Doing more than nothing

We are very seldom operating at our peak – our most productive, our healthiest, or our best-balanced life.

I am sure, like me, you have areas in your life you would like to improve.

And, you know, it’s easy to improve.

The only thing you have to do? More than nothing.

Maybe like me, you sometimes say “I need to…….”

And then tomorrow, do nothing about it.

Tomorrow, what are you going to do that is more than nothing?

And the day after?

The shadow

This is something I have come to appreciate more during the pandemic…

The bad casts a shadow.

And if you keep thinking too much about what’s bad, you may lose what’s good.

As an experiment, notice how much time you are thinking about good stuff vs bad stuff.

What is your ratio of good vs bad thinking, or positive vs. negative thinking?

How can you tweak that ratio to something better for you?

You see, we feel the way we do because of what we think – about ourselves, our world, and what happens to us.

So, if you want to feel better, think better ?

Here are some tips on thinking better.

The secret to changing your life

Do you want to change something in your life, in your work, in your relationships; your health, weight, happiness, job, confidence...?

Here's the secret.

You can change your life only to the extent that you can tolerate a little discomfort.

That's all. And it is that simple.

As soon as we start to try and change something, we feel uncomfortable because it is different.

How will you ever change if you can't tolerate a little discomfort?

Your motivation to change needs to be sufficient to overcome your competing motivation to avoid discomfort.

Therefore, you can do two things:

1. Increase your motivation to change 2. Decrease the discomfort of change

Think of a change you want to make.

Each and every day, how are you going to approach that change differently now?

Here are some tips on how to deal with the discomfort of change.

The sadness of dead daffodils

It is spring, and the daffodils are coming up. In a park near here, the lawnmower cut down a bed of these budding daffodils. What a shame. Perhaps the lawnmower driver did not see them.

If a plant sends its first tentative leaves above the ground, it is worth waiting to see what kind of plant it is before sending in the lawnmower.

If a new idea blinks its way into the light, it is worth waiting to see what kind of an idea it is before destroying it.

Too many times, we destroy new ideas in their infancy before we see what they can become.

The next time you or a colleague has an idea, give it a chance to grow. Think of it as incubation (and protection from the lawnmower). The green shoot can become a daffodil, the ugly duckling becomes a swan, and an idea can grow to change everything.

Walt Disney used to organise his creative teams so that new ideas had a chance to flourish, and you can also use his simple process. It is method 3 at the bottom of this page.