Minimum effective mindset. The keyword here is effective. If it isn't effective, minimum doesn't help. It requires us to be clear about the "What's it for?" and then figure out what's the minimum that will get us there. A spaceship is meant to
Blank page syndrome. Sitting with the blank page is uncomfortable. One, we are not sure what to write and two, we start doubting if we can write. This discomfort offers us a choice: stay or leave. Most people choose to leave. Professionals choose to stay. They understand that the discomfort might last a
Once, again. One workout doesn't change anything. It might make you feel better (or worse). But by itself, it has no significant impact on the body. A hundred workouts do. The catch is that you can't reach a hundred without the one. Starting (or restarting) - getting the
Time to recover. Cutting short the time to recover slows down the whole process. Whether it is the time to recover for the muscles after a workout, or for a person after an illness or for a team after a project. Recovery helps us get into prime form to deliver the goods again.
Getting back on track. Sooner or later, we might get off track. Our strategy, our routine, our systems might fall out of place. The tendency then is to try to do something extraordinary to make up for the off-time, to make up for what we missed. That's a trap and it leads
Compass calibration. Is your compass aligned with where you seek to go? If not, can you identify what's needed to get it pointing to true north? It feels tempting to keep going without taking the time to calibrate the compass. But unless we start moving in the right direction, more
The way things are... Excerpt From The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander & Ben Zander: But what if there is no apparent way out? The practice of "the way things are" is to be present to the way things are, including our feelings about the way things are. This practice
Being your most audacious self. What would your most audacious self choose? What would it let go of? What would it not be worried about? When we start making choices that our most audacious self would, we start becoming our most audacious self?
The dance of urgency and patience. Emotional labour requires us to dance with urgency and patience. The urgency to move forward while making space for fear to breathe. The more space we make for fear, the less it drives our decision making.
Being too strategic. "Hermione! When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!" ~ JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows "You are being too strategic." "Let's just jump in and see how it goes." "
What do you want? It's easier to ask than to answer. When we are asked to say it aloud, we can go from "Isn't it obvious?" to "I am not sure what I want." in a matter of seconds. Asking "What do you want?"
If you want to... Change happens with intent. We can't force it. Without enrollment, it just won't work. It doesn't matter how good we are. Enrollment starts with listening to what someone wants. Especially if that person is ourselves. "If you want to" offers agency and
One action at a time. That's how we move forward. That's how we ship projects. That's how we make things better. It's tempting to try and solve everything at the same time. But effectiveness comes from identifying and shipping one thing at a time.
Perceptual maps & change. We perceive only the sensations we are programmed to receive, and our awareness is further restricted by the fact that we recognize only those for which we have mental maps or categories. ~ The Art of Possibility, Rosamund Stone Zander & Ben Zander Our perception of reality is dependent on the
With no fuel. You may have the best car in the world, but if doesn't have fuel (or charge), it won't be of much use. Our body and brain need fuel to show up as our best self. And if we are running now, it's worth parking
Choosing the game. “We often spend more time figuring out how to win the game we’re in instead of choosing which game to play in the first place.” ~ Seth Godin, This Is Strategy There are games that we play because of proximity. Because we engage with the people that are around us,
Minimum effective mindset. By design, a spaceship doesn't have a single thing in it that doesn't absolutely need to be there. Each and every microgram is accounted for. That's what it takes to get it to orbit. What about your project? What do you need to get
When the water goes up... An excerpt from Finding Your Own North Star, Martha Beck (highly recommended book): There’s an old Taoist story about a group of Confucian intellectuals who, while strolling past a huge waterfall, glimpse a human body in the churning, roaring froth. Horrified, they gather by the banks, trying to figure
Start with identity. When we are seeking to change ourselves, it helps to start with the identity part -the story and narrative that we tell ourselves about ourselves. As we notice the differences between our current and desired identity, we can make choices that lead towards where we seek to go. And the
Making space for fear. You can fight fear, you can go on a war with it, you might win. But going on a war with yourself is rarely a healthy option. Instead, you can choose to make space for fear, to learn to dance with it, to allow it to be. Listen to it
If you had to start over... If you had to start over, what would you start with? Which people, skills, resources, stories would you choose? Which ones would you not pick? Every day gives us a chance to start over. What are you willing to let go of?
Elegance is underrated. Here's a movie you'll never see: The hero plans & figures out potential problems, puts up systems that eliminate them or handle them effortlessly and achieves what she seeks to achieve without hustle. Yes, it might not make for a good movie (the genre is called
What will you do with more? If you had more money, what would you do with it? What about more time? And energy? How can you create the conditions for more in your life? One hint is to identify the people, tasks, things, events that might be draining these resources. Which ones can you let go?
3 books that will change you. There are books that tell you what you already (mostly) know and there are books that change you in ways you couldn't possibly have imagined. Here are three that will change the we you see yourself and the world. 1. Finding your North star by Martha Beck 2.
What do you need? Our body constantly signals to us what it needs. We can get used to ignoring those signals and continuing as is. But we become much more effective when we start listening to them. What is it that you need? Is it more sleep, more water, some food, a time outside
