“One way or another” is a useful attitude, unless we become too focused on the “one way” and forget about the countless other possibilities.

Our first attempts won’t always work, and it can be hard to overcome the sting of that experience.

But overcome it we must.

Lots of people can make a first attempt. Far fewer have the resilience to try again.

The better we can get at making additional attempts, the better we’ll be in the long run.

I know a purchasing manager who has a “worry board”. It’s an affectionate term for a whiteboard that lists all the parts in short supply or with long lead times.

What’s nice about the whiteboard is that it has a physical limitation; it can only list so many things. It’s a double-edged sword, though. Concerns are top-of-mind so they aren’t forgotten, but that also means that they’re always staring at you.

* * *

What’s on your own worry board? Is it in plain view? Is it all rational? Has it gotten overgrown? What would happen if you switched to a smaller size?

What would happen if you wiped it clean?

Trust. Make. Do. Allow.

Work, and work hard. None of it happens without hard work.

Purpose and meaning will reveal themselves — little by little — not in advance of the work, but through the work.

Stop running. Start feeling.

Don’t wonder by thinking, wonder by doing.

You can hit every red light along the way … and still be on the right path.

Delays and setbacks aren’t coded messages that you’re going the wrong direction; they’re a normal part of every worthwhile journey.

Daylight Saving Time ended last week and we moved our clocks back one hour.

Looking out the window after a day’s work, I said to a colleague, “Weird driving home in the dark, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but it happens every year.”

(My friend is not one for small talk.)

It’s interesting. A regular event — one that is known, anticipated, and even familiar — can still feel awkward.

Perhaps it’s because change is change, and it often requires adjustment.

Whether internal or external, gradual or sudden, we’re always navigating a changing world. We can become skilled in that navigation, but that skill doesn’t make change invisible. Instead, we become more aware of it … but as a friend, not an adversary.

You might not always recognize former versions of yourself.

But why would you?

Back then, things were different. The world was different. Your circumstances were different. You were different.

Who you are now is who you are now. And that might not be exactly who you’ll be tomorrow.

Of course you have a history. Of course there’s a through line. But we’re also ever-evolving inventions upon reinventions.

The evergreen consideration is this: who are you today, and in what direction are you moving?

When we doubt our individual potential to influence the world, let us recall R. Buckminster Fuller’s wisdom:

Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Elizabeth — the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there’s a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab. It’s a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it’s going right by you, that it’s left you altogether. But if you’re doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go. So I said, “Call me Trim Tab.”

The truth is that you get the low pressure to do things, rather than getting on the other side and trying to push the bow of the ship around. And you build that low pressure by getting rid of a little nonsense, getting rid of things that don’t work and aren’t true until you start to get that trim-tab motion. It works every time. That’s the grand strategy you’re going for. So I’m positive that what you do with yourself, just the little things you do yourself, these are the things that count. To be a real trim tab, you’ve got to start with yourself, and soon you’ll feel that low pressure, and suddenly things begin to work in a beautiful way. Of course, they happen only when you’re dealing with really great integrity.

A wise and inspiring metaphor. Thank you, Bucky.

Hot melt glue is a wonderfully useful material. For many projects and applications, it’s just the right thing.

But versatile solutions come with a downside: the temptation to think that they’re universal solutions.

And we know that’s not true.

Versatile solutions allow the expert to move with facility. They lighten the mental burden for addressing many problems.

But they risk being overused — particularly when someone is being lazy or they just don’t know any better.

Knowing when to grab the metaphorical glue gun — and when to resist its use — takes both knowledge and discipline.

There’s a fullness that comes from acting out of love — one that is never matched by things done out of guilt.

The very same actions can have radically different rewards. It all depends on the heart.

“We specialze in proofreading.”

* * *

There are times when we can be casual, fast, and loose.

But sometimes, the details are a signal. Sometimes, the details affirm (or call into doubt) the promises that we make.

A mistake in the wrong place or at the wrong time can raise a lot of questions about the important work we set out to do.

