We can’t really be both at once. But we usually start our day by being a critic. Browsing through social media and the news to judge positively or negatively about what others are doing. We finish our day as an audience member, browsing through videos and articles. We become a consumer day-in and day-out. Without […]
Stop Depriving Others Of Your Best Self
How do we grab someone’s attention? It’s what we want. For people to see us, listen to us, and treat our ideas with respect. So imagine if you’re giving a speech on a topic you’re most passionate about and you notice someone sitting down on their phone. Or, perhaps more likely, you’re at a party […]
You’ve Pushed The Rock Up The Mountain
Congrats. Now what? Maybe you can find another rock. You can find another mountain. Maybe you can find a way to do it faster, to do it better. But a better question is to look at that rock and ask, “What was it for?” Most people are pushing rocks up a mountain because everyone else […]
Don’t Count Reps, Make Reps Count
There was an interesting video I watched a while back from professional trainer Jeff Cavaliere. He discusses the limitations in mindset around the common “3 sets of 12” paradigm around workouts. His criticism comes not from the ineffectiveness of the structure, but what it incentivizes us to do. Particularly, our knowledge of future repetition of […]
Organizing By Essence
It’s always surprising to me how easy it is to lose perspective when it seems like there’s a hurricane of work around me. It could be a lot of homework. It could be a project. It could even be other people. And during those times I tell myself it’s ok to sacrifice a little bit […]
You’re An Artist, Not a Drone
You likely pass by many strangers as you go about your day. But I’m sure you’ve had the experience of walking by someone who decided to say “Hello.” Maybe they hold the door for you when it wasn’t obvious to do so. But it could even just be a simple smile with an acknowledgement. They […]
Quantity Over Quality
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit” Richard Bach One of the most common ailments that affects people is writer’s block. It’s always lurking when you’re about to start writing something new. All of a sudden, you have no idea what to put on paper. And you find yourself staring endlessly at a […]
Why Playing Could Be the Most Important Thing For Our Work
“One thing is certain, during play, animals are especially prone to behave in flexible and creative ways” James Panksepp, Affective Neuroscience While most people spend their Saturday mornings with their family, going outside, or maybe just sleeping in, Oliver Smithies, a biochemist, spends his back in the lab. He loves this time because typical work […]
How to Consistently Work at Your Peak… By Not Working
When Josh Watizkin competed in national chess tournaments at a young age, he would go into bouts of intense performance. This meant days of uninterrupted focus in training and strategizing his matches. But while it seemed best to keep him undistracted, he did suffer. He felt his first few matches or days were amazing, yet […]