Tag: goal setting

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motivation

What is the Strangest Secret?

man wearing black blazer
Photo by Caleb Oquendo on Pexels.com

In 1955, Earl Nightingale recorded a spoken word album that became a bestseller called The Strangest Secret. He asked and answered the question, “What is the strangest secret in the world?”

I heard parts of the recording many years ago. In August 2022, Dan Miller on the 48 Days podcast issued a challenge to listen to the recording for thirty days. I decided to take the challenge. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me!

Here is a link to the original recording:

“The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale

This last month has turned out to be one of change for my wife and me. She has been offered an amazing opportunity. As a result, we will be moving soon and starting a new chapter in our lives.

The challenge also involved writing how the recording affected me. The following is my response to The Strangest Secret Challenge. I took the challenge. My answers are below.

Continue reading “What is the Strangest Secret?”
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Book Review motivation

Pay Attention

Pay Attention!

Today, we will have many distractions. We have them every day. Our phones will buzz. At work, a coworker will change our focus because something is hot. They will come to us either in person or by some electronic means. Of course, their concern is the most important to them, but we may have others demanding the same precious amount of attention. In a world full of distractions, how do we know what we should pay attention to?

If we’re not careful, we can be dragged in so many directions that nothing of value gets done. The Book, Deep Work, by Cal Newport, opened my eyes to this challenge. This quote summed it up for me.

“We tend to place a lot of empasis on our circumstances, assuming that what happens to us (or fails to happen) determines how we feel.”

Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central, 2016. 

Swayed by Circumstances

When I thought this phrase, I pondered how silly that could be. Circumstances happen all the time. Many of them are out of our control. We can’t predict how others are going to react. A supply chain has so many links, no one can control how or when supplies will get to us. We thought we could rely on it until we couldn’t. Were we ever really in control, or did we buy into the illusion of control?

If we focus on circumstances, we will be swayed by bad news, others’ demands, and the whims of fate and fortune. But what if we are on the right track and circumstances haven’t yet caught up with the future results? We can give up way before it is time.

Eye on the Prize

Pay attention! If we focus on our circumstances, how we feel, and the distractions of others, we are going to get off track very quickly. While we need to acknowledge our feelings, is far better to manage them and keep our eye on the prize. It will give us endurance and will help give us strength under pressure.

Cartoon of a jogging couple

Cal’s book focuses on the digital distractions that keep us from doing deep, meaningful work. People as well as a buzzing phone with the latest distraction can equally keep us from paying attention. This week, I’m going to keep my focus on this particular topic.

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motivation

How to Waste Time

How to waste time

Nobody needs a lesson on how to waste time, do they? Or do we think it’s so obvious we don’t realize there are subtle ways to ruin a day?

There are plenty of examples of time-sucking activities. However, what came to mind when you read the headline? Did any of these thoughts come to you about wasting time?

  • A slacker just sits in front of their TV each day
  • Someone at work doing anything but work
  • A social butterfly flitting between people, spreading gossip and idle chit chat to their surroundings

We look at disdain to people we consider lazy and unproductive. But what we don’t realize is how often we waste time being busy. It is possible to be incredibly busy but doing the wrong things.

  • We can stay up late, then wake up late in a manic push to get out the door
  • Some of us can be tempted to just answer email instead of consider long-term planning
  • An alert on our phone can distract us from an important task we are doing

We don’t have to be idle to waste time. Focusing all our energy on urgent matters that aren’t important can make us waste just as much time as someone who isn’t busy. In fact, we need downtime and breaks to keep us from burning out. Consider taking a break and do the following:

  • Write a list and consider what is really important for today
  • Turn off phone notifications when you need to focus
  • Spend some time considering what is important in the long-term as opposed to what seems urgent today that won’t matter tomorrow
  • Take a look at the toxic time triangle and consider if your life is out of balance

There are too many ways to waste time. Let’s consider how slowing down and taking a look at what’s important can keep us from wasting more of it.

Categories
motivation

Small Victories

As we begin a new year, we can be tempted to make big, lofty resolutions. But an article from the Good News Network asserts that small victories count.

Too often we like to think that a goal or resolution doesn’t count unless it has some big risk or reward. After all, a big risk can bring a big reward, right? But it can overwhelm us if we think every goal has to be a big, fat hairy one. So find some small victories today.

  • Call a loved one
  • Say something encouraging to someone who needs it
  • Read one encouraging Bible verse
  • Count your blessings
  • Stop to notice something beautiful, like a flower or the sky

Depending on where we are in life, getting up in the morning, and making the bed can be a vital, small victory. We can be so focused on the big goals, that we miss the blessings and small victories that are right in front of us. And small victories accumulate into big victories over time.

Categories
motivation

How to Succeed by Disappointing Someone

Cartoon of a man pointing his finger at a cat. He says, "Why must your species be so perfidious?" When is saw this on the word of the day for dictionary.com, I thought of cats. Not my cat, mind you. But everyone has seen a deceitful, treacherous cat. Thank heavens my cat thinks he's a dog.

Over the years, I have owned cats and dogs. Dogs can be easier to handle because all they want to do is please their owner. However, I have admired cats over the years because of their determination. If they want to climb the drapes, they are going to do it, by golly! If you don’t want a cat on the table, just watch them try to get up there. They’ll find a creative way to sneak up there. Dogs are people pleasers. But cats are goal-setters.

There are times when we need to do both. However, if you have a goal that is going to ruffle some feathers, you will disappoint someone. Some people don’t like change no matter how beneficial it could be. Others are simply not going to see things your way.

In order to make effective change, you are going to disappoint someone. There is no need to be perfidious, but there will be a need to hold your ground when you have a goal or initiative that will bring great results in the long run.

Be like a dog when you need to be friendly and social. Be like a cat when you have a goal that you know must be attained.