When We're OFF THE RAILS

When We're OFF THE RAILS

Our BOUNDARIES are the GUARDRAILS to our life.  When we consider them intellectually, most of us feel really clear about our BOUNDARIES what we absolutely will and WON'T accept.  Yet when we go back to work, sometimes we're really quick to disregard them. Especially when it comes to BOUNDARIES that protect our time and our bandwidth.  NOT until When We're OFF THE RAILS💴💷💵

BUT we've got a bigger problem looming in the background and that's WHEN we ignore our BOUNDARIES, that's When We're OFF THE RAILS.  If we know this is something we struggle, then I'm right there with you readers.  The haunting question that keeps lurking behind us is WHY do we keep going for as long as we could?  Too often we say YES to things that violate our very own BOUNDARIES, when every warning sign inside us is already signaling, like 'YOU'RE GETTING CLOSE TO THAT GUARDRAIL, DON'T CRASH"📗📙📘

Sometimes, those SIGNS are physical manifestations like a tightness in our chest , a pit in our stomach, holding your breath or feeling our heart pound.  Worse, when violating those BOUNDARIES becomes habitual, we get ourselves into that weight LOSS, hair LOSS, sleep LOSS zones.  So, as much as these signals tend to be physical, they can also be emotional.  TEARS, ANXIETY, RESENTMENT, or racing thoughts that just WON'T stop, not until you realize When We're OFF THE RAILS💎💎💎

Experts claim that we have every right within our means to cross BOUNDARIES both when saying YES and saying NO.  And if we've ever say 'YES' to do something and found yourself immediately engulfed by a tidal wave of dread, that's it you've gone OFF THE RAILS or even like overly doing that 'verbal gymnastics' of completely over-explaining OR justifying a 'NO' to a client or colleague, or boss, then you've gone OFF THE RAILS✅✅✅

So, what's perplexing is this.  If our BOUNDARIES are damn too important to us, WHY do we allow ourselves to go OFF THE RAILS?  Tough question but studies cite BAD habits.  First, when we let INSECURITY masquerade as 'rational thought'.  Second, we fear disappointing others and Thirdly, we get rewarded for disrespecting our BOUNDARIES.  Time to get back back on the rails, dude❗❗❗

More TOUGH Days Than BREAKTHROUGH Days?

More TOUGH Days Than BREAKTHROUGH Days?

More TOUGH Days Than BREAKTHROUGH Days?  Very true, indeed, there are MORE TOUGH DAYS ahead BREAKTHROUGH DAYS.  So WHAT explains that phenomenon?  BUT before deep-diving into it, let's ask ourselves, do you really need a BREAKTHROUGH?  If so, WHAT sort of BREAKTHROUGH do you need to happen, if at all.  No easy question though📗📙📘

Maybe we need to a magnifying glass to figure things out if indeed we really need a BREAKTHROUGH in the first place.  Thankfully, there are tell-tale signs in life that would tell us a BREAKTHROUGH has to happen.  Lingering unresolved problems.  Status quo stalled for quite some time.  Goals and targets that remain more elusive than ever❓❓❓

Sometimes, TUNING and TWEAKING is what matters BUT the challenge is, what's our cue that indeed only some TUNING or TWEAKING is needed?  In the simplest terms, demand from yourself IMMEDIATE CLARITY on where you need to grow, where to progress,  Now, if you are stuck in a rut and your life is not going how you want it too, then it's safe that you need a personal BREAKTHROUGH, something that changes the course of your life going forward and ensures that things will be the same for you again📌📌📌

Most of what a BREAKTHROUGH requires is for you to have that courage to STOPS settling for second best.  Like when everything you need in your life already exists and the problem is often that your mind s blocking you from seeing the SUCCESS tools you need to catapult your life into the right direction.  BREAKTHROUGH has some triggers and DON'T miss those out❗❗❗

