Large, sweeping changes often sound good in theory, but the faster you try to change your life, the more likely you are to backslide. Real change is inch by inch. Go out and win the next five minutes.
The brain is designed to learn through constant repetition and active, hands-on involvement.
Through such practice and persistence, any skill can be mastered.
One of the most valuable skills in life is being able to see another person's perspective.
If you're going to someone's house, think about how it might feel to be the host. If you're creating a product, spend as much time as possible thinking like the customer. If you're calling customer service, think about how it might feel to be on the other end of the conversation.
The more clearly you understand the viewpoint of your spouse or customer or coworker, the better positioned you are to find a solution.
A Monday morning question for you:
Today is a good day to reclaim some of your time and energy. What project, commitment, or responsibility have you known for a while you should let go of (or wrap up), but still haven't?
The recipe for frustration is taking on something that requires a whole person, but only giving it half your time.
Look at what you're trying to do. What is required? Some things can only be done well when they are pursued with full effort.
“Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up. But the writing is a way of not allowing those things to destroy you.” — John Edgar Wideman
Learn to love the interruptions. Find the fun in the delay, the humor in the challenge, the pleasure in the daily commute.
A great deal of life is spent dealing with interruptions and waiting for the conditions to turn. We think, "If I can just get past this, then things will open up." But the interruption is not standing between you and your life. It is your life.
Yes, I prefer hassle-free days too. But you'll rarely find a situation that is all bad. There are little pockets of joy folded inside the annoyances we face. There is always fun to be had, if you go looking for it.
This is one of the arts of living. It's the art of enjoying the imperfect days. It's the art of making all the moments count.