Urgency vs. Pressure
I often talk about the negative impact of mental pressure. But I am occasionally asked whether some pressure isn't good. For example, a member of the Thinking Lab observed, "Just the right amount of pressure is desirable and beneficial.... I believe in values pressure...
Overcoming the Obstacles to Doing What Matters Most
There are only three obstacles to doing what matters most: confusion, temptation, and resistance, or some combination thereof. If you have difficulty doing what matters most, you may be under a false impression about whether you can overcome these obstacles....
What Does Your New Commitment Compete With?
Time management books talk a lot about keeping track of your commitments. Commitments are those tasks you have decided you are going to do, no matter what. They range from the trivial (mailing a letter today) to the profound (write a book). They can be personal (lose...
Introspecting Emotions in Private
I believe the essential purpose of a journal is to introspect one's emotions in private. Why do that? Well, first let's agree that introspecting one's emotions is a value. When you introspect, you answer the questions, "what do I feel?" and "why do I feel it?" By...
Learn from Mistakes, not Failure
People often say that you learn from failure. But I think you learn primarily from your mistakes, not from your failures. There's a big difference. You can make a good decision, based on sound reasons, and still have it result in failure. For example, there can be...
Take Your Motivational Pulse by Identifying the Mmmm and Stress Factors
If you've been following my work, you know that I advocate pursuing all goals on the basis of "motivation by love," not "motivation by fear," because it's the only kind of motivation that can lead you to consistent success over the long-term. That's great in theory,...
How an “Urge Jar” Can Help You Follow Through on Your Intentions
While doing a competitive analysis to build my business, I checked out the Self-Coaching Scholars program created by Brooke Castillo. It looked interesting, so I joined and have been educating myself in her methods. One of the new tools I’ve adopted is the use of the...
Next Step vs. Next Goal
Most people know that it's helpful to break down very complex, long-term projects into smaller steps. This is crucial for achieving your goals. But I'd like to explain an important difference between identifying the "next step" as opposed to identifying the "next...
The Roles of Thinking, Observing, and Learning in Gaining Knowledge
A friend told me she'd read my pamphlet on "Thinking on Paper" and had immediately used it to think about a family situation. She'd concluded that she needed to talk with someone to find out more information. She wanted to know if that was "all right." Of course, it...
Mental Leverage
Some of you may be familiar with Wally Wallington and his techniques for moving Stonehenge-like blocks (up to 19,000 pounds) with ropes, little rocks, wood, and his own effort. No metal, no machines, no engines. Just clever use of levers and wedges. If you haven't...