WHEN you hit a LOW POINT in life, a BREAKTHROUGH can be triggered from there.  OR analyze your own narrative.  Before even thinking of a BREAKTBHROUGH, analyze your own story.  Then it's crunch time, make a DECISION like no BREAKTHROUGH can occur unless you cut off from all other options and decide that you must CHANGE your life RIGHT NOW.  BUT do note that making that decision is the hardest part of a BREAKTHROUGH.  BUT the last question, would you prefer to weather the TOUGH DAYS rather than find your BREAKTHROUGH❓❓❓

Why SMALL WINS Matter More

Why SMALL WINS Matter More

No doubt we all dream of BIG WINS.  I won't be a hypocrite that I'll grab a top LOTTO jackpot over any other thing.  BUT the biggest question is WHAT'S MY PROBABILITY of grabbing that plum?  Probably 0.000000001.  So this question kicks in, much as I want to avoid: Why SMALL WINS Matter More  Let's think about this a zillion times before you exit this webpage, PLEASE💵💴💷

Sadly, we often become so caught up with our everyday routines that we forget to STOP and APPRECIATE our LITTLE WINS.  We miss those smaller victories along the way because we are so preoccupied with obtaining our main goals.  Taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate those modest WINS can impact our daily lives📗📙📘

IRONICALLY, many times the past months, I never stopped being grateful with the pandemic. WHY?  Because I never stop counting the numerous LITTLE BLESSINGs and SMALL WINs I managed to reap.  DON'T get me wrong though.  I hate and I fear that dreaded pandemic but on a personal note, I am celebrating those SMALL WINs.  LIKE having realized that I can be equally [or MORE] productive when working from home.  LIKE having realized quite a bit of 'monetized' benefits of saving almost a full tank of fuel per day because I DON'T need to drive to and from work everyday📌📌📌

LIKE saving tons and tons of fatigue I would have endured everyday [just to share, my minimum driving time between home and office is TWO [2] hours barring rains, barring accidents along the way, barring road works along the way.  To me, that translates, in fact, to a BIG WIN when I sum up the four to five hours of driving time I would have endured everyday💎💎💎

So, WHAT's our takeaway today?  Let us endeavor to cultivate APPRECIATION, to change our perspective from one of WHAT we lack to one of WHAT we have.  We need to start valuing those SIMPLE things that we frequently take for granted and we start to have a more optimistic outlook.  This explains WHY SMALL WINS MATTER MORE❗❗❗ 

Multitasking, Anyone?

Multitasking, Anyone?

Anyone pushing you hard for Multitasking?  I won't blame them. Likely, they see all of its upsides and very little, if at all, of its downsides and I'll confess that many years back, I was so gung-ho Multitasking until, one day, when I was attending my battery of IBM trainings, I learned that although IBM was aggressively marketing MPP's [massive parallel processors], deep into its architecture, the processor was breaking up processes into MULTI-THREADS📗📙📘

Even this comparative chart shows us an apples-to-apples comparison of our brain when Single-tasking versus Multitasking and what does this tell us?  THAT doing only a thing at a time is a surprisingly powerful way to become more productive.  ON the surface, this makes zero sense on the premise that doing more is the faster path to productivity❓❓❓

BUT today, I will stand my ground and vehemently argue that that ISN'T the case here.  Doing more than one thing at a time is a great way to become busier and it's usually a more engaging way of working.  When we try doing multiple things at the same time, our brain is more stimulated and it releases DOPAMINE💎💎💎

BUT study after study has shown that while MULTITASKING can be stimulating, and may even make us feel more productive, it invariably makes us less productive.  WHY?  Because the attention we can give to WHAT'S in front of us gets limited.  Every moment, our brain is flooded with information [and that includes sights, sounds, words, thoughts] BUT it can only focus on so much✅✅✅

The very rich history of chess as a game is peppered with stories of chess greats, amongst which is American Bobby Fisher and today, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen is lording it over the field.  BUT how come even the best super-grandmasters spend anywhere from two to six hours just for one game when all along they are SINGLE-TASKING?  It's because that myth about MULTITASKING has been shattered and destroyed even as we speak now❗❗❗

How Competitive Are You?

How Competitive Are You?

