positions, I’ve often found the advice he gives out to be hella useful for pretty much everyone and generally every kind of situation.
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If you grapple with self-doubt, keep reading. If you don’t grapple with it, you’re dangerous.
Experts sing, “Believe in yourself,” However, unquestioned self-belief produces self-serving leaders who won’t adapt.
Tom Petty captures the experience of many in, “Saving Grace,” when he sings, “You’re confident but not really sure.”
Confident but not sure is better than blind belief.
Self-doubt has its benefits. Robert Sutton in, Good Boss Bad Boss, says, “The best bosses dance on the edge of overconfidence, but a healthy dose of self-doubt and humility saves them from turning arrogant and pigheaded. Bosses who fail to strike this balance are incompetent, dangerous to follow, and downright demeaning.”
Move forward in spite of doubt.
Worry if you’re not worried.
Believe in yourself enough to bring self-doubt with you into decisions and commitments. “The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one…
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This story reduced me to tears. So sweet, the innocence of a child..
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, “Hi there.” He pounded his fat baby hands on the high-chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He then, wriggled and giggled with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but…
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The Receptionist Disintegration
Today (or yesterday, for those of you in the future), I was very kindly released from my job.
*cue shock, gasping, and “NO!”s from the audience.*
What does this mean for my writing?
No more excuses. That’s what it means.
Plenty of time not just to write, but to plan out my writing. To get stuff done in an orderly manner. And to also look for a fulfilling career that doesn’t feel like it’s draining away all my creativity.
Here’s to new beginnings for old horizons!
Question: What is your experience with jobs and careers? Are you living the dream? Working towards living the dream? Or do you feel stuck in something completely wrong for you?
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Happy blogging!
The Written Nerd 