Think About It Archives - Page 42 of 64

I See Your Priority

Posted on November 5, 2021

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?

Action Gratitude Progress Think About It

What Would You Give Up To Save The Planet?

Posted on November 4, 2021

You can blame big oil companies if it makes you feel better. However, their products (oil, gas, plastics, etc) exist to quench people’s demand. They are not discovering, extracting, refining, shipping and storing oil and gas in the hopes that one day they will find a use for it and be able to sell it.

So governments and corporates can set the stage for change but it really comes down to the consumers of the world to make changes (forced or willingly) before we will see significant or meaningful change in environmental or climate impact.

With the world population expected to grow to just under 10 billion by 2050 there will be some additional strains on the environment. If countries haven’t been able to reach their Paris Accords targets previously, adding an additional 2 billion people in 30 years, a 25% increase, is unlikely to make the challenge easier.

So to reduce environmental impact, consumers will need to switch to new, clean energy sources in 2022. They / we will have reduce more, reuse more and recycle more if the world population has any chance of making a noticeable impact. To that end, what would you be willing to do? Give up on that new electric toothbrush and buy a bamboo one? Drive less? Stop air travel? Buy fewer clothes and plastic items? Only buy food from your country or local area? Reduce meat and dairy consumption to once per month?

I think most people find it incredibly difficult, or undesirable, to significantly shift their personal consumption habits whether it is to benefit climate change or not.

What would you give up to save the planet?

Health & Fitness Observe Progress Think About It Time

When Does The Covid Pandemic End?

Posted on October 26, 2021

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.

Action Gratitude Progress Reframe your thoughts Think About It

It’s Hard To Fail

Posted on October 24, 2021

Choose your hard. It’s hard to start, continue, finish and fail. But if you don’t do the first three, you may have to settle for the last one.

Now we should get into the definition of fail, of course. It means different things to different people. Traditionally it means you did not succeed with your desired goal. Though it can be defined quite broadly. If you haven’t stopped trying then you may not have failed yet.

However, if there is a time limit, then if you’ve past the time allocated, you could say you failed. This is most accurate in a timed activity, project, match or game.

It’s not fun to think you failed at something. But you have only failed in the attempts up to now. Perhaps you will succeed on the next attempt!

Until then, it’s hard to fail. But it can be the only way to finally succeed.

Action Progress Think About It Time

It’s Hard To Finish

Posted on October 23, 2021

Completing the task can be a challenge. Sometimes we get started and stay consistent. But completing the task, so it is all done, as we wanted, can get sidetracked.

We might get delayed, sidetracked, see goalposts move, never quite reach the goal or many other reasons. Being emotionally involved in the process or never feeling quite ready can be other issues to overcome.

You must begin with the end in mind. Have a vision of the completed project. Prepare a celebration. Have a timeline that you follow. Have some contingency and prepare for things to not go exactly to plan. You may need to be a little flexible.

It’s hard to finish but that’s where the glory, relief and calm is.

Gratitude Think About It Time

Hold Family And Friends Close

Posted on October 15, 2021

Give them an extra hug. Say some extra kind and supportive words. If they’re not near, hold them close in your heart. Your thoughts matter and your emotional support will be felt.

Write them a note. Give them a call. Arrange to visit them. These are important and powerful moments. You will feel it. They will feel it. It will be remembered and cherished.

Hold family and friends close.

Observe Think About It Time

Moments Are Powerful

Posted on October 13, 2021

We remember moments. The good ones and less good ones. These powerful, emotional moments will have a great impact on our lives. These moments can lock in how we feel about someone for years or decades. Something said or done can really hit you in a few seconds.

Accidents, crimes, criticism, awards, compliments and victories have very strong moments attached to them. They are felt and they are memorable. They can be found in your memory bank without much effort. Though some need some real digging if you buried them deep.

Find these and extinguish their negative effect or use the positive ones to create great energy. Moments are powerful. Learn from them.

Observe Think About It

Why Does This Matter?

Posted on October 6, 2021

When having a discussion, watching someone or hearing a speech, ask yourself, “Why does this matter?”.

Not to the world, but to you. Why is it having an impact on you? What emotion or feeling is it stirring up inside you? Take some time to consider 5 or 6 reasons why this is important for you. It can really reveal some useful information about yourself.

Why does this matter? You’d be surprised.

Action Health & Fitness Think About It

You Lack Discipline Not Motivation

Posted on October 5, 2021

If you are not achieving your goals, reread the title of this post six times. Motivation is a feeling and often it is fleeting. People might say that they feel motivated or didn’t feel motivated. Even those with a big Why to do something can feel unmotivated at times.

What you really need to build is some discipline in your life. This means that even when you lack motivation, don’t feel like it or want to take a break, your discipline will kick in and you’ll do it.

Few people would want to leave their comfy, warm, dry bed at 05:40am to go for a 10km run in the dark, cold and wet. If you leave the option to motivation, you might just give it a pass and go back to sleep. However, if you’ve developed discipline, that habit of doing things you’ve committed to will happen.

Discipline does not require ‘feeling like it’. Discipline means you push through despite not feeling like it.

Plan what you need to do and use your discipline to carry you through.

If you are not achieving, you lack discipline not motivation.

Observe Reframe your thoughts Think About It

Consider The Data Presented

Posted on October 3, 2021

Always test the underlying information. Trust but verify is a useful phrase. Look at things from both sides or all angles. Take the emotion out of it. If you can find better context, use it. We will be better off. Consider the data presented.