Please DON'T get me wrong.  I am neither a sportsman nor a gym buff.  Even during my non-work times, you would likely see me on my laptop than being out there in the field.  But if you ask me as to How Competitive I am, allow me to humbly admit that I am super-COMPETITIVE in life.  I hate seating under the tree, waiting for the fruit to drop on me.  I loathe being dependent on good tidings and bearers of good news via friends who sometimes are harbingers good news.  I detest being served on a silver platter because that's NOT how I got molded through the years [including the difficult times]💴💷💵

So, probably, the more brutally frank question I want to ask my readership is 'WHAT PERCENT COMPETITIVE ARE YOU?' This is NOT for me to pass judgment on you.  And BTW, there are NO wrong answers to my innocent question because even if you openly admit that you assess your COMPETITIVENESS only at one percent, that is still perfectly fine📗📘📙

WHY?  Because even at your current state of 1% COMPETITIVENESS, you've got a starting point to kickstart things.  CONGRATULATIONS then for being honest enough because that self-assessment is just damn essential for us and for YOU, to be specific, to realistically plot as to HOW far and HOW much more you need to recoup to be within the thick of the fight, at the very least.  Nothing could be better than this📌📌📌

Quo vadis?  You might ask me, WHAT THEN, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?  Simple answer is that only YOU would know [like the palm of your hands] as to HOW far you need to catch up to be COMPETITIVE enough and get that fighting chance to inch closer the lead pack✅✅✅

Fact is, COMPETITIVENESS is a measure of a person's desire to surpass others.  A highly COMPETITIVE person is more likely to see a situation as a COMPETITION even when there is NO explicit WINNER or LOSER.  A teenage may compare his/her social media popularity to their friends' rankings even though there is NO explicit reward for having the most followers.  And likely, those friends may NOT even be aware that they seem to be competing.  BUT these are the moments when the SEEDS of COMPETITIVENESS are planted and nurtured.  Let's go dude❗❗❗

Is Competition Good For Us?

Is Competition Good For Us?

Let's face it, COMPETITION is NOT just about structured games and events.  In fact, it transpires any time an individual pitches his skills against one another.  Social Scientists opine as well that COMPETITION is a SOCIAL PROCESS.  As a child, how we interact and interpret COMPETITION depends on the changes that they are going through.  So, Is Competition Good For Us❓❓❓

So, let's be even-keel here.  Let's look at the pluses and minuses of COMPETITION.  For the upsides, COMPETITION embodies PLAY and PLAY is perhaps the greatest setting for learning social skills and integration.  Then, obviously COMPETITION is exciting and it fosters cooperation.  In this age of the social media and evolving individualism, time spent interacting and communicating with others is waning and reducing💊💊💊

However, our ability to work with others to achieve a common goal is an essential skill to develop, NOT only in sport but in life.  COMPETITION allows us to learn patterns of social cooperation without exceeding critical limits of aggression.  As a bonus, COMPETITION develops our emotional control.  With appropriate instruction, COMPETITION encourages us to reflect on our behavior under emotionally intense situations and develop that strong emotional intelligence📌📌📌

However, we got to be wary of the downsides of COMPETITION as well.  First off, COMPETITION seems to harbor hostility and aggression.  We have seen and heard in the news many times when seemingly healthy basketball games ended up in a brawl, even in the NBA, even in the FIBA world championships.  It's like that attitude of WINNING AT ALL COSTS gets developed and that even leads to aggression and at worse, cheating creeps in.  And from a first person perspective, COMPETITION is 'ego deflating' and this is due to the fact when SUCCESS is measured solely on the COMPETITION outcome [which should NOT be the case]❌❌❌

Since COMPETTTION can deliver both positive and negative experiences [although this is dependent on the prevailing environment], the question staring in our face is:  WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?  Simple.  Let's widen our perspective and understand that great COMPETITION happens at or sometimes above our own ability and that great COMPETITION is focused as it will reveal one's strength and weakness for us to fix✅✅✅

Think BIG, Start SMALL

Think BIG, Start SMALL

Think BIG, Start SMALL.  Is it?  OR should we Start Big based on the argument that our very first step should be as wide as that one quantum leap so we can secure a beachhead ahead of the real grind.  Experts peddled the six words that will matter and differentiate SUCCESS versus FAILURE with the slogan THINK BIG, START SMALL, LEARN FAST, six short and sharp words to kick us up📘📙📗

