NEED FOR NOVELTY

Did you see the new model?

How about her new line of handbags?

Did you hear the breaking news?

What’s happening with

Jane in accounting and Fred in marketing?

 

Our brains need novelty.

Crave it.

Will seek it anywhere.

Novelty is part of the reason we

cheat on our lovers,

check Facebook during work,

don’t like leftovers,

spend too much money eating out.

 

If you’re not getting enough novelty

at home,

at work --

beware.

You’ll find it somewhere.

 

And if you’re

a manager

or

an owner

and you’re not giving

your people

enough

diverse challenges

or

interesting incentives,

they’ll find them somewhere.

 

It just may not be your

“where”.

 

YOUR TONGUE IS BLEEDING

From the boardroom

to

the bedroom,

the less often you

speak

your truth,

the less often

you will speak

the truth.

 

(And when you do,

it will be dismissed as a rant.)

 

If you work in an environment

where

disagreement

is

discouraged;

if you love someone

who would rather

avoid

than

argue;

your tongue will

bleed constantly

from the biting.

 

It’s no way to live or love.

 

(And when you break this habit,

remember:

truth

is best paired

with

love.)

 

DYSFUNCTIONAL WORK FAMILY

“She’s my work-wife.”

“This is my work-husband.”

 

We play around with family language

when it comes to our colleagues

and sometimes

we treat them just as poorly.

 

We bring our dysfunctional family life

into the

work family

and wonder why everyone is difficult.

 

We forget:

We spend more time with our

work family

than

with our blood and marriage family.

 

We forget:

The better our work relationships,

the better our well-being.

The better our well-being,

the better our life.

 

So how will you show up today:

The passive-aggressive parent?

The sulking child?

The inappropriate uncle?

or

someone better?

 

If you’re going to be part of the family,

make it more than functional.

 

REARVIEW

Tomorrow,

when you look back at

today,

what will you see?

 

What will you celebrate?

What will you want to do differently?

 

If you’re not at least glancing

at the rearview,

you’ll never see what’s sneaking up

or

how far you have come.

 

LIVING TO THINK

I thought about

my life,

my work,

my hopes,

my dreams,

my failures,

my shame.

 

I thought about

my attempts,

my debt,

my death,

my desires.

 

And what did all of this

thinking

produce?

 

More thoughts.

 

So I let this kind of thinking go.

 

And started living.

 

THE LAG

When driving a standard transmission,

there is a moment,

a lag,

between

shifting

and when the gear grabs.

 

When shifting your life,

the lag

can seem to last much longer.

 

You begin to wonder

if it was the right decision,

if it will all work out,

if you are stuck.

 

You think about changing

your Every. Single. Day. practices.

 

Then,

just about the time you think

the shift will never happen,

your find yourself

moving faster forward.

 

The lag is when it all comes together.

 

Embrace it

and

let the shift take hold.

 

DISTRACTION ADDICTION

Your brain has D.A.:

Distraction Addiction.

 

Always on the lookout

for its next hit,

you’re a bystander

caught in the transaction.

 

No wonder you

love/hate

smartphone notifications.

 

No wonder you

compulsively check your

feeds.

(Now you know why they are called feeds.)

 

You may think you’re being attentive,

staying on top of the latest.

 

You may think you’re getting better at

moving from this to that.

 

You’re not.

 

You’re just more distracted.