So let them. Walk away and enjoy your day.
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Category: Observe
Notice The Good In Everyone
People are born and then develop their personalities. Billions, or trillions, of stimulus then have an impact on you and help to shape who you become. We begin to march, dance or drift towards our destiny as the characteristics become more pronounced or ingrained.
The sooner we can bombard people with good feedback and environments, the greater the chances there will be a bias for good. So notice the good in everyone. Remark upon it. Be sure to communicate it with intent to the person and those around them.
Not only will the person benefit from hearing great comments about themself, but you will benefit by looking for the good in people. With your radar seeking good, you are bound to find more good than anything else in the world. Those have got to be very good things for all concerned.
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Do One Less Thing
It doesn’t feel very high achiever, does it? Or, does it? That one more thing often means you are running late with greater stress. Or it keeps you up too late at night. That one more thing can really hamper your day.
Sure you can achieve one more thing, but was it an essential thing? Was everything essential today? Try to eliminate one thing from your day today. Make some breathing space. You could relax for that spare 10-15 minutes. Or get places on time. Or early!
You could go to bed a bit sooner and get a better night’s sleep. This all sounds good, healthy and sensible. So maybe go do it then. Don’t overthink it. Just remove those things from your day you won’t remember in 30 years.
Make more room for loved ones and the essentials of your life.
Do one less thing.
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Only When It Happens
You can consider other perspectives. You can even prepare for things in advance. However, nothing can make you fully ready for exciting or challenging times. You can truly experience it only when it happens.
For example, a parent or grandparent dying is more impactful than you would think it would be. You know that in theory, we are all going to die. In addition, you’ve had years and sometimes decades to prepare for the moment. But when it happens, it can be quite a shock to the system.
Winning something special or seeing someone special after a long time can also be intense moment. You can guess how you would feel. But, living it is another level.
It’s good you can’t feel the extremes until those unique moments. It saves those very special or intense moments for only when it happens.
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I See Your Priority
What you do tells me what is important to you. What you say tells me what you would like to be, or what you think should be, important to you.
If your Mother requires medical attention and you go on a three day camping trip, I’ll know where your priorities lie.
When you need to complete some important work and you go out for coffee or do other things, we know what you prefer to do.
Sometimes we want to do short term fun or more pleasurable activities or ones we know how to do. We then avoid doing the more important ones.
What we need to do is break the pattern, put our head down, sit still and think our way through each line item. Yes, it can be painful. No it is not usually fun. However, you do the hard now and life gets easier later. Do the easier now and you are bound for hard later. You can’t avoid the hard. You simply need to decide which hard you’re willing to bear.
I see you priority. Do you?
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Out In The Cold
My oh my it was cold today. 0C for my run this morning. Being out in the cold can be invigorating and it can be deadly. Like everything in life, it depends. How long are you going to be in the cold? Are you dressed for it? Do you have a source of heat? Can you get inside, out of the conditions?
There is often one day that signifies that Winter is here and it’s time to have the heat on frequently. It seems like today was that day.
Enjoy the change in the weather. Embrace it. There is little more you can do when you are out in the cold.
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Judging A Book By Its Cover
My new book is coming out soon! It will certainly feel great once it is published and available. I look forward to having a copy in my hands and turning the pages.
At the moment, however, I need to decide on the book cover design. Currently I have 6 options in play. I have posted these to my Instagram story for those curious to see them. They’ll be there until about noon GMT so go check out the story and have your say. Vote for your preferred book cover. You might get your favourite one selected.
It is a funny thing about getting feedback on the cover. We are advised that we shouldn’t be judging a book by its cover. Yet, I am pretty sure we all do something akin to that. I certainly assess wine, books and people by that first visible impression. It is hard not to. You see something and you apply your library of related visuals to it.
You may not judge it but you might assess it. That is natural. You would assess a wild lion or stray rhino. It’s a survival instinct.
So why not pop over to my Instagram account (@scottsthinking) and assess, or judge, the covers on display. Then message me with your preferred cover. Let’s see which one wins!
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When Does The Covid Pandemic End?
It might be 2026 or as soon as spring 2022. It could be any other time too. I hear one of my favourite phrases in my head, “It depends”.
Who will declare the pandemic is over? What criteria will be used? What will happen after? Has anyone thought this through? I am sure lot’s of people have considered the idea of this pandemic finishing. It will be interesting to see how that plays though.
Will some countries like New Zealand and Australia maintain a Moat status with frequent lockdowns for another 5 or 10 years? Denmark seems to have opened up internally, though there are still some border restrictions, which could end by November. The UK is fairly open and almost back to 2019 activity and freedom of movement.
So it depends on what the ruling parties want to see in each country, state, province, territory etc. Some leaders are aiming for zero new cases, some want zero hospitalizations or deaths. Other leaders are being more pragmatic and are ok with many cases as long as hospitalizations and deaths stay relatively low. Another view is the number of vaccinated people.
However, even if there was a 100% vaccination rate, people would still catch it and pass it on. The vaccine reduces symptoms and can aid in reduction of the spread but it does not stop the spread or eliminate Covid. So people will need to get their head around that. Perhaps comparing it to the seasonal flu and how we dealt with that would be possible for some. If not, prepare for masks, social distancing, semi-annual booster jabs, frequent testing, occasional lockdowns and stressful travel for the next 3,650 days.
When does the Covid pandemic end? It depends.
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Opinion Is Not Fact
No matter how well you dress it up, an opinion does not make something a fact.
Some phrases simply elicit a biased response from me. The following are some of them: ‘The fact is’, ‘It’s a well know fact’, ‘As a matter of fact’ and ‘Check the facts’. What people often mean is check the facts that support my position.
And just because you want it to be a fact or accurate, doesn’t mean it is.
Opinion is not fact. Get a better opinion if you need to dress things up as a fact to make your point seem stronger.
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Shifting Momentum
Have you ever felt momentum? Maybe you’ve felt it while watching a tennis match or other major sporting event. It is incredible to watch. It is palpable.
You can see heads start to lower and energy and focus disappear. Frustration can set in and then mistakes are made. This compounds with growing negative self talk. It can be hard to come back from it.
On the other hand, the energy can grow while focus gets better. You are in the state of flow and each decision seems to be right. You float over the opposition. Your heads are high and your confidence is too.
Use shifting momentum to your advantage. Be sure to relax, have fun and commit to each moment. Keep the momentum on your side.
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