Observe Archives - Page 51 of 78

The Flu

Posted on December 16, 2021

I now appreciate The Flu far more than I used to. It was simple. People who were concerned about its effects would get a vaccine. Everyone else went about their business.

Each flu season there was a different variant that the scientists tried to predict and then create a vaccine to best combat it.

We didn’t name the different variants. It was generic. We called the winter months cold & flu season. People felt unwell, to varying degrees, for a few days or a couple of weeks, generally, and that was it.

No daily count of those vaccinated, infected, hospitalised or dead. Rare, if any, government briefings. Few people feared the flu. We certainly didn’t test daily to see if we might have it.

Going to restaurants and pubs and concerts was a thing. There was international travel! And you weren’t fired because you didn’t get the jab. Actually, most people didn’t get the vaccine. And no one else noticed or asked. You certainly weren’t ostracised or fired.

Sometimes we don’t know how lucky we are until the time has passed. The flu was an occasional inconvenience for most people pre-2020.

Now we might need boosters every 6 months for the rest of our lives. Masks will be worn indoors on and off forever too. Get used to school closures and online learning every 3-6 months. And lockdowns will be brought out for a month or two every year or the self-imposed ones might suffice.

The hospitality industry will never be the same. Nor will the joy of travel.

At what point will certain people, politicians and media be ready to start calling this The Flu and get back to some normalcy. Or are the last 21 months a glimpse of how the next 50+ years will be?

Action Goals, Results & New Thinking Gratitude Observe Progress

Review Your Progress

Posted on December 14, 2021

‘Are we there yet?’ Clearly wanting to know how far from the finish we are is a natural desire. ?

If you’ve ever had a long journey with kids in the car, you’ll know the phrase I am referring to. But adults want to know to. They check maps, or their satnav, to see if they are ‘making good time’ and where the next rest station is.

Employers want to see ‘progress reports.’ Athletes need to track their gains and PBs. We all want to be a little better or further along with something at sometime in our lives.

It’s easier to review your progress if you have a plan to track against. Then you can course-correct if need be because you’ll know when you are a little off course. Tracking your progress allows you to see your plan unfold. And, spoiler alert, you’ll also know when to celebrate as you reach milestones.

This may be the most skipped step in the 7 step process. People are averse to tracking and reviewing. There are a variety of reasons for this. But the impact is that they usually make less progress. Often this occurs because they don’t know the progress exists so they give up too early and throw out the plan. If only they doubled down their discipline and tracked their progress and reviewed their plan daily. There would be a lot more achievements in this world!!

Review is step six in my forthcoming book – Achieve Anything – The 7 Simple Steps to Shift from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable. Be sure you include a daily review element to your plan to greatly increase your chance of success. Review your progress!

PS. On Tuesday, I received the Advance Copy of the paperback!!! Looking great! Amazing to have it in my hands. A couple of tiny tweaks is all it needs. Hopefully the hardback will look equally fantastic when I receive it later this week!

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

Write Your Ideas Down

Posted on December 11, 2021

It’s one thing to think about things. It’s another level to be writing down your thoughts. It is too easy to forget key pieces of information by the next day or a week later.

Writing things down helps you to clarify our thoughts. It also reinforces your thoughts. And it gives you a record of your ideas to look back on.

Scribble down some notes, make some drawings or type things into Notes on your phone. Do whatever you need to do to capture the information you have thought about.

This is a great process to help move you from uncertainty, with ideas all floating in your head, towards developing a plan. Write your ideas down. You’ll be more contented and confident if you do. It’s one more step from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable.

For example, let’s say you want to rent out your house for two years so you can spend the next two years renting a beach side apartment in the Bahamas or Aruba. Write down the rental income, the costs of living in the Bahamas and all the other challenges you’ll need to overcome (parent care, kids, business, flights, food, guilt and time organising it). Get all your thoughts down in one spot to consider all the points. This will be great progress.

Write is step three in my upcoming book – Achieve Anything – The 7 Simple Steps to Shift from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable. A big part of shifting from where you are to where you want to be is turning your thoughts into tangible points.

You are either already uncomfortable with the way things are or it makes you uncomfortable thinking about writing everything down. You might feel exposed. You may realise the excuses you’ve been giving are flimsy and based primarily on fear or uncertainty. Write your ideas down. Get greater clarity. Organise your thoughts. Take action.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts Think About It

Try Thinking

Posted on December 9, 2021

Seriously. Actually thinking. Not remembering. Not reacting. Try thinking about your thoughts, beliefs and values. Think about your philosophical and political views. You should even think about your habits.

What habits do you have? Why do you have them? What did you have for breakfast this morning? Why?

