A LITTLE MUD, A LITTLE WIND, AND A BIG BOAT

It doesn’t matter how big we get, what success we achieve, how strong we may seem, or how clear and bright our future looks. We will all get stuck at times.

WEEKEND WALKS WITH WINSTON

There is evidence that time seems to slow down when we confront the unfamiliar, and speed up when we're engaged in routine.

EVEN AMAZON CAN’T SAVE YOU

Exactly one year ago to the day this week the director of the World Health Organization announced the following: “We have therefore made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.”

ELON MUSK VS ROBIN HOOD

There is nothing wrong with being a consumer. It often makes us feel great in the moment, and we all want to feel great in the moment. But it has taught me an incredible lesson to look at what other options I have at any moment that I am about to be a consumer.

“Expectations”

Last week as my family headed up to the mountain for some skiing, the familiar “Are we there yet’s” began to filter in from the back seat.  To be honest, it had been so long since I had heard them, I didn’t mind it one bit.  But it got me thinking, why do the “are we there yet’s” show up on the way to the mountain, but never show up again on the way back home?  

“The World Looks Different”

When we see something daily, hear something daily, or read something daily, it no longer shocks or surprises. We almost just accept that the world looks different now.

THE PANDEMIC OF FOMO

As FOMO begins to creep in so does comparison with ourselves and others physically and socially and economically. When we see someone else ‘achieve or gain something’, we begin to feel like we’ve missed out.

YOU ARE YOUR OPPORTUNITY

…perhaps the most popular door, and one that all of us would choose, is the door to opportunity.

The Three Prong Plug

When you pull out a plug from the outlet in the wall, ultimately what you are doing is disconnecting it from the “hot” wire where there is a constant current running. It is more than just turning off the switch.  


TWO WORDS.

I am. This week someone told me that those were the two most powerful words in the English language. They were wrong.  They are the two most powerful words in every language.

THE ART OF BEING HUMAN

Isn’t it ironic then, that growing up the majority of our parents tried to convince us not to become an artist. After all, you can’t make money as an artist. There are no jobs out there for artists. What are you going to do with a degree in art they asked.

A SILVER LINING

Often we are so focused on the rain cloud in front of us, that we miss the fact that the sun is just on the other side.

THE TURNING OF A PAGE

And so we turn the page. Perhaps one chapter has just ended and a new one has begun. Never before have I seen so many so ready for a new year. So ready to turn the page, start a new chapter, or perhaps close one book and start a new one.

GET IN LINE… AND TAKE YOUR TROPHY

If we are working for the trophy, the end of our path is going to feel empty.

_{Photo Credit: By Bjarte Hetland - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1558615}

PRESS THE GAS. PRESS THE BRAKE.

Slamming either of those pedals on your vehicle will not serve you well. The speeding up and screeching to a halt is uncomfortable for the driver and passenger, and it isn’t healthy for the vehicle either.  

THE BATTLE OF CONFIDENCE VS EGO

Confidence comes from our internal belief in ourselves. This can be built every time we do what we say we are going to do. Every commitment to ourselves that we keep, we build our self-confidence. This quality is completely internal. Our self-confidence can’t be taken away by anyone, and external validation or recognition is unnecessary to build it.

A NOD TO THE PARENT

…there’s a reason why teachers typically have 4 or 5 years of education. That isn’t just to learn subjects that they are going to teach. In fact most of that time isn’t learning subjects. It is learning to understand children, how to develop children, quite honestly how to deal with children.

A VACATION IS NOT WHAT YOU NEED

If we get to a place that we feel we really need a “vacation” from work, it may be a sign that we have stopped living an integrated life or that the work we do has begun to encroach on life itself.  Perhaps we have not given enough time or importance to our Personal Relationships or our Health or our Spirituality. Any one of those, or perhaps all three, are screaming for attention.

ZOOM IN. ZOOM OUT.

Extreme focus can pull us away from living experientially.  Extreme focus can also be linked to negativity.  Perhaps that has everything to do with the adjective we attach - extreme.  

2020 MATH: ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION

Over the past few months I’ve found myself being a science teacher, a history teacher, a Spanish teacher, and after today I’ll certainly be fired as a math teacher. Because today I propose that 2 + 1 = 1 and 2 - 1 = 3.