“The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth.”
M. Scott Peck
Blog
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Quote to Consider: Spiritual Angle on Pain
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Karl Shares Six Words… #68
Forgotten appointment undermines claim of interest.
Karl Edwards
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Loving Monday: Smiling Out Loud
Today calls for a good laugh.I don’t know what it is. I’m in an inexplicably good mood, and I want to joke around with everyone in the vicinity.
Best is when I get to laugh at myself. An idiosyncrasy, a silly mistake, some aspect of showing up completely human when the workplace expected a machine. When I can laugh at myself it frees others to let down their guards and laugh too.
The only way to make sure the important things stay important is to remind ourselves that they are not THAT important.
Humor is my secret perspective-restoring weapon.
It seems like more of a secret than it really is, because it is so counter-intuitive. Most people can’t even imagine cracking a smile in a tough situation much less poking fun at it.
Humor is my favorite and most effective tool for keeping a cool and sharp head when things get crazy busy, far too intense, or reactions spiral out of proportion to what’s actually going on.
And of course, a good laugh is refreshing. Like a cup of cold water on a hot day, smiling out loud throws an surprising and exhilarating splash of joy into our faces.
Startled, we join in the lightness of the moment, appreciate that we’re all human and on the same team, and then get back to work.
Yes, today calls for a good laugh. And so do a good many more.
Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.
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Loving Monday: Mustering Energy When The Tanks Feel Empty
We all have Mondays—even seasons of Mondays—when we aren’t sure whether we can muster the energy to face a new week.(I’m not in a position to speak to the darkest seasons of depression or chronic anxiety. The best gift you can give yourself if such pervasive darkness or fear handicaps your life is to seek a professional counselor or therapist.)
Here are a few suggestions that I find helpful when I struggle to stay in the game.Build in some personal achievement benefits to your job. Learn a new skill. You might learn a bit of html so that you can communicate better with your IT department. You might learn how to read a financial statement so that you can better understand how your performance affects the bottom line.
Set a secret objective. In addition to reaching your sales goals, increase the caliber of client you’re seeking. Besides solving the disgruntled customer’s problem, try sending them away thrilled and thanking you like you’re a hero.
Do something refreshingly kind. Treat everyone to ice cream or  a bottle of specialty soda. Offer to complete an unpleasant chore for a struggling co-worker.
Contribute to building a healthier office culture. Write an article for the company newsletter. (Or start a company newsletter!) Publicly and personally thank co-workers for a job well done. Communicate and coordinate work flow changes more quickly and more often.
The main characteristic of all these tips is that they get your mind off of your foul mood and onto your interests, aspirations, co-workers and office culture. In each of these small actions you experience that you are worthwhile, have something valuable to offer, and that your choices make a difference.
If you had a hard time getting going today, try one new thing tomorrow. Experiment. Discover what helps shift your focus, fosters a different attitude, or offers a fresh perspective to you.Â
Instead of waiting for a massive mood change, try making a small action change.
On your side,
– Karl Edwards
Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.
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Quote to Consider: Choosing to be Wise
“Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the instruments of the wise.”Samuel Lover
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Karl Shares Six Words… #67
Trouble ignored is potential breakthrough denied.
Karl Edwards
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Listen In -> Clutter: Friend or Foe? #5: All That Stuff on Your Desktop
Both our physical desktop and our computer desktop can get cluttered quickly. Some of us function well in cluttered environments. Others of us go crazy with frustration.
I once worked with a gentleman whose office was piled from corner to corner with files, books, and rolls of construction drawings. He knew where everything was. I still feel bad for the young intern who thought she was doing him a favor by cleaning it all up one year while he was away on vacation.
In this week’s podcast discussion, web developer Jorge Rosas and I look at these two desktop worlds of wood and pixels, and do some thinking about clutter.
One of the issues in whether we can find what we need. The other issue is whether the cluttered desktops are making it difficult to focus and be productive.
In other words, can you recognize how clutter affects your ability to find things or to get work done?
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
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Listen In -> Clutter: Friend or Foe? #4: All Those Communication Options
I got another angry email from Fred before I had a chance to respond to his first. Why doesn’t Nancy return my calls? Did I really need to receive so much information about Kendra’s breakup?Choosing to communicate via phone, text, email, or social network is not only a matter of personal preference, but must take into account the recipients preferences as well.
Calling someone who never answers their phone is worse than futile. Leaving a long phone message for a busy person is almost a form of cruelty.
A new form of clutter clouds our focus with so many communication options available to us. Not only are there more means of communication than ever before, each person’s communication preferences vary.
In this week’s podcast discussion, web developer Jorge Rosas and I discuss the problem of keeping track of this exploding world of communication options. What used to be a simple conversation can now be anything from a live video chat to an abbreviated text message.
How do you keep track of who responds best to a text message and who responds best to a personal call? How do you know which messages need to be delivered in person and which messages can be published on a public social network?
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
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Quote to Consider: Seriously Now
“The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.”Margot Fonteyn
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Listen In -> Clutter: Friend or Foe? #3: All Those Tech Tools
Where is that conversation thread? On my phone, my tablet, my laptop, or my desktop computer?We are surrounded by dramatically new, increasingly fantastic, ever-changing tools. When do the new options propel us forward and when do they confuse, distract or paralyze us?
In this week’s podcast discussion, web developer Jorge Rosas and I take a look at the myriad new technology tools which are available to us.
Each new tool has the potential to create as many problems as it solves.Some of us thrive with new tools and some of us get overwhelmed.
It wasn’t that long ago that a telephone had a single, very focused capability while a desktop computer had a different capability and purpose.
Now they are almost completely interchangeable. We can surf the web on our phones and talk to family in Asia on our computers.
For some the new tools have dramatically increased our effectiveness. For others the new tools have only increased the confusion and mess.
How many contact lists do you keep for phone numbers, email addresses, messaging user names, and residence addresses?
What are you carrying today? Your phone? Your tablet? Your laptop? All three?Â
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.