What makes some things more important than others? How do we grade importance? When something is of high importance how do you approach it? Running through all the scenarios that can happen and planning for them. This will make it a success. Right? Does the thought of doing the important thing make your mind race? Next time you’re facing something important. Pause. Breathe. Release tension. Think slowly, with intention. ...

How do we know what something really contains? How do we know what it took to get here? Most things in life are fairly easy to understand until you look into the every detail of how they come into existence. Physical supply chains Take a bottle of water for example. It’s pretty easily explainable right? You put water in a bottle then someone buys it and drinks the water. ...

Why is change hard? Once we start moving in a direction we find it hard to stop moving and start moving in a new direction. In our personal lives it is a little easier since we can welcome the change we seek to make in ourselves. When it is an external party getting us to change that seems harder. What about an external party makes it harder for us to change? Why do we all of a sudden become closed rather than open? ...

If you want something decide to do it. Build in systems to get you to do that thing especially on the days you are struggling. Success comes from incremental effort. Make sure you write the blog everyday. Go to the Gym/for a run everyday. What ever your thing is, build on it everyday. Never stop showing up. Professionals show up everyday if they want to or not. You expect the surgeon to show up and do the best job she can regardless if she feels like it today. What makes the surgeon a professional is that she shows up every single day and performs her best. ...

What does this look like from their position? This is a question we rarely ask ourselves. When we are able to view things from another perspective we are able to come up with solutions that are better than those created with a single lense. We are also able to see our blind spots when we are aware of others perspectives. When understanding someone else’s perspective make sure you are genuinely curious. How does this fit into their view of the world? ...

How can we be better at remembering things? How can we truly understand new concepts and bring them in to our lives for the better? Here are some things that work for me: Having a conversation with a friend about the ideas Writing down the ideas and trying to flesh out and expand on some of the ideas Finding examples in my own life to relate the idea to Places where it would have helped Places where it wouldn’t have helped Be curious. I mean truly curious about what works for you. Be free to try things and if they aren’t working tweak or try something else. ...

What is it about being still and waiting that is so hard? It seems almost everyone has a hard time being able to be still and in the moment. Now that we have the ultimate distractor in our pockets, a smartphone, we never have to be in the present. When we’re waiting in a line we’re checking social media, messaging friends or playing a game. When are we ever fully present? ...

Why do we always remember the end of an experience? Why does that always colour how we think about the rest of the experience? Peak end theory, made famous by Daniel Kahneman, tells us this very fact. Our memories of an experience are dominated by how the end was. For example if the end is better/easier than the majority we remember it as a good thing even if the majority of it was unpleasant. ...

Lots of things in life seem certain. We plan, execute and accomplish. What are we to do when external forces change our plans for us? How can we be anti-fragile? How can we be better for the disruption? Not attaching to the certainty of something happening. Letting things happen as they will. Not being caught in the emotion of the change. These practices will allow you to see clearly when others can’t. Use that clear sight to identify opportunities that will lead to greater happiness. Be in the present. Live in a stillness that allows clear thought. ...

Do you find you fidget? Does it help you concentrate? Studies suggest that fidgeting can really help with concentration and focus. Do you notice yourself fidgeting or does it just happen? It seems the mind gets distracted when we are not moving. So next time you need to concentrate fidget, go for a walk, doodle. Next time you have a particularly hard task at hand, take some time to think. Go for a walk to your favourite nearby park or coffee store. Think along the way. Bring an open awareness to the thought process. ...