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...

Why do we put off for tomorrow what we can do today, even though it has the potential to improve our lives? When it comes to Life Design, procrastination is a huge obstacle and it’s one that many people never overcome. These people never make the changes that could improve their lives and instead remain stuck in their old patterns and circumstances.

When this happens, there is almost always one reason…Fear. 

How does fear come into play when it comes to procrastination? Let’s explore…

In his hysterical TED Talk, blogger Tim Urban describes his Instant Gratification Monkey-brain that is trained to seek activities that are easy or fun. Admit it. You have a bit of Instant Gratification Monkey inside you, right? We all do. Here is the thing. The Instant Gratification Monkey has a darker side, which is that we avoid things that we fear may be difficult or painful. If your goal is to procrastinate less, you must examine both sides. Are you ready? 

Start...

Most of us live our entire lives in a state of mild distraction.  I literally can’t complete this sentence without my mind wandering to a dozen unrelated things.  Whew.  That was exhausting.  Why do I do this?  Is there anything I can do about it?  I went to the moon to find out. 

Ok, maybe it wasn’t the moon, but it was what I imagine the moon would be like.  In fact, I was in Joshua Tree National Park.  My plan was to make this a mini vision quest, which includes 3 major elements: nature, fasting, and solitude.  Unlike my previous vision quest, I didn’t have any particular “topic” that I wanted to explore.  But, with my wedding a mere 30 days away, it seemed like a good time to get away and spend some time with the wild horses that roam the vast emptiness between my ears.  

Since my goal was to be alone and spring is a popular time to visit Joshua Tree, I entered the park at one of the less...

In his Masterclass on screenwriting, Aaron Sorkin contrasts writing to painting a fence.  He says that writing requires you to be in a good mood, but your mood doesn’t matter when it comes to painting a fence.  Sorkin's point is that to do our best work, we must be in the right frame of mind.  Mindless work, such as painting a fence, only requires we go through the motions.  Painting fences is my specialty.  

I often find myself choosing to do mindless work when I know that I should be doing something else.   I do this all the time.  In fact, I did it 30 seconds ago while writing this blog post.  I saw an email come in that I knew I could deal with immediately and I shifted my attention to address that, rather than focus on the more challenging task of writing.  I didn’t judge the email to be a higher priority, my subconscious recognized it as an easy opportunity for victory, so I took it.  Of course, this...

There are only two human emotions that matter: Love and Fear.  The rest are simply variations of these.  Every important decision we make is reducible to either Love, Fear, or a combination of both.  When I first encountered this proposition, many years ago, I thought the concept was so simple that it was not worth my attention. Still, I experimented with the concept and that is when I realized the simplicity is what makes it so powerful.  By examining your decisions and actions through the lenses of Love and Fear you will become more skillful at navigating the most challenging situations.  

First, we’ll start with a simple definition of Love and Fear.  I think we each have an embodied sense of what these words mean, but I think these definitions will help to establish a common baseline.  The biggest resistance that I get when I suggest there are only two emotions is that people feel there are other emotions that don’t reduce to these...

Kintsukuroi is a Japanese word that refers to the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver to join the pieces together. Fundamental to Kintsukuroi is the understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Kintsukoroi views the breakage as part of the object's history and something to be cherished rather than something to be hidden. There is beauty and honor in the cracks and chips that come from authentic use.

I began thinking about Kintsukuroi in the context of my own life and what it would look like if I adopted a Kintsukuroi mindset. One thing is for certain. I would take more risks. I would put myself out there even though there is a chance that I might fail. I’m certain that I miss many opportunities because I fear taking the first step.

Beyond missing opportunities, this risk aversity has an insidious effect. Because I avoid failure I don’t have the opportunity to learn from my setbacks. Not only are some of life’s best lessons found...