Author: Paul Joo

Paul Joo, Decision Architect and devotee of Human Potential & Performance. My passion is identifying & unleashing personal potential.
Perspectives

your hidden superpower

by Paul Joo

You cannot modify, alter or control time; it is our master. What you can modify, alter and control, however, is your effort.

Naturally, time cannot be ignored; it is a very relevant factor. But without consistent directed effort, you will achieve nothing, effectively rendering meaningless whatever time you’ve spent.

So when you are working towards achieving anything in life, you are best served by focusing your energies & attention on the quality & magnitude of the effort you are directing to the task at hand, rather than paying a great deal of attention to the time it may take.

 

Perspectives

don’t be expecting the unexpected

by Paul Joo

The Scenario: You’re looking to the future. You want to make sound plans. You want to feel confident that you are making the right decisions based on…..expectation or anticipation?

EXPECTATION originates from assumptions based on a sequence of logic or strategy that certain outcomes will occur. Being rational – based on facts or data – the object of EXPECTATION is usually a possible or likely sequence of events.

Insight: EXPECTATIONS are an important resource because they dynamically fit into a network of future planning; you can guide your plans via EXPECTATIONS arrived at through some method of reasoning.

 

ANTICIPATION originates from hope that some positive outcome will occur, or worry that some negative outcome will transpire. Being emotional – based on impressions or associations – the object of ANTICIPATION is usually a single event or scenario or circumstance.

Insight: ANTICIPATION is not very reliable for planning, insofar as you must simply wait for an outcome to transpire, evaluate whether it was positive or negative, and then respond accordingly.

 

The Takeaway:  Since an expected outcome is a sequence of events, EXPECTATION allows you to leap-frog ahead in planning; potentially very useful. But since the sequence of events that culminate in an anticipated outcome are static and closed-ended, ANTICIPATION often proves itself an empty vessel.

Perspectives

how to think with power

by Paul Joo

If you are an average person, you can probably run down the street quite capably without undue effort or stress. But this doesn’t mean that you automatically possess the capability to complete an Ironman event.

Pretty straightforward, right? But oddly enough, when it comes to thinking, people tend to ignore this simple rationale. They often expect to automatically be able to think powerfully & critically about a huge variety of extraordinarily complex issues, circumstances & ideas. And when they fail to do so, they are either shocked or disappointed or both.

Consider this: Having a body does not make you an athlete. And having many thoughts in your mind does not constitute thinking. Just because you can think your way through a typical day doesn’t mean that you’ve automatically cultivated the capability to think critically. So update your expectations, and don’t be surprised when you – or others – can’t seem to think critically.

My advice is to appreciate that powerful thinking requires both measurable time & energy. Thinking gets physical results because it is a physical act. And like any other physical act, it requires physical training in order to achieve excellence in it.

You can think critically – just accept that it requires consistent & deliberate effort on your part. Once you’ve trained yourself and cultivated your capability, capacity, skills & techniques, you’ll find yourself plowing through complex issues & ideas effortlessly.

And that’s when life gets a lot more interesting.

Thought Bytes

2 types of power

by Paul Joo

There are basically two types of power: the power to bring people up to your level, and the power to bring people down to your level.

 

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