C'mon dude, let's NOT reinvent the wheel.  Those WHO 'THINK BIG' consider the full range of possible futures and outcomes.  They make sure they understand the emerging context, rather than assume that their current assumptions are right.  A simple example is how large disruptive forces [like technology] will change our personal preferences?  Let's look no farther than NETFLIX.  When Reed Hastings built the DVD business that toppled the video rental business, he had that BIG IDEA that mailing people DVDs was a mere way station on the road to streaming video on the internet.  Then, NETFLIX was born💷💴💵

Contrast that to those who FAIL typically think SMALL.  They assume the future will be a slightly different version of the present.  Its human nature to see change as INCREMENTAL and to think that things will continue to run in our favor.  BUT let's be wary how INCREMENTAL thinking can be dangerous as well.  BTW, where are NOKIA, MOTOROLA and BLACKBERRY now❓❓❓

The biggest problem  with every IDEA is that we inaccurately think of the final effect as the result of a single action.  We're in the current position so we need to do something and in the result we achieve our desired goal,  True, our goal is usually BIG so we tend to change plans and refine things, looking for perfection when we DON'T even know WHAT it means and HOW it looks💎💎💎

Shift things to our personal life.  It's nice to be overly ambitious BUT not at the expense of getting bogged down to even take STEP #1 because you are so enamored with your grandiose plans and vision.  Instead, let's take the INCREMENTAL approach in parallel with THINKING BIG, STARTING SMALL✅✅✅

Why Rework Works

Why Rework Works

No one wants REWORK.  NOT our customers.  NOT our bosses.  NOT you and me.  WHY? Because  Rework has its implications.  COST from the perspective of the company who produced/generated it.  TIME from the perspective of the client.  And even REPUTATION from the perspective of the  producer/source of the output.  And what's the implications to the actual worker WHO performed the output/product?  The implications could be enormous, impacting his work performance record, his work quality record and in the long-term, possibly his tenure with the organization given his performance and quality records💴💷💵

Thing is, customers care only for the product or service they receive.  They're NOT interested as to how much effort it took for you to make it happen OR how many times you had to fiddle with it to get it right.  They're also NOT interested in WHAT it costs you.  So, we just CAN'T make our lumpy processes as their problem.  BUT what puzzles me is this fact.  Most REWORKS, once they are REWORKED, it gets done right📙📘📗

So, WHY does the REWORK does REWORK if at all?  We DON'T want to get bogged down with details which are unique and NOT relevant discussing in this thread.  BUT based on the results of studies, the common conclusion is that 98% of DEFECTS requiring REWORK were caused by minor or petty miscues or oversights which could have been easily avoided had there been a more consistent QUALITY-based approach in performing one's deliverable💎💎💎

Translating this to our personal lives, WHAT is the relevance of REWORK in our day-to-day life, you might confront me with this question.  The answer is plainly simple.  Even in our personal habits and self-discipline, we need to inculcate the QUALITY-based self-discipline in practically any personal action we undertake, regardless as to WHO gets impacted by an action you will undertake.  This could be as simple as personal finance, the way you budget your family's financials.  You just DON'T splurge on a shopping spree, NOT mindful that there is a budget you got to stick to.  It will be utterly irresponsible of you to go home penniless after a shopping spree, not mindful of the family budget which you are even expected to be the vanguard✅✅✅

BTW, although I am highlighting that indeed REWORK WORKS, in the ideal world, and in our personal lives, we want to dump that REWORK mindset out through the window.  WHY?  A REWORK mindset will likely cause us overhead effort and even overhead costs until that REWORK variable gets cast off the variable.  Our insight for today is that our QUALITY mindset needs to be instilled NOT just in our work life BUT more in our personal day-to-day life❗❗❗

