My Riffs

In life, we cling to things that we really don't need to. We need to learn the art of letting go. Things happen, life happens, hurts and disappointments come, and with social media accelerating the issue, we take on far more than we're made to. We need to learn the art of letting go. Past offences, things out of our control, minor issues, just let them go. They're needed burdens to carry. Learn the art of letting go.

Hard work pays. But dumb work doesn't. You can work hard but not smart and it won't pay off. But hard and smart work will. Make sure if you're working hard that it's smart work.

Mastering control over ones' tongue is the highest level of self control. The quickest way to lose respect is through your tongue. But learning to hold your tongue and only speak wisely is the way to have respect.

So much anxiety today. Technology has accelerated anxiety, there's no doubt about it. We suddenly are always faced with the worries that things won't be okay. But we have to remember, most times things are gonna work out okay. They're gonna be fine. The things we read online likely don't effect us as much as we think and feel on a daily basis. Inhale, exhale, step back and realize it's all gonna be okay.

The way to joy isn’t through stuff. We have to find our joy in things that can’t be so easily lost. We can easily lose stuff. And when gone, do we want to lose our joy too? If you can source you joy in things that aren’t easily lost or taken, you will have tapped into a more reliable source of joy. There’s a saying that a man is as happy as he thinks himself to be. There’s a lot of truth in that too. We can always find a silver lining, and that silver lining can be a place of joy.

We fight when we should just let actions speak. But times we need to speak and action. Fighting requires wisdom or else (to quote the bible) you’re like someone beating against the wind. Putting in all this effort for no gain. Fighting against something that you can’t change and that is meaningless. Choose your battles wisely and choose how to fight them even more wisely.

Repetition is good, until it start giving decreasing results. At a point repetitions hit their maximum impact and start giving declining rewards. Finding the right amount of reps is a find art. Finding the right amount of reps helps us find that sweet spot where we're growing just enough but not putting in more effort than is worth it.

We can say something or even do something and not fully understand it. Understanding something is different from saying or doing it. We can do our job and not really understand what we're doing. But when we understand it, that's when we really know what we're doing. Getting to the point of understanding is the goal in our jobs, speech, beliefs and values.

The cost of ignoring red flags is huge. The more and longer we ignore them, the worse they will get. Red flags are there to be dealt with immediately. Doesn't have to be dramatic or the final move, but they need to be actioned.

There's one thing that's always right, and that's love. No matter the situation, love is always appropriate. It's always the right response. Love can take on different faces, but it's always the right response.

Safe people are invaluable. There are far too few safe people. If you want to become something, become a safe person. You will become extremely valuable and find much purpose. 

It may seem counter intuitive that giving away kindness pays, but it does. Being stingy robs us of true richness, but being kind makes us truly rich. 

The strongest people are usually the most gentle. Gentleness is a sign of real strength, but also wisdom.  

You aren’t your weakness. Reject that as your label. Label yourself as your greatest strength. That will become your North Pole, rather than that weakness. 

When unsure of what to do, start with the things firmly in your control and work outwards. You can first take control of your thinking, then your actions.  From there you may have varying level of control over those closest to you. Your family, close friends, your resources.  Beyond that, let go.  Grasp firmly that which is in your control. Direct that which you have influence over. Let go of that which is out of your control.

There's a lot of problems today. There's a lot of divisions and hostilities. Each of us has a choice to escalate or deescalate the tensions. Wise people make peace. Foolish people stoke the flames of division.

We tend to add up the things we don't have. But we're richer than we think. What is we added up all our blessings? We may find out we don't need much more.

Want to know what's in someone's heart? Look at what they treasure. That will tell you everything you need to know.

Everyone needs outlets. Creative outlets, energy outlets, social outlets, etc.  The moral of this is bottling things up isn’t good. Rarely does bottling things up help us. Choose good outlets and you’ll turn things bottled up into productive and useful things. 

We can't operate on feelings alone. Feelings matter, of course. But feelings don't always represent the truth. We may feel slighted or disrespected, but it could be that our feelings are lying to us too. If we operate based on feelings we will live a very volatile life.

What we’re most afraid of, owns us. Overcoming a fear is overcoming what owns us. 

We often thing my way is the best way. Or even my way is the only way. This closes down our ability to learn better ways. It’s better to stay curious and see if maybe there’s a better way. 

Ends are new beginnings. If you want a new beginning you have to end something. If you are sad about an ending realize you’re about to start something new. 

Starts matter. I recently wrote about starting your day off right. But finishes are really what matters. You can get off to a bad start but have a good finish still. And the finish is what matters. So don't give up, if it's not good it's likely not the end.

Some things can't be stolen. They're the things that are internal. Our peace can't be stolen. Our joy can't be stolen. Our hope can't be stolen. These things can't be stolen but far too often we give them away and blame others for it.

Here's something that will give you a boost: doing something you've been putting off. Getting something done that's been on your to do for a long time will give you a boost. The tasks we really don't want to do are often the most beneficial.

There’s only one way to gain strength… by doing hard things. Easy times make weak people.  Hard times make strong people.  We dislike hard things but they’re exactly what we need to get better at doing hard things. 

Don’t allow yourself to become a cynic. Being a cynic is like putting yourself in a jail cell. Being a cynic robs you of all your power. It’s hard to take responsibility when you’re a cynic. So stop all cynical thoughts before they grow. 

I’ve learned it’s actually super important how you start your day. If your day doesn’t get off to a good start it’s hard to get on course. There are lots of things within our control to start a day right. It just usually requires some self discipline.