Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.
We’ve all heard the “positive self talk” pitch before – repeat the affirmations, become more like them. (“…I’m good enough, and smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”)
Turns out, the conventional wisdom around affirmations may not be entirely accurate (read Kare’s post for more).
I thought about that one for a while. Why don’t these affirmations work that well? What works better? I’m no expert but I do have some thoughts on this.
Maybe the affirmations can create too much dissonance inside us. In other words, even though we say the right things, perhaps some part of us (and even deeper inner voice) remains skeptical. Could be.
Maybe some affirmations work better because the don’t define us, they merely inspire us. For example, maybe we’re more apt to believe an “I can do this.” kind of affirmation before we believe an “I’m a good person.” affirmation. There is a subtle difference – one encourages us to succeed, while the other places more of a subjective label on us.
Perhaps this is why setting bold goals works for so many of us: we are more likely to be inspired and motivated to do something than we are to be something.
What do you think? How well do affirmations work for you, and what works best in getting you through challenges and tough times?
The last week has been busy and very inspiring. I spent 4 days at a "boot camp" kind of training, in which I had the opportunity to do some formal & informal benchmarking with other organizations on a variety of topics.
I'd like to share one particular aspect with you, which I gleaned from a company that has really "nailed it" in terms of how to make your job your own, and enable you to market your value to your organization.
In this organization, there are 7 core principles they use as guideposts:
Don't allow for any ambiguity.
Distill your work down to simple objectives.
Manage your time against those objectives.
Know precisely what success looks like.
Understand manager and peer expectations.
Systematically review how you are doing.
Publish your progress.
I think these are right on the money, and worthy of taking to heart.
I've just returned from a trip to London and have been reflecting on goals and outcomes. I wanted to record my initial thoughts in this post (from my iPhone, no less). I've often heard that goals / objectives must be "reasonable" so you can achieve them. But is that right?
When you look at the great achievements of history, you often hear the words "achieved the impossible" or "succeeded against all odds.". Those hardly sound like the accomplishment of "reasonable" goals.
When was the last time you made a big bet by declaring a goal that seemed impossible? For me, I think it's been a while. With that in mind I'd like to encourage you to think beyond your safety zone and try to set at least one goal that seems impossible, and try to engage the forces of the universe to help you achieve it.
This is a phenomenal example of “give & get” – you give Rajesh permission to keep in touch with you in his newsletters, and you get a free copy of a very powerful book.
By the way – I just realized it’s been over 3½ years since I first read Beyond Code, and I still feel its impact. I have re-read it a couple of times, and have recommended it to others countless times.
Just saw a video on the Kindle 3 – just amazing. It will let you read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in only 9 hours – who knew? I’m glad I have my Kindle 2 to tide me over…
Check out the Kindle 3 video (if the embedded version below doesn’t work, here is the link).
