Scott's Thinking - Page 122 of 173

How To Live Intentionally

Posted on June 3, 2021

Are you on auto-pilot? Do you get through the day because of your habitual thoughts and actions? Learn how to live intentionally and you could dramatically alter the course of your life in just a few months.

Making intentional choices about what we want in, and out of, our life is our greatest power. We have the power to make choices every day. What is it that is stopping us from making the choices we want? Do you even know what you want?

This is not a question about what others need or want. Perhaps you have suppressed your own emotions and desires for so long, you can’t easily answer the question.

Start thinking about what, and who, you want in your life today. Decide what brings you joy and what doesn’t. Take a shelf in your house and really look at each item on it. Pick up each item and ask yourself, “Does this bring me joy?” If it does not, then remove it from the shelf today. Send it to a charity shop so it can find its rightful home.

If you want to keep it, be certain that this is the exact spot you want it to live in your house for now. If not, you should move it now to where it will bring you the greatest joy.

Learn how to live intentionally or you could fumble along in a fog of meh.

Action Reframe your thoughts

Changing Your Name

Posted on June 2, 2021

One way to change your life is to change who you are. Who you are is tied up in all sorts of things. One way to start this process is by changing your name.

Most of us will change our name once in our life. We will shift from being Scott Gregory to Master or Mr Scott Gregory. Many women will change their names by adding a Miss, Mrs or Ms. I realise these are titles and not an actual adjustment in the spelling of a name. However, a title does change the perception of the person. This change can be noted by the person and the people with whom they interact.

Some people use a motivational persona, like Beyoncé does with Sasha Fierce. Others add their initials when writing their name like John F. Kennedy. You can also shorten or change some names like Robert to Robbie or Rob or even to Bob.

Some people go even further and change a part of their name or the whole thing. David Bowie was David Robert Jones and Elton John was originally Reginald Kenneth Dwight.

There are lots of ways to alter our identity. Our name, title, prefix, suffix and other name adjustments are just one way to make a change in our life.

Changing your name can be the beginning to a different life.

Action Gratitude

Discovery And Comfort

Posted on June 1, 2021

Do you love trying new things? Some people do, but others prefer their known comforts. Discovery and comfort both have their place in our lives. I imagine that most people would benefit from a little bit of both.

We need discovery to find and try new things. Then some of those things will become our favourites and give us comfort because we know them. However, if we get too accustomed to the known we will miss out on the not known.

Herein lies the conundrum of searching for more, new and novel versus sticking with what is known, safe and easy. Discovery allows us to find things that could bring us greater joy. However, comfort allows us to enjoy and appreciate that which we already have.

Many of us will have a favourite album, book or film. In addition to those, you might have a preferred restaurant, dish or dining companion.

Sticking with a favourite dish in a preferred restaurant eliminates the opportunity of finding something equally enjoyable or even better. Sometimes it is just the idea of having something different that is appealing.

Always searching for the latest, newest or most enjoyable item can also be quite tiring and leaves little time for appreciation. Although it can be rather exciting with many wonderful consequences.

There are upsides and downsides to discovery and comfort.

Gratitude Reframe your thoughts

Deciding What Is Important

Posted on May 31, 2021

What is the deciding factor for relative importance in your life? For most people it is their values. Deciding what is important is an ever-shifting game you play in your head.

Do you remember what was important when you were three days old? Perhaps it was food, warmth and comfort. But when you were eight, 16 and 21, what you prioritised may have been different. I am almost certain that it would have been.

What is valued by a 30 year old is unlikely to be the same as that valued by an 80 year old. Time, location, wealth, health, education and family will all have an impact on what you think is valuable. In addition, what you value can shift as your life shifts or with new information. It is inevitable.

A good way to discover what is truly important to you, is to check how you spend your time. If you spend your time at the pub with friends, family may not be as high on your list as you thought. However, working everyday to bring in the income, so your family can be fed and safe, may take precedence over spending time with them.

Deciding what is important can be tricky and have many layers.

Action Reframe your thoughts

Shine Your Light

Posted on May 30, 2021

You can make people happy. You have the power to help others feel lighter and more joy-filled. When you shine your light, so many other people benefit.

People have happiness triggers. There are certain things that will bring a smile to their face or laughter to their heart. You need to observe them or communicate with them to understand what the triggers are. Once you have the information, it makes it a lot easier to elicit a smile.

It can be quite an incredible feeling when you help someone find their smile. To see the joy in their eyes and the curling up of their lips can make you smile too.

Some people are brilliant at this. They have developed a knack for it. Comedians and talk show hosts seem to be able to get the smiles going. Sometimes it can be doctors, clowns and young children that help lighten the mood.

Presumably this is simply another skill that can be learned and improved upon. Most people should be able to get a few of their friends to crack up now and then. To improve in this capacity, buy a book of clean jokes and learn a few. You can also watch people perform their comedy routines on YouTube. Keeping a positive mental attitude can help too.

Shine your light and let the whole world shine with you.