When someone engages with you, really think about what they are saying and why they might be saying it. Become more curious. Get off auto-pilot. It’s harder than you think at first, if you’re really trying. But it does get easier. Try thinking.

Think is the first step of seven in my upcoming book, Achieve Anything. I’m happy to say the book was sent to the printers earlier this week and pre-ordering should be starting soon. Stay tuned!

Action Observe Think About It

Follow Your Heart And Hunches

Posted on December 7, 2021

When something feels a certain way, you should explore it a little bit further. If you truly enjoy an activity, find ways to spend more time doing it. If something feels a little off or even quite good, follow your hunch, your intuition, and see what is there. Often times we were right to do so.

Action Observe

What Isn’t There

Posted on December 4, 2021

It’s often much easier to spot what isn’t right, than what isn’t there. Spotting an error in a list of things is often easier than noticing that something has been left off.

Gratitude Observe Progress Reframe your thoughts Time

Things Will Get Better Tomorrow

Posted on December 3, 2021

Sometimes our day doesn’t go how we want it to. It could be something we did or didn’t do. Or, it could be something that others have done or not done. It can even just be down to nature or circumstance. There are countless reasons why your day may not have gone as well as you would have liked.

Regardless of why it didn’t go well, things will get better tomorrow. The immediate impact can feel uncomfortable or even devastating. But hang in there. Time is an incredible thing that allows us to heal. Training the mind to have hope and look forward to brighter days is also very powerful.

Don’t dismay. You are stronger than you think you are. Recognise the hurt or the pain. But also know that pushing through will be the best thing you could ever do. You will be stronger and more experienced. You will rebuild and things will go amazingly well. Have faith. Have hope. Rest for a moment, or a day, and then get back on your path to a better life.

I’m cheering for you!

Action Observe Think About It

What Am I Contributing To?

Posted on November 24, 2021

Before taking action, ask yourself this question. What am I contributing to? If everything goes well, what would it look like? However, if things go wrong, how could that end up? Do you need to take this action or is it simply a desire?

I will guess that we have all had moments, that in hindsight looked like we made a less beneficial decision. We can’t undo those but we can try to minimise them going forward.

Grabbing a pitchfork to join the mob is rarely a good idea. Not being able to admit that you were wrong on something, or that you misunderstood the detail, shows a lack of moral intelligence and possibly cowardice. It’s ok to admit you spoke too soon or didn’t wait to get accurate details, but even better is to have the patience to find out the relevant details first next time.

What am I contributing to? We don’t always know in advance but when we do begin to see the adverse effects of our actions or words, we should straighten things out very quickly.

Observe Think About It

Mindsets Are The Most Divisive

Posted on November 23, 2021

Think about this calmly without any bias and preconceptions. A couple of the words in the subject line may have already sent you in one direction or another. That is down to your mindset. The words did not involve your gender, sex, skin color, political affiliation or level of credentialed education.

Your current mindset, with its lens for every single possible topic, will determine which group you will self-categorise with. For example, someone with a slightly conservative philosophy will really challenge some people’s thought process, particularly if they also happen to have black skin, prefer same sex relationships, or both.

Everything I’ve written will be run through your mindset and you will decide whether you agree or disagree and if you like the points or not. I could know nothing about your background or affiliations, but your response to the above ideas will tell me a lot about how you think. Can you see things for what they are, or do you look through a particular lens first? That lens highlights or magnifies the bias in your mindset.

To be a good critical thinker we need to discover our own biases and minimise or eliminate them. If you look and listen carefully, you may find that people aren’t so bothered by the things you think they are but rather by different mindsets. And mindsets are the most divisive.

Action Observe Progress Think About It

Lazy Or Lacking Purpose?

Posted on November 22, 2021

It can be easy to say we are lazy or observe others and come to that conclusion. We become unwilling to work or use our energy when we don’t have a clear goal or outcome in mind.

You might feel lazy when you have competing deadlines. It can be easier to curl up on the sofa and hope they disappear. Or go for walks, lunch with friends or to the pub – whatever distraction we prefer. It can feel all too hard. So, we just avoid the whole thing.

Although this can be one way to deal with things, we should edge toward greater discipline. Do one thing to move the situation forward. Make that phone call, write a few lines or add some context for someone. Just the idea of getting started can propel you to keep going. Then, once you are 10 minutes in, it can be hard to stop because you are so engaged in the process and can see the outcome.

Are you lazy or lacking purpose? I would suggest we all have a lazy tendency if we allow it. However, if we set an exciting goal to pursue, we will find that purpose propelling us to greater heights. When you are driven by enthusiasm for you objective, you need less discipline. You can simply be obsessed.