Freshening Up

How regularly do you freshen up?

How important is your appearance?

How much do you value it?

How do you feel after freshening up?

Some value their appearance highly,

Others less so.

Yet, appearance is important.

When we neglect it, it influences us.

Once we freshen up, we lighten up.

A well-maintained machine functions better.

The same is true for you, and much more.

Ignorance is bliss?

How often do you feel something is off?

How often do you ignore your gut feeling?

How often was it correct, though?

Why do you ignore your gut?

Often we feel something is off,

yet we ignore it and keep on going.

Usually, our subconscious mind is right.

When you feel something is off,

you'd better stop and think about it.

Ignorance is bliss until it isn’t anymore.

New vs Old Habits

How well do you introduce new habits?

How well do they integrate with the old ones?

How often do you forget about the old ones?

How do you manage around this?

Introducing new habits is tricky.

There is a period of chaos where,

We focus on the new and forget the old.

Be gentle with yourself; it is normal.

Adjust where needed.

Often, the old needs to evolve,

so that the new can flourish.

Sudden Progress

How gradual is your progress?

How often is it sudden?

How long do you go without any?

Which is more common?

Most of the time, progress is sudden.

Yet, the work input needs to be consistent.

Progress can remain flat for extended periods.

Sudden jumps are rare,

flat non-progress is common,

regress happens constantly.

Focus on the process and reap the results.

World Events

How much do world events occupy you?

How much influence do you have over them?

How well have you positioned yourself?

What can you do today to improve this?

The world is a chaotic place.

Surprises and black swans happen.

Most of us have no influence over this.

Many are busy worrying about this.

Take the energy to position yourself.

Do what you can to be prepared and profit.

Focused Forgetfulness

How often are you in deep focus?

How often do you then forget things?

How does that make you feel?

What are the things you forget then?

When in deep focus,

we will forget tasks,

we will forget events,

we will forget others,

and so on.

Forget not only chores, but also important things.

In deep focus, the thing in front is the only thing.

Selling yourself

How well do you sell yourself?

How well does someone else sell you?

What is the difference?

What might be standing in your way?

For most, selling themselves is awkward.

Selling another person is always easier.

It is a job with an objective.

So, make selling yourself the same.

Ask someone else to sell you, watch, and learn.

Then be as shameless as they are.

Stressors

Which tasks stress you?

Which situations stress you?

Why are they stressful for you?

Why are you faced with them?

How can you improve this?

Things can stress us for many reasons.

Bad experiences,

lack of skills,

lack of interest,

emotional knots,

and so on.

Listen to yourself and pause when you feel stress.

Take a moment to take note.

Then find the root cause.

Then there is a solution in you.

Success Recipe

How often do you get it right?

How often do you get it wrong?

What is the difference?

How can you increase your success ratio?

The right thing at the wrong time.

The wrong thing at the right time.

The right thing at the right time.

Timing is crucial to success.

Being in the right place is one ingredient.

Grasping the opportunity is the second.

Making it right for you is the third.

Finishing things…

When do you not finish things?

What are the reasons for it?

Who was involved?

What were the tasks?

What were the goals?

“I finish what I start” is misguided.

It is not always worth finishing.

People may behave toxically.

Goals might have been set poorly.

You might not be right for the task.

Know when to stop — it is pure power.

Relaxation Criteria

When are you deeply relaxed?

What are you doing?

Whom are you with?

Where are you at?

What we do,

in which place,

with whom,

is crucial for our relaxation.

There is the perfect place.

There are the perfect people.

There are the perfect activities.

Identify them and relaxation can be planned.

Stay unmindful and it is pure chance.

Action Information

How do you deal with indecision?

Why are you indecisive when you are?

How does indecision make you feel?

How does action make you feel?

We are indecisive for many reasons:

lack of information,

lack of confidence,

lack of experience.

Action produces information, confidence and experience.

Often, any action is better than inaction.

Especially planned and experimental action.

There is no real downside — so act now.

Year Review

How do you review your last year?

How deep do you go?

Which areas of life do you assess?

How does it make you feel?

Some people don’t review at all.

Some will review in too great detail.

Some will review the wrong things.

Some will cherry-pick in their review.

What went well this year?

What did not go so well?

How did I do compared to my goals?

That is all you need — for all areas.

Christmas Reset

How do you utilize Christmas time?

How do you feel during this time?

How well do you reset yourself for next year?

How well can you recover from the last year?

Some people spend Christmas with loved ones.

Some people enjoy the slow and quiet time.

Others use it to reflect and prepare.

Christmas is a good time to reset yourself.

A reset is paramount to see clearly.

Do what helps you to reset yourself.

Festive Stress

How obliged do you feel to tradition?

How important are traditional feasts to you?

How much do they stress you?

How can you escape the stress?

Traditions come with up- and downsides.

There are societal expectations to face.

There are personal boundaries to defend.

There are familial traditions to weather.

We can focus on the parts that we enjoy,

yet mitigate the ones we dislike.

We can each find our own way of enjoying them,

while catering to tradition in balance with our boundaries.

Structure

How important is structure for you?

How well can you perform without?

How much do you structure your months, weeks or days?

How does it feel to have no structure?

Some people are paralyzed without structure.

Others outshine with no structure at all.

There is a right amount of structure for each of us.

This may differ with what we are trying to achieve.

This may differ with where we are right now.

Adapt your structure according to your goals.

Comebacks

How often do you experience a decline?

How often do you come back from it?

How often do you not return to your form?

What makes the difference between them?

We often experience declines in life.

We might get injured,

We might have surprises,

Or we might make a big mistake.

Whatever the reason, we can all come back.

Yet, many do not manage.

Do you believe you have a comeback in you?

If you do not, then you won’t.

Capacity and Price

How much capacity do you have?

How much do you cost?

How much do others cost?

How much capacity have they got?

What is the difference?

Some people have a lot of capacity,

others have very little.

Quality of work beats quantity.

If you deliver high quality but less volume,

it will beat low quality at large volume.

Quality and speed decide your price.

Be good and be fast.

Energy and Efficiency

How much energy do you have?

How healthy are you?

How efficient are you?

How do these compare to others?

Some are inefficient, yet have plenty of energy.

Some are efficient, yet they lack energy.

And some have both; and some have neither.

Not everyone is healthy and productive.

Yet sickness need not mean useless.

Yet good health need not mean usefulness either.

Find your balance and make the most of it.

Complainer’s Folly

How much do you complain?

What do you tend to complain about?

What should you complain about?

What happens when you complain?

How much is too much?

Complaining is a double-edged sword.

If we complain too much, we lose credibility.

If we complain too little, we lose respect.

Complaining without finding solutions is weak.

Yet, if we complain, sometimes a solution is found for us.

Strive to find solutions and complain where it is due.