Unhelpful assumptions. We all make assumptions all the time. Some of them are helpful, some of them not so much. If we can learn to discern between the two, can we also choose to let go of the unhelpful ones? It might be a skill worth learning.
Embracing constraints. Constraints are good for creativity. They allow flow to happen. When there are no constraints, we tend to give into entropy and nothing tangible gets created. Even when they are not there by default, we can choose to add constraints by design.
Who gives you energy? And who drains it? How can you engage more with the former? And less with the latter?
Will they tell the others? How can you create the conditions for your work to spread? How can you make it irresistible for those who engage with your work to talk about it? And, how is fear stopping you from doing this with intent?
Putting on a show. It's safe to be behind the scenes and keep working hard trying to make our work/project better. But, if we are unwilling to put on a show, we do not have a right to complain that the audience didn't show up. This is another leap
Finite is doable. Make your project smaller. Make it finite. Make it doable. Big, ambitious projects get done by shipping small, specific, finite versions.
What you don't ask for... You either don't get it. Or you leave it to chance. We can create the conditions to get what we need or want. And a crucial part of it is making the ask. “Many years ago, the Detroit newspapers carried a feature story about a monstrous insurance policy
This might not work. There is magic in "this might not work". It brings a lightness to the process. It allows for creativity and audacity. It allows us to focus on the process and finetune it. "This might not work" creates possibility that can't be accessed with a
Finding the right culture. One of the reasons that you may not be thriving could be that you are in the wrong culture. Not wrong in the absolute, but wrong for you. There’s a culture for each type of person. And the hard work is to find the one where you thrive.
Get in tune... Excerpt from Pathways to Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander: “…to embark on the exploration “Get in Tune,” open yourself to the idea of a complex universe, pulsing and vibrating, that is striving to attune with you. Imagine that everyone you meet desires to be in tune with you, as does
Because everyone does it that way... ...doesn't mean that you have to do it that way too. Be relentless in your pursuit of happiness. ~ Anonymous
What's the next "one" thing? If it is more than one, then the next thing would be to select one out of the many. And that might actually be the hard part. Once we select the one thing we are getting done next, we can focus on it and create forward motion. Otherwise, we may
The first draft is the hardest. No one complains about how hard the second draft is. It’s always the first draft. No matter how ugly it is, once we get the first draft done, it only gets easier from there onwards. Once we have something on paper, we can always make it better.
Choose your assumptions, choose your future. Our assumptions have little to do with reality, and much to do with the stories we tell ourselves. The good thing about the latter is that we have the agency to choose what story we tell. We can learn to reject the ones that don't work for us
Last minute rush. When we are faced with a last-minute rush, we buckle up and try to get the work done somehow before it's too late. We work late nights and weekends and whatnot and there is a heroic feeling when it all gets done. What we skip mostly, though, is
Writing > Thinking Mind maps, free-flow writing, numbered lists, bulleted lists, the tools of writing can vary depending on the situation. But writing is almost always more effective than thinking. When we are feeling stuck, writing is a reliable way to start moving towards getting ourselves unstuck.
Being the Board Excerpt From The Art of Possibility by Ben Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander: WHEN the way things are seems to offer no possibility; when you are angry and blocked, and, for all your efforts, others refuse to move or cooperate, to compromise, or even to be halfway decent; when even
Can you time-box it? It's a trick statement to say, "I am working on it full-time." What does that mean? Does that mean 40 hours a week? Does that mean more? Or less? Full-time allows us to get off the hook. Instead, "I am committing to work on it
When the voice is heavy. When resistance is heavy, it becomes difficult to move forward on any task, even those that we would have otherwise done easily. The voice creates doubts and asks questions. "Is this something you should be doing right now?" "Isn’t there a better way to do this?
When in doubt, ship it. When in doubt, ship it. Don't think. Don't delay. Ship it. You can always make it better later. But, for now, ship it.
Permission slip. Excerpt From Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: "You do not need a permission slip from the principal’s office to live a creative life. Or if you do worry that you need a permission slip—THERE, I just gave it to you. I just wrote it on the back
Building new habits. Old habits are like 4-lane highways in our neural system. They go from cue to craving to response to reward in an instant. The number of iterations are the reason behind the efficiency of such a system. On the other hand, new habits, especially those where we are affected by
What needs to be done? If we get done what needs to be done, we create space for what we want to do. It doesn't work the other way around. "I'll do only what I want to do" is for amateurs. "I'll do what I need
Getting the wrong message. When someone says no, the amygdala reacts a couple of seconds faster than the pre-frontal cortex can respond. The amygdala perceives the no as personal, as malevolent, as insidious. There is a chance that the amygdala might be right but the likelihood of that is extremely low.
Navigating blind spots. Asking for help. Enrolling for tough feedback. It's a gift to surround yourself with friends who can nudge and tell you that you have spinach in your teeth. You can't fix what you can't see.
