Emotional Pollution requires a host environment – it cannot exist outside of you. So if you are feeling lousy, check to see that you’re not keeping any pollutants clinging to your mind by default.
“We become that to which we give our attention.” – Aristotle
There comes a time when each of us, mindful or not, sees our expectations of moving forward outpacing our actual performance. And the result is that we find ourselves mentally stuck or stalled in a, well, let’s call it a “crappy place”. But while it feels very real, it’s often just feeling and not fact. So ending up there once in a while is not necessarily something that has to be “fixed” right away.
Sounds crazy, right? Well, here’s the method behind my madness: If you can focus on maintaining a certain level of objectivity while you are in the middle of a mental maelstrom, you can actually get a lot more insight (about you & it) than if you were outside of it. Think about it: You get the benefits of being an objective observer as well as the benefits of being an active participant – kind of like being a war correspondent on the battlefield but without having to worry about being shot at.
So next time you find yourself mentally in a “crappy place”, don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead, enthusiastically seize the opportunity to learn something about how you operate on your deepest levels – it may be a little scary, but it’s a great way to uncover some of that hidden potential.
Nietzsche sums it up beautifully: “He possesses heart who knows fear but masters fear; who sees the abyss, but sees it with pride. He who sees the abyss, but with eagle’s eyes – he who grasps the abyss with an eagle’s claws: he possesses courage.”
The Scenario: Being EFFECTIVE and being EFFICIENT – both deliver value, so which one is better to focus on?
Being EFFECTIVE means doing the right things in order to yield the best results.
Insight: Applying your skills to a chosen target with confidence in the outcome can make you EFFECTIVE. This is valuable because confidence in your choice of where & why you are applying your efforts will get you the results you’re looking for far more reliably than skill alone.
Being EFFICIENT means doing things right, with the least amount of wasted effort.
Insight: Possessing the right skills along with a high degree of competency can make you EFFICIENT. Keeping you on-track while optimizing resources, the value of EFFICIENCY is that it can get you from point A to point B via a straight line, which has some real power.
The Takeaway: So the $64,000 question remains: Which one – if either – is “better”?
Well, being EFFICIENT tends to be more popular because it seems easier to achieve, and the consequences of being inefficient are usually not as harsh as those of being ineffective.
That said, choosing to focus on being EFFECTIVE means you’re aiming your sights at the result, so you’re more likely to continually improve upon the means & methods that will get you there.
The bottom line? EFFECTIVE & EFFICIENT work best together; they’re both important and shouldn’t be considered mutually exclusive. The key is to judge at the outset which choice of focus will deliver the results you’re looking for under your particular set of circumstances. As Henry Ford said: Put all your eggs in one basket, but then watch that basket!
Potential and Possibilities are just two sides of the same coin.
Potential is internal and based on the qualities you now possess; Possibilities are the various forms your Potential may take when expressed in the outside world.
Appreciating the difference helps you make the most of both!
Try looking at uncertainty not as a gun to your head, but as a surfboard for riding rogue waves; now hang ten!
Developing your Principles requires consistent effort over time. The substance of your Principles – maturity, insight, and their development – cannot be “crammed”, as if for an exam.
Every opportunity to develop your principles is singularly unique, and once gone it cannot be recovered. Hence the saying: “Negligence is an extreme thing.”
So remember, each day is full of opportunities to develop your Principles – make the effort to seize every one!
There are two ways to look at unavoidable obstacles created by your past.
You can look at them as chains dragging behind you, or see them as obstructions that you now get the opportunity to move beyond. T
he former viewpoint erodes your confidence; the latter builds it. Easy choice!