Celebratory Moment

When do you celebrate?

How far concluded need things be?

How do you celebrate?

With whom do you share the news?

Celebrating too early can lead to disappointment.

Celebrating too late can rob the magic.

When things look good, it is often too early.

When things are sure, the wonder is gone.

Don’t miss sharing with those who are important.

Don’t miss the moment of joy to celebrate.

Life in Conflict

How often do you have conflicts?

With whom do you have them?

How do you feel about it?

How avoidant are you?

Conflict is part of life.

We will and should have conflict.

With partners, friends, colleagues, yourself,

and then there are opponents.

Every conflict is a negotiation.

Polite and direct is the way to go.

Normalize conflict — it is not a bad thing.

Having a conflict does not make you enemies.

Red Ocean - Blue Ocean

How much competition do you have?

Do you have an edge over the competition?

Is the pond you are swimming in big enough?

Is there a niche where you can be the star?

Often, we swim in a red ocean,

an intensely fought-over market.

Yet, there is a blue ocean right next to us.

A market with hardly any competition.

We all have an edge,

something only we are great at.

Find that edge and create your blue ocean.

Respect and Recognition

How respected are you?

How much recognition do you receive?

What do you do to be respected and recognized?

What are you respected and recognised for?

How does this make you feel?

We all yearn for recognition and respect.

We all do things to gain them.

If we are not recognised for these, we get frustrated.

Some of us will try hollow things out of despair.

Just as they are hollow, so will they feel.

For example, by buying flashy things.

Stay true to yourself, work hard, and gain that respect.

Every little bit counts

How fast do you need to progress?

How large do the gains need to be?

How much do you want to do at once?

How well can you carry these out?

Every little bit counts.

Big gains are not necessary.

Progress is steady and in increments.

Big gains are rare to non-existent.

Fast progress happens, but not often.

Progress is an exponential function.

Consistency is the key.

A little bit each day compounds.

The Good and the Ugly

How often do you experience good things?

How often do you experience ugly things?

How often do they come in tandem?

Do they ever come alone at all?

Nothing in life is only good or bad.

Good days are followed by good days.

Good years are followed by ugly ones.

Enjoy the good times and prepare for the bad.

There is a speck of opportunity in every adversity.

Bad News Days

How often do you receive bad news?

How regularly do they come?

How bunched up are they?

How do you handle it?

Often, we have a bad news day.

Bad news like to come with friends,

some more bad news.

This can be overwhelming.

All you can do is focus on the process.

Try the best you can and repeat.

Good news also like to come with friends.

Be Brave

How often are you brave?

How brave are you in general?

How do you feel before it?

How do you feel after it?

What are the results for you?

Bravery is an age-old virtue.

Bravery can reap amazing results.

Bravery can also launch you into disasters.

Being brave can feel awesome.

Being brave is not easy.

Being brave is a roller coaster.

Being brave has consequences.

What does productivity look like?

How do you define a productive day?

How immediate are the outcomes?

How is the ratio of time to output?

A productive day can come in many forms.

Long-term work has no immediate outcomes.

Immediate outcomes often have a small impact.

Sometimes we invest a lot of time for little output.

Other times, we get a huge amount done in little time.

Not every day is a home run, and that is ok.

The Tower of Strength

How often do you feel uncomfortable?

When do you feel uncomfortable?

What happens when you feel so?

How do you handle the feeling?

We all feel uncomfortable at times.

There is always a good reason.

Sometimes obvious, sometimes less so.

It is ok to feel this way.

Yet, often we will be ashamed.

We will compare with others who are not.

Discomfort is individual.

When are you the tower of strength?

Contract Termination

How do you behave after a contract termination?

How do others behave after one?

What is the difference?

How does this make you feel?

Not everyone behaves the same.

Some people finish the work as required.

Others drop their pencil at termination notice.

Honor if it is the prior.

Do not force the issue if it is the latter.

Immediate termination is preferable to bad work.

A good handover is preferable to an immediate end.

Cleanliness

How clean do you like it?

How pedantic are you about it?

How do you define clean or dirty?

How do others perceive this?

We all have different cleanliness thresholds.

What you find clean, someone else finds dirty.

What you find dirty, someone else finds clean.

Do not judge others for their threshold.

Completion vs Oblivion

How often do you push a task along?

What happens if you wait too long?

How often will life force you to do it?

How often will the task become obsolete?

We all tend to postpone doing things.

Sometimes life will force the delivery upon you.

Other times you will postpone into oblivion.

Truly important tasks will get completed.

The unimportant is well placed in nirvana.

Life will tell you through pressure what is important.

Confidence in Yourself

How confident are you in yourself?

What are you good at?

What are you bad at?

What are you the best at?

Do you acknowledge these?

Humility and confidence are important.

Arrogance and self-abnegation are your downfall.

Be confident in your strengths.

Be proud to communicate them.

Be wary of your weaknesses.

Be honest about them.

Especially to yourself, not just others.

Reputation Precedes

How good is your reputation?

How important is it for you?

How aware are you of it?

How conscious are you about it?

Your reputation precedes you.

For better and for worse.

Building it requires effort and intention.

Destroying it is easy.

A good reputation creates opportunities.

A good reputation creates access.

A good reputation creates relationships.

Never underestimate the value of your reputation.

Paradoxical Intention

How focused are you on outcomes?

How do you set your goals?

How well do you know the required path?

How often do you reach your goals?

We tend to overly focus on outcomes.

We also tend to focus on non-goals.

Formulating goals as what we do not want.

This creates paradoxical intention.

We will end up “achieving” exactly the opposite.

A better way is to focus on the process.

And to never use non-goal formulas.

Slowly Then Suddenly

How fast do things progress for you?

How steady is this progress?

How often is there no progress?

How often do you have sudden action?

We often believe progress to be linear.

Yet, progress is anything but linear.

Usually, nothing much happens for a while.

Then suddenly progress shoots upwards.

We plan, tinker, and do, often till frustration.

One day, it all pays off, and we break through.

Don’t give up before this day.

Yet, don’t keep trying for eternity.

Right Action, Wrong Time

How often do you do the right thing?

Yet, how often is it at the wrong time?

How valuable is the action then?

How often is it negative?

The right action at the wrong time,

may still amount to the wrong action.

Timing is often a crucial component.

We might do more harm than good,

when our timing is bad.

However, some actions are good, irrespective of timing.

Find these and do more of them.

Too much good

How often do you overdo it?

When does good stop being good?

How easy is it to overstep it?

How can good be too much?

The dosage makes the poison.

This goes both ways.

Good things can become detrimental.

Too much of anything is bad.

Too little of anything is pointless.

Getting the amount right can be a challenge.

Your body and mind will tell you.

Often less is more, so take a step back.

Good is not equal Good

How often do you treat yourself?

How good are your treats?

How healthy are your habits?

How do you feel after these?

What may be good for one area

can be horrible for another.

What can help one ailment

may be catastrophic for another.

Good is not always good.

“Good” is situational.

“Good” is a question of perspective.

Choose the right good for the moment.