Category: Perspectives

The Scenario: Undertaking an assessment of your present life, your attention comes to rest – along with mixed feelings – upon what you’ve done to bring you this far and become what you are.

Feeling REGRET is looking back on what is done & gone, and feeling guilt or shame or self-pity.

Insight:  When you choose to REGRET, you end up stuck blaming yourself for your past mistakes rather than learning from them, and then applying those lessons to your present. You are effectively turning your back on progress and opportunities.

 

Taking RESPONSIBILITY is looking at how you’ve come to your present circumstances, and figuring out how to apply the lessons learned.

Insight:  When you choose to take RESPONSIBILITY, looking backwards is not on the menu. You’ve admitted that you alone are responsible for where you are, how you’ve gotten here, and how you’ve become what you are now. And you are willing to work with what you’ve got.

 

The Takeaway: Ask yourself if you would be better served by asking yourself “What can I be doing RIGHT NOW to make myself and my future BETTER?”, or by looking to the past and lamenting what could have been. When you develop within yourself an intimate understanding of the difference between RESPONSIBILITY and REGRET, you can ensure that you remain always facing forward – a place of endless possibilities.

 

The Scenario: You find yourself challenged to make a decision or a choice that you really don’t feel ready to commit to. How do you respond?

STUBBORNNESS is standing your ground when you’re no longer really paying attention to what’s underneath your feet.

Insight:  The energy source of STUBBORNNESS is simply defiance.  It can be defiance of your own fear(s), your own regrets, someone else’s opinion, or even your material circumstances. And while STUBBORNNESS may feel useful, all it really amounts to is empty calories.

DETERMINATION is exercising your will forward to achieve a target objective or outcome.

Insight:  The energy source of DETERMINATION is an ideal or vision of achievement. So DETERMINATION is clean & strong, and a great place to operate from.

The Takeaway: This is really about how you choose to respond to challenges. So just keep in mind that clinging to STUBBORNNESS tends to spiral your confidence downwards, whereas the conscious effort of DETERMINATION cultivates real personal power – and results!

Reacting fearfully only blurs the distinction between STUBBORNNESS and DETERMINATION, so give this some thought at every opportunity. The choice is always yours to make.

The Scenario: You’re called upon to perform some examination & determination of your circumstances. What’s the best approach?

DIAGNOSIS involves determining the nature of a problem from the symptoms presented.

Insight:  The output of DIAGNOSIS is data, which tends to be static. Ascertained by looking at signs & symptoms, DIAGNOSIS illustrates the nature of the problem under consideration.

 

ANALYSIS involves determining the elements or components of a complex thing.

Insight:  The output of ANALYSIS is information, which is by nature more dynamic than simple data. This output is derived from investigating not only the constituent parts of a whole but also their relations in making up that whole.

 

The Takeaway: If your goal is to challenge assumptions, ANALYSIS is likely to be more useful to you; the more dynamic output can offer forward impetus for your investigation. But if you are looking to simply describe what you’re dealing with, DIAGNOSIS is probably a more useful approach to start with.