Will to Do
We needlessly postpone action while seeking the wise counsel of sages or scrolling the internet to pursue knowledge we think is a prerequisite. In most cases, the answer is already within us or unnecessary. A lack of will, not knowledge, often inhibits our next right action. Need to Know? Consider all of the wellness schemes […]
You Can Be Both
Can Always Do Better This message was instilled in me just a few months into my professional career through a senior partner’s response after I hesitantly suggested a revision to a document he had drafted. Joe Allen said, “I have never seen anything that couldn’t be improved.” These words have remained with me and served […]
Promise Yourself
We know what we must do to accomplish our goals but fail to do them consistently. To make progress, we need commitment and perseverance (i.e., discipline). Promise Any goal undoubtedly requires doing things you would rather not do or abstaining from things you want. Remarkably, we often have a higher commitment to others than ourselves. […]
Keep Your Head Up
How did we get here? Only a few years ago, you had to read a magazine in the waiting room of the doctor’s office or commiserate with fellow patients over your ailments. At the airport, you talked with other travelers about where they had been or were going or daydreamed while watching the planes take […]
Use It or Lose It
While I typically invite you to think rather than tell you what to do, it would be a dereliction of duty to deprive you of my favorite decluttering principle. Rather than agonize over emotional, space, and financial considerations, I recommend a simple use standard. If I have not used it in a year, I free […]
Out with the Unused
Now that you are a faithful sentinel guarding your homestead against an invasion by anything you will not effectively use and removing an existing item for each new one you bring in, you can turn your attention to repurposing the unused objects trespassing in your home. I do not write “dispose of” as that implies […]
Katie Bar the Door
You do not need to be a television show-worthy hoarder to have far more than you use. A cursory review of our closets, kitchen drawers, and garages provides ample evidence for all but the most fastidious. I am not approaching this subject from a moral or value standpoint, criticizing extravagant spending. No, my approach is […]
It’s Not Your Fault, but It Is Your Responsibility
Each of us can point to circumstances not of our own doing to justify a lack of accomplishment (economically poor family, “bad” parents, fat genes, surname ends in a vowel, etc.). All of them may be an impairment, but do not consign us to defeat. By taking responsibility for our response, we may prevail against […]
When the Phone Rings…
You need to answer it. And sometimes it rings when we are unprepared or wish they called someone else. We need to respond even when the timing is terrible, we do not want to, or we do not feel suited for the task. It Rings We would immediately jump to the aid of a heart […]
Fear
Better Left Undone? We fancy ourselves facing the world like a swashbuckler standing on the ship’s bow with our saber upraised. In reality, the fear of failure too often confines us in our safe harbor and stops us from pursuing what we want. Missteps confirm our present inability, create feelings of shame and disappointment, and […]