My Riffs

Big decisions shouldn’t be knee jerk decisions. The bigger the decision the more time and consideration should be given. And the more council should be sought. Don’t buy a house without talking to people who know and doing your due diligence. Same thing applies for choosing a life mate. Any decision of that magnitude should be made slowly and with council. 

People may issue us a challenge. And we may rise to meet it. But the best challenges are the ones we challenge ourselves to. And we may be the only ones who ever know that we met that challenge. But those can be the most productive challenges we can take on. 

Data has become the modern day gold. The richest companies in the world primarily own data.  Data drives decisions. Data can predict future events. Data can be used for figuring out complex problems. Gathering data is one thing. Figuring out how to use it for good is another.  As we get older we’re gathering data too. On a personal level. What do we do with that data? And how do we use it? Those are the important questions to answer. 

Some things you don’t need to go overboard with. A scripture says that a little leaven is all you need to make a loaf of bread rise. This ties into the post yesterday, give some love away. Yes love liberally but you don’t have to drain yourself to do so. A little love and a little kindness can do a whole lot of good. 

There's a lack of encouragement today. It seems the tenor is criticism and hate. We never know how much one simple word of encouragement can do for someone. You likely won't inflate their ego, you likely will help them feel better. One small word can do something large for someone.

I know I've said this before, but I'm reminded that you find what you're looking for. They say the heart gets what it wants eventually. If you're looking for negative, it's easy to find. If you're looking for good, you will find it.

You don’t move a mountain whole. You move it piece by piece. Anything worth doing is gonna take time. Large endeavours take time. Moving a mountain begins with one small piece. Easy come, easy go. If something is easy to do, it’s easy to end. Mountains move piece by piece. 

Meeting only the minimums will slow you down in life. If being exceptional is a goal in any area, you have to go above the minimum. Always aiming for the lowest possible target is like living life in first gear.

A quote I read said “the happiest people are the ones who have the best of things but those who make the best of the things”.

If you want to really know what something is made of, you have to look at the foundation. 

We can get so wrapped up in our own problems that we neglect to see the needs of others close to us. Problems have a way of putting blinders on us to other issues. We even lose perspective thinking our problem(s) are the biggest thing happening. If we take a quick break and look around, we will see our problems may not be as big as first thought. 

When things don’t go to plan, you have to make the best of things. Which is quite a normal thing actually. We just aren’t always good at making the best of things.  

What constitutes a good day? I would say what we focus on. Every day has wins and losses. What we do is on will decide which one we lean toward. Some days the wins pile up and some days the losses pile up. But we can always focus on the good things that have happened. Any day we’re alive and living is a good day :)

Momentum isn’t something you can easily script or formulate. It has a fleeting quality to it. When momentum shows, grab hold of it and ride it for all its worth. It won’t last, but it will take you to where you’re going at an exponential pace for a time. 

If you can get enough of the small things right you will get the big things right. You won’t get the big things right if you haven’t been getting the small things right. 

If you want you can coast through like. Or you can put your hands on the steering while and drive. Will you hit some unexpected bumps and twists and turns as you drive? You sure will. But it's a way better choice than coasting.

Even for the most negative person, life probably is going to come with some disappointments. For the optimist, there for sure will be disappointments, but if they can remain an optimist, maybe they will weather the disappointments better. When you let go of the expectation that life will go to plan it helps prepare you for the inevitable disappointments. And you can take the disappointments as opportunities for your story to grow in ways you never expected.

When we speak about something it feeds it energy. When we decide to not add to or speak about something we help let it dissipate. If you don't want negative things to grow, stop talking about them. Yes, some things need to be discussed to fix. But many things don't need the energy to perpetuate them. Hear bad news, don't feed it energy. Hear good news, then feed that all the energy you can.

I think it would help everyone if we didn’t take our own opinions so serious. Or if we weren’t so dogmatic about our opinions. Especially about things that don’t really matter. We can’t be right on everything, but we rarely act out that principle.

It’s okay to be real. To admit faults. To ask for help. To not know everything. To stay without your gifting.  No, we don’t need to go blab our faults to everyone. But to the right people it’s okay to admit them. When we admit our weaknesses we can then move forward and have support. 

That’s a phrase that’s used to say “when things get real”      Then we explain what would happen.  But why do we have to wait until push comes to shove. Wouldn’t it be better to do the right things right away?

I saw a graphic today that showed success depicted in two ways.  The first way was a circle split in half with one half called job title and the other salary. This is how we typically are taught success is measured. But it’s a shallow measurement as money and status doesn’t buy happiness or success.  The second depiction was made up of things like mental health, physical health, free time, salary, etc. A much more balanced view on success.  Getting caught up in rat races seems often to be how people chase success. Yet, success is found in slower lanes of life. Family, friends, doing things you enjoy, having purpose, etc.  

If you did your best than you don’t have to stress.

Here's a quick test in confidence. How do you feel when your peers succeeed?

Life is too short to live down in the dumps. Choose joy! And yes, it’s often a choice not an instinct. But if you choose it enough it may become an instinct. 

The numbers don’t tell the full story. We can look at numbers and data and completely miss the truth.  Data may not lie, but data may not give the full picture. 

We have to live in a balance between the macro and the micro. All micro and we lose sight of the macro. All macro and we never get to the micro that carries out the macro. Never lose sight of the big picture, keep it continually in front of you. But keep an eye on the micro. Details matter. If you're bogged down by the micro you've maybe lost sight of the bigger picture. Small things won't bring you down as much when you've got your sights on the big picture.

How much unnecessary stuff do we do simply from pressure? We can be pressured into using our time and resources for things that don’t matter. 

Growth is trading discomfort in the moment for satisfaction in the future.  Decline is trading satisfaction in the moment for discomfort in the future.  - James Clear