Action Gratitude Health & Fitness Reframe your thoughts Time

Have A Fabulous Day

Posted on May 29, 2021

I love great days. It’s brilliant when everything is firing on all cylinders and everything is feeling right. Have a fabulous day like I did and it will make you feel 10 years younger.

Clear the decks from all responsibilities and go enjoy. Be present and let the day unfold. Attack it with a lively and positive attitude. Let little things slide. Give every moment a smile. Do it even if you would rather flip it the bird. Life zips by as we zoom around the sun.

Take advantage of every moment you have. You will reach a moment in life when it will get quite difficult to do things. Even thinking or remembering could get difficult. So pick a day here and there and dedicate your life to it.

It does not have to be expensive or difficult. We went for a family walk / hike at Box Hill. It was a brilliant day out. We brought water and snacks. So a bit of petrol and a small car park fee were the only costs. Pretty awesome for five people to have a fabulous day.

Use a simple outing to create a great and lasting memory. Maybe book one of these days in every month. I’m looking into it now.

Action Think About It

Be For Rather Than Against

Posted on May 28, 2021

Deciding what you are for is better for everyone. It is positive and can be equally as powerful. Be for rather than against something. You will feel better and look for good reasons to support your cause.

Google used to use “Don’t be evil” as a motto. On the surface, it is a good sentiment. Most people could agree that being evil is not a great focus for your life. However, every time you say it, you bring up the word evil. Then your mind conjures up a few evil thoughts, feelings and pictures in a millisecond.

Since re-structuring the company, the parent company Alphabet, selected “Do the right thing” as its motto. This feels inherently better. It seems better to have the word ‘right’ repeating in your head rather than the word ‘evil’.

Strangely, those two phrases have a very similar meaning or intent. However, it is important to note the more positive, upbeat feel of the ‘right’ phrase.

We should strive to use these positive types of phrases in our personal and business life.

Anyone using anti-something should rethink what they are trying to do. Being anti seems to lead to anger. And from pop culture we know anger leads to hate and then to the dark side. Presumably this defeats the purpose of trying to eradicate something. You might replace it with another form of anger or evil.

Be for rather than against.

Action Financial

Set Specific Metrics

Posted on May 27, 2021

We all would like to have more money. But how much more? You need to be clear with the universe. Set specific metrics so that you know whether you met the target or not.

I know it seems a little odd to be so precise with future outcomes. In addition, it is hard to feel confident with numbers that don’t have a solid basis.

But that is why you must do the numbers. You need to put in a few minutes with a calculator and pencil. Better still would be to use a spreadsheet so that you can quickly process changes in your assumptions. Also, a spreadsheet is a clean and easy way to see the numbers. You can also show others when things are neat, tidy and legible.

So decide on the numbers. For example, if you would love to achieve a £200,000 income before taxes this year, what has to happen? Do you need a new job, another job or a side hustle? If you sell dining tables at £2,000 each, you need to sell 100 tables. But what if each table costs £700 and your admin costs per table are 300? With only a £1,000 net, you will need to sell twice as many tables, or 200, to hit your target.

Set specific metrics so you know what you are aiming at and if you hit it.

Progress Think About It Time

You Are Not Really Trying

Posted on May 26, 2021

It’s so easy to wish it were so. It feels good to think we are making the effort. We might even be ok with fooling ourselves. However, you are not really trying.

Take a look at your results. Review your actual progress in the last week. Have you made the progress you wanted? Have you made the progress you have written down in your formal plan? Did you write down your specific goals, milestones and plans to get there?

You need to start there before anything else. If you have not written down a goal, key milestones and a plan to get there, have you really put some decent effort in? Or are you on the hope plan? I will wait and see how it goes. Check back in 7 or 8 years and see if I am still playing the same game.

Or, have you repeated these same hopes, wishes, desires for the past 10 years and you are not where you really want to be? If you are not where you wanted to be, have a look at your process. Review your mindset. Ask people close to you for some honest feedback on what they are seeing that is stopping you.

Achieving good things doesn’t need to take long. You can make some serious progress in just two months, if you are seriously focused.

If you are not really trying, try harder.

Reframe your thoughts

You Are Self-Taught

Posted on May 25, 2021

What does learning mean? How about Education? If someone provides or presents information to you, are they a teacher? Perhaps you are self-taught. Maybe we are all self-taught.

These thoughts percolated as I watched an Instagram Reel of Elon Musk being interviewed. The interviewer asked how Musk became the Chief Technology Officer of a rocket ship company. His reply was simple enough. He stated that he had a degree in physics, he read a lot and he spoke to a lot of smart people. Presumably those books and people were filled with knowledge or experience about the industry in question.

Somewhat surprised, the interviewer queried, “You’re self-taught?” This struck me as funny and I gave it some thought. Isn’t that like going to school or university? You need to read books and also listen to people such as teachers, professors, and tutors who hopefully have more relevant information, knowledge or experience than you have.

You then decide which information is most useful and retain it. In addition, you select the information to tune in or tune out and recall or not, regardless of the presenting media (books, videos, people). Although, professors may convey the information, or even explain it, you choose to sit and listen, or not, and absorb it, or not.

You are self-taught.