Intentional Tuesdays

Something magical happened on November 10th, 1969.

The Children's Television Workshop launched a provocative new program geared toward educating children. There were two significant phenomena driving the launch.

First, Americans were watching television in alarming clips. One estimate that I read indicated upwards of 50 hours per week, per household. Geez Louise.

Second, there was a dramatic shortage of preschools. Local communities could not meet the rising demands.

So a diverse cast of humans and a colorful cast of lovable muppets stepped in to save the day. Sesame Street was born.

This morning in my Toastmasters meeting, someone asked me what I make of the phrase ... What if? This was the informal motto of the Sesame Street cast and production crew.

I'm pretty sure I know what the team was thinking when they adopted this motto ... What if we make a difference? Based on what they've done for the past 52 years, it's clear they believe they are making a difference. You don't take on...

Three Letter Upgrade

What if you could upgrade your mindset by adding three little letters to your vocabulary? You can, and we'll get to that in a minute. But first, let's take a step back. Let me start with a different question...

What beliefs do you hold about yourself that are limiting your potential?

It's a difficult question to answer. But why? We all hold limiting beliefs, so why is it so hard to name them?

It's because we don't often notice our beliefs. They're like the software that is running on your phone or computer. You only notice it when something goes wrong. We only notice our beliefs when life puts them to test.

Limiting beliefs are the worst. They're like a built-in security system that our mind uses to keep us out of danger. See if any of these sound familiar...

You're not very outgoing, so you tend to keep to yourself in social situations.

You're not very confident, so you don't approach that attractive stranger.

You're not good with technology, so you don't try...

Everything that we do, at some point in time, we will do for the last time.  The power of realizing this is incredible and we have a silver-lined opportunity to do that right before our very eyes.

Reference:  Waking Up App

Photocredit:  https://unsplash.com/@imajingation

For the past three weeks, we’ve been exploring the concept of Creativity, with the following key premises…

1. Each of us is Creative
2. Creativity is something worth pursuing, regularly
3. We can cultivate creativity

In case you missed the three-part video series, I’ll provide links below.  This week will conclude our creativity series with a written recap.

Are You Creative?

What is the role of creativity in your life right now?  Not sure?  Take 30 seconds to complete this self-assessment and come back here when you’re finished.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to enter your email address or offer up your credit card info.  (Feel free to leave those in the comments ) 

How did you do?  

In my experience, most adults struggle a bit when it comes to creativity.  Either they don’t think they are creative, they don’t see the value in creativity, or a combination of the two.  This is really...

This is Part Two of a three-part series on Creativity. 

Last week we focused on defining creativity and making the case that we are all creative.  I proposed the idea that creativity is more about sourcing our ideas from within ourselves.  In other words, from a place of internal perspective rather than overly relying on outside perspectives or the influence of others. 

Creativity is more about the process than the final product.  If you missed that post, you can see it here:  Are You Creative?

This week we make the case for the benefits of bringing creativity into our lives.  The benefits are many and include the full spectrum of human motivations and drives, including:

• Survival
• Success
• Significance
• Spirituality

Next week, we'll explore how we can bring more creativity into our lives.

Interesting Articles

The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature, Heather L. Stuckey, DEd and Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH

Make...

Let's start with two questions...

1. On a scale from 1-10, how creative do you consider yourself?
2. On a scale from 1-10, how important is creativity in your day-to-day life?

This week's Intentional Tuesday is Part One of a 3-part mini-series about creativity.  My aim is to convince you that creativity is crucial and that you are, in fact, creative.  

Enjoy.

-zog

--

Photocredit:  https://pixabay.com/users/free-photos-242387/

Most New Year's Resolutions bite the dust by February.  Want to know why?  Want a way to make resolutions that stick?  I've got one word for you...

Click here to grab the downloadable planning and tracking sheet.  

https://www.lifedesigncenter.com/DigitalDownloads

How much time do you spend thinking your signature? Ummm. None?

After all, it’s just our name, scribbled in our own hand. Not very exciting. Not very useful.

But if we look closely, we’ll see that our signature is much, much more. 

What’s the most famous signature you know?

Easy right? It’s so famous, the man’s name has become synonymous with the act of signing...

John Hancock.

There it is, right in the middle. Big and bold for the world to see. Declaring his independence.

Our signature is the definitive indication of our intention. When we sign our name to something, it means we endorse it. We own it. Our signature carries the weight of our commitment. Our integrity.

Don’t offer it lightly.

Signature also has a metaphorical meaning. Our signature implies our unique style. Our unique approach. Whatever we do, we do it uniquely. It’s easy to slip into default thinking and tell ourselves that we are no different than anyone else, but deep...

Do you have trouble taking credit for things, even though you, and the people around you, know that you deserve it? Do you have trouble with self-promotion because it feels cheesy or inauthentic? If you do, you’re not alone. It’s actually quite common.

But is it a problem?

One could argue that hesitation about taking credit or about self-promotion is probably grounded in a deep sense of humility or in selflessness. These are positive traits, right? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people were humble and selfless? No argument here.

The things become a problem only when the person sees them as a problem. In other words, does the humble and selfless person believe these traits are costing them opportunities for personal and professional growth? Does the person believe their overall happiness and satisfaction are suffering, either directly or indirectly, as a result? If so, then we have a problem.

Unfortunately, a lot of people experience this problem and...

Requests are one of the most fundamental building blocks in personal and professional relationships, yet many of us struggle with making and receiving requests. A huge part of the problem lies in the language that we choose. I’m talking about the difference between implicit and explicit language.

What’s the difference?

Implicit means that something in implied, or suggested, but NOT expressed directly. Explicit, of course, means that something is expressed clearly and directly. 

In other words, implicit means we don’t have to actually say what we mean but the other person will still get what we mean. Simple enough. Right?

Most of us use implicit language on a regular basis. In fact, we tend to think of implicit language as a good thing, because it allows us to get our point across without having to spell everything out in detail. Although there are occasions when implicit language creates efficiency, for the most part I think the opposite is true. Implicit...