Make more mistakes. Err on the side of more, rather than less. Write more bad blogs. Initiate more conversations that don’t bring what you sought from them. Go to more places that might not work for you. When we are okay with being wrong, we are much more likely to sometimes be
Absence of hygiene factors. In this scene from the movie, Angels & Demons, Tom Hanks and his friend are stuck in a room in the Vatican where the oxygen supply is cut-off. In the absence of sufficient oxygen, we can see that the only thing in front of them is survival. Neither the characters,
I will still write. I might feel like I have nothing to say. I might feel like everything I might say has been said before, has become boring, is not good enough. But, I still have the capability to write. And so I will. And I know that if I keep writing, it would
Beyond ambiguity. Ambiguity stands in the way between where we are and where we want to be. It stops us from moving forward. It requires tremendous emotional energy to be able to navigate through the ambiguity and reach one complete action step. But if we are able to do that, then the
Engaging with a "no". From The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander & Ben Zander “A “no” can so often dampen our fire in the world of the downward spiral. It can seem like a permanent, implacable barrier that presents us with limited choices: to attack, to manipulate our way around it, or
Getting back agency Eat slightly less than usual. Workout slightly more than usual. Spend slightly less than usual. Earn slightly more than usual. Initiate slightly more than usual.
Mixing income and passion. As freelancers, it's tempting to want that the world pay us to do what interests us, that feeds our passion. But, the world isn't interested our passion. They pay to get their problems solved. If you help solve enough problems for people who are willing to
Possibility lies beyond the known. And to go beyond the known, we need to let go of the known. If we are not ready to reinvent the known, possibility ceases to exist.
Proximity and goals. What change do you seek in your life? What actions will help you move towards that change? What stops you from taking those actions? Our brain is wired to pay attention to things that are in immediate proximity. It is not wired to ignore the current stimuli and refocus on
Engaging with possibility. Creating something new. Doing something new. Meeting someone new. Going somewhere new. Trying something new. How can you engage with possibility today?
What advice would you give to your friend... ...if they were going through what you are going through. Empathy is hard. Self-empathy is harder.
Get the next one in. When you miss a workout, get the next one in. Don't try to make up for the one you missed. That's a trap.
Breaking the block. Ice is made of the same material as water but it is not water. It does not flow. The difficulty arises when we expect ice to behave like water. We can either break it with force or sit long enough with it for it to melt. But if we do
In the absence of crisis. Shipping when there is no crisis, no deadline, no hell breaking loose. It's a skill that’s worth learning.
Yin and yang. The dance of the good and the bad will go on. How can you remember the amateur when you are a pro? How can you remember the pro when you are an amateur?
The smartness trap. At some point, the only thing left to do is to take action. And in that moment, the moment when action might lead to change, it always feels smarter to wait, to explore the other options, to do anything but what needs to be done. In that moment, taking action
Trust yourself. It's a skill to choose trusting ourselves over doubting ourselves. It's a skill we can learn through practice. It's a skill that can help in building all other skills.
Can you trust you? Strategic decision-making depends on making the strategic choice and taking action. It's better to separate the two. Making the strategic choice is possible only when we can think clearly and are not shrouded by emotions and fear. However, while taking action, emotions and fear are expected to show
One bad day. One bad day doesn't make you not a professional. It's how you respond (or react) to it that decides that.
Making space for slack. Being a professional doesn't mean being efficient, trying to make the most out of every hour of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year. Rather, these are sure shot signs of being an amateur. Instead, a professional focussed on what needs to be
Starting afresh. You don't need to wait for a new year, a new month or even a new week. Each day brings with it the gift of a new day. You may not be where you want to be right now. But you can choose to start the day tomorrow
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 of
Effective or efficient? Do you focus on the change you are seeking to make and on the things you need to ship to make that change? Or on how efficiently you are using the time you have available? The latter does not lead to the former. And we can burn ourselves out trying
Complex emotions. Sometimes we feel joy, followed by embarrassment, and maybe sadness too. On other days, it's fear, anxiety and guilt getting entangled with each other. Emotions rarely show up alone as we grow up. If we learn to segregate them, we might be able to dance with them. The
Unblocking. If a water pipe is blocked, you don't keep staring at it and hope it will unblock itself. You would need to do something about it. Maybe you do it yourself or you call a professional. But, there needs to be some movement. The same is true with