Starting On A WRONG FOOT

Starting On A WRONG FOOT

How often have we heard of painstaking efforts exerted to either acquire, bag, grab or signoff a contract whether its for business or for employment.  Then DAY-1 comes and goes with odd stories when one ends up Starting On A WRONG FOOT.  For alignment, what we meant when saying Starting On A WRONG FOOT is that there could be a misstep or a minor miscue or snag hit at the start📗📙📘

To share some first-hand accounts and samplings of Starting On A WRONG FOOT:  On Day-1, the newbie reports for work attired in full business suit.  Fine.  Then on Day-2, the newbie reports for work STILL attired with the same full business suit.  In a short while, his manager talks to him and advises that he does NOT need to wear a full business suit again if there's no spare💷💴💵

BTW, this happens, literally speaking, to weightlifters.  Starting On A WRONG FOOT means NOT an auspicious start in that sports and somehow, that miscue right at the start can trigger an undue buildup of pressure to perform much better in the subsequent tries.  For a Lothario wooing his dream girl, DIDN'T leave a single stone unturned in finding the best restaurant that could be the best setting for that romantic dinner only to cause a SLIP OF THE TONGUE when he greeted his date by another name when she arrived at the restaurant💎💎💎

OR here you are, given the opportunity to be the host and toastmaster for the welcome dinner honoring the new expatriate manager and right at the start of the scripted program, you went BLANK.  OR you could be a hardworking salesman who recently bagged a new client but during the contract signing, you mistakenly mixed up the documents and handing to the client the wrong document to sign [and worse, that wrong document is for another client].  Talking about Starting On A WRONG FOOT💊💊💊

What are our key takeaways here to avert Starting On A WRONG FOOT?  I'll be frank.  Be DETAILED-oriented.  Be DILIGIENT.  Be focused.  Be precise.  And above all, REMAIN "COOLY CALM' because when nervousness creeps in, it may throw a monkey wrench on everything you exerted so much efforts and sacrifices.  Bottomline is, Starting On A WRONG FOOT can be averted.  It can be avoided❎❎❎

Words Of Affirmation

Why We Need Words Of Affirmation

If there is something that makes me kind of sad these days, it is the irony brought about by technology and specifically social media applications.  With the unabated proliferation of EMOJIs, most of us [maybe approximately 90% based on my guesstimate, would rather send EMOJIs in lieu of Words Of Affirmation to me this SADDER THAN SAD because I am a very strong advocate of the Words Of Affirmation as one of the most powerful tools NOT only to recognize people BUT in effect, even further reinforcing and sustaining their MOTIVATION to take to the next level, all via the very powerful Words Of Affirmation📗📙📘

Frankly, Words Of Affirmation have the power to shape our reality and in relationships, they can either BUILD or DESTROY.  When we use these WORDS, we communicate either/and/or appreciation, value and in relationships, love, to the person we are expressing with sincerity Words Of Affirmation which to me personally, CAN'T be overridden or relegated even by tons and tons of EMOJIs💴💷💵

Not to push me up BUT I'll humbly admit I'm very vociferous with Words Of Affirmation as I DON'T mince words.  I call a spade a spade.  Whether at work or when interacting with service providers, I DON'T even have that intestinal fortitude to ignore or shut off my eyes from either mediocre OR middling [I'm sorry I'm hesitant to use the adjective 'LOUSY' but at times, I firmly believe that the receiving party deserves that adjective📌📌📌

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of a girl being wooed by a persistent Lothario.  Would you prefer to receive hundreds of EMOJIs sent via social media in lieu of Words Of Affirmation that expresses to a 'T' the very message you want to impart?  On the other hand, just a word of caution when things would swing to NEGATIVE words because when written or spoken, they can leave lasting WOUNDS that undermine trust and the relationship itself✅✅✅

At my workplace [both from my past and present organizations], I WON'T be the second person you'll hear Words Of Affirmation because likely I'll be the first one.  I would humbly admit that years ago, after I commended a systems engineer from HP, the next thing that happened was he got promoted as a senior engineer the following month.  Till to date, I am the extreme opposite of being STINGY when it comes to Words Of Affirmation because besides entailing so little effort to express those Words Of Affirmation, it means a lot to the receiving end❗❗❗