Category Archives: Attitude

The Center of the Universe

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“When science discovers the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not it.”

-Bernard Baily, DC Comic Book artist

Image of a nebulae

Image from nasa.gov

Early man believed that Earth was the center of everything, since they observed moons, planets, and stars revolving around it in the night sky. As science advanced, we learned that Earth is actually in an elliptical orbit around the sun.

With further advances in science⏤particularly in astronomy and astrophysics⏤we now know that we are a small speck on a small planet in a small solar system tucked away in the far corner of one out of two trillion galaxies in the universe.

And yet, many people believe they are the center of the universe, and that the world should somehow work out in whatever way they desire. History has clearly proven this idea ridiculously untrue, yet many still want to believe it.

EXERCISE:

How would seeing yourself and others as part of the oneness of all things provide you greater peace of mind and contentment? Consider the fact that we are all stardust, and that we have an important role to play in this infinite universe.

Each night, when I go to sleep, I die

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“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die, and the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”

⏤Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India

Image of a man sleeping on the sofa with his bulldog

Image from Flickr by Andrew Roberts

When I first read this quote, I felt pretty down at the thought of dying each evening, with a sense of finality that something⏤in this case, my day⏤was over.

Many of us experience similar feelings when our weekends, vacations, or other happy times come to an end.

Consider that the same is true for bad times, and uncomfortable events we may want to wish away.

To wake up and be reborn each new day excites me with the possibilities of new and wondrous things I can intentionally do, with a fresh perspective and a fresh canvas to draw upon.

EXERCISE:

How can you interpret today’s quote to make the very best of each new day you are fortunate enough to experience?

Your assumptions are your windows on the world

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“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”

—Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Writer

Image of "The Four Agreements" book cover

Have you every read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz? If not, please order a copy today.

The third agreement in this masterpiece is “Don’t Make Assumptions.”

Unfortunately, we all tend to make assumptions about everything and everybody. This is often the root of much dysfunction, chaos, and general unhappiness in our world.

EXERCISE:

Where would greater openness and clarification of issues, personally or professionally, let more light in so you could lead a more fulfilling and satisfying life?

One Can Change the World

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“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”

—Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Activist/youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Image of Malala Yousafzai

Image from mirror.com.uk

At some point in life, we all ask ourselves: What is the meaning of life? Why are we here?

Many of us find great satisfaction and meaning realizing that our lives have purpose, that it is to make a difference, and in some way—big or small—to change the world.

What books have you read recently? What letters, emails, or blog posts have you written?
What child’s life have you impacted or touched in some meaningful way?  How have you taught, mentored, or coached others in your life? How have you benefited from those around you sharing their life lessons?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways do you intend to change your world or the world in 2017?

how you interpret the world

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“Be careful how you interpret the world: it is like that.”

—Erich Heller, 20th Century British Essayist

image of flowers through a magnifying glass

image from Flickr by marco magrini

We humans are interpretation and opinion machines. As we navigate our worlds, we continually assess our environments and relationships through special filters we have created. Our perceptions really do create our reality and our experience of the world.

As talk show host Dr. Phil often says, “How’s that workin’ for you?”

What is your level of fulfillment, satisfaction, and general happiness with things as you see and interpret them?

EXERCISE:

Make an effort to expand your filter choices as you view your world today. Consider trying on a more hopeful, optimistic, open, forgiving, or creative perspective and see what happens.

Unplug it

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“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

—Anne Lamott, American Novelist and Political Activist

Image of an unplugged plug

Image from Flickr by Daniele Margaroli

How are you at problem solving and troubleshooting? When was the last time you were really grinding on a particular issue with no success?

Today’s quote points to the simple yet often effective technique of taking a break to allow a change of perspective. This gives us opportunity to come at a problem with a fresh set of eyes.

EXERCISE:

How often do you find yourself putting in marathon levels of effort with somewhat diminishing returns?

Where and when would it be appropriate and more helpful to unplug from a particular issue in order to gain greater workability?

How Big You Play

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“It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play.”

—John Wooden, former UCLA Basketball Coach

Image of basketball players at the net

Image from Flickr by Chad Cooper

What do Keith Jennins, Isaiah Thomas, Earl Boykins and Spud Webb have in common?

Given that today’s quote is from John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, you would be correct in assuming it has something to do with this popular sport.

The athletes I listed are among the shortest professional basketball players of our time.

What made each of them special was how big they played throughout their careers. Spud Webb, at just 5’7” in height, even won the Annual Slam-Dunk Competition in 1986.

EXERCISE:

Regardless of your size, status, or position in your personal or professional communities, how and where can you step up to the line and play a bigger game?

judge the whole

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“By a small sample we may judge the whole piece.”

—Miquel de Cervantes, 16th Century Spanish Novelist

image of a hand holding a bite-sized cupcake

Image from blackboard blog

When was the last time you dined at a smorgasbord, buffet, or pot-luck dinner? What was your strategy to identify and determine the tastiest items available?

If you are like many people, you might take a small sampling of many items, knowing that if one bite was tasty, a bigger helping would be even more delicious.

Sometimes, however, when we only have a small sample of something such as a book, a TV show, or a person we’ve just met, we get an incomplete view. We can jump to premature and false conclusions about the entire experience or person.

EXERCISE:

Where in your personal or professional worlds is it appropriate or inappropriate to judge the whole piece by just a small sample?

How things should be

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“Reality is the other person’s idea of how things should be.”

—John M. Shanahan, author of Hooked on Phonics

image from consciouslifenews.com

image from consciouslifenews.com

As part of my Personal Excellence Training, I teach my clients to coach themselves, with a technique I call The Pivot Point. The first part of this tool is to help my clients assess the “current reality” of the situations in their lives.

The challenge for most, at the beginning, is that they often believe that their perception of reality is shared by everyone around them.

EXERCISE:

How open are you to the possibility that the people in your personal and professional worlds perceive “reality” quite differently than you?

Retirement

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“Should we retire the concept of ‘retirement’?”

—Author Unknown

Sign about retirement

Image from ucsandiegoextension.wordpress.com

Take a look at these definitions and references to the word “retirement”:

  • Removal of something from service or use
  • The act of leaving one’s job, career, or occupation permanently, usually due to age
  • A place of seclusion or privacy

If you are like me, trying on this concept of retirement makes you feel blue, or sad. If, on the other hand, looking forward to withdrawing from an undesirable vocation consumes your current life, you might also be sad.

EXERCISE:

What if there were no such thing as retirement?

What if it was your job, each day from birth to death, to live as fully and richly as possible?

What actions can and will you take today to launch your life to the highest heights, no matter your age?