When it matters — and where it matters — be free of error.

When you’re working on something, you watch it. You track your progress.

Whether you’re building muscle, growing a following, raising funds, or painting a fence. Each incremental step is on your radar.

Conversely, we create a kind of misery when we don’t put in the work, but we still watch, waiting to see a change.

It sounds like a joke. You can, of course, use a pencil with either hand.

The handedness of a pencil has nothing to do with its function; it’s about what you see when you hold the tool.

Nearly every pencil you find will have text that begins toward the tip and travels toward the eraser. For ninety percent of the population this means that the words are presented properly when they hold a pencil in their writing hand.

For the rest of us — the lefties — the words are upside down (except for when we erase).

It’s useful to consider: some things are so natural that they’re invisible. For most people, if the text on a pencil is noticed at all, it will be unremarkable. For others, it will be upside-down, as usual.

Of what other differences in experience are we unaware? What other design choices quietly favor one group over another? Surely, the list is extensive.

“Where does the time go?”

If it’s an honest question, find the answer. Take a day (or even better, a week) and track what you’re doing. Use a simple spreadsheet or a notebook. Use an app or a screen-time tracker if you’d like. Log every fifteen-minute block.

Again, if the question of “where does the time go” is a serious one, then do the work. Not forever. Just until you know what’s going on.

It won’t take long to discover blind spots.

Once you see the big picture, you can decide if there are things that don’t align with your values. Then you can make an adjustment.

But step one is getting clear about what you’re doing with all that time. After all, we don’t have an endless supply.

But we do have this very moment — all of us.

There’s little satisfaction in things that are too easy or too hard.

Things that are too easy become boring and useless. Things that are too hard become frustrating and demoralizing.

We like challenges that are somewhere inside of those edges.

If you’re feeling discomfort, it might not be that things are too hard. It might be that they’re too easy.

Meet uncomfortable feelings with curiosity — not with hostility or resistance.

Feel what you feel. If it prompts discomfort, hold that discomfort (at least for a moment).

Seek to understand. “Why am I feeling this way? What’s underneath that? And underneath that?”

Allow yourself to follow the thread to its origin.

Our feelings are messages, and in a way, we’re the messenger.

Welcome the messenger and see what you can learn.

“When did you last eat?”

A good friend, upon recognizing your off mood, might ask such a question.

But we know it’s not just food that feeds us. For many, creative acts are just as life-giving as eating, sleeping, and breathing. Whether it’s song, dance, drawing, cooking, gardening, problem-solving … it’s different for each of us.

Go too long without having engaged with it, and it shows up on the surface.

Whatever your thing is, remember to feed yourself.

* * *

H/T Allegra

Not having, but wanting. Not consuming, but craving.

Seeking. Striving. Hoping.

We’re wired to lean toward achievement. Toward achievement. The achievement itself never supplies a lasting reward because we’re physiologically biased in favor of progress, not the status quo. And as soon as we level up, we prepare ourselves to do it again.

A certain level of discomfort — paired with hope — is part of the condition of being human.

It’s why we make change happen.

Two branches are without leaves.

One is rigid, but the other is flexible.

One is dead, but the other is merely dormant.

One will decay, but the other will burst forth with life once the seasons change.

Leaflessness only tells part of the story.

What happens when we focus on the fruit without considering the branches? When we focus on the water without considering the container? When we focus on the voice without considering the words?

Where we focus — and when — matters.

It’s easy to be attracted to the sparkle of the outputs. But the inputs, the preparation, the practice and the process … that’s where our attention can make all the difference.

If you run at length, you may experience periods of time when you’re unconscious of your legs moving. You’re just running without thinking about running.

In many ways, this can be good. You’re in a groove. You’re in flow. There’s a natural rhythm to what you’re doing.

As a metaphor, there’s another side to this phenomenon. In some situations, you may find yourself having been running — without the awareness that you’ve been running. Some moment will prompt the realization that your unconscious running is at the expense of your physical, mental, or emotional health.

If ever you discover such things, practice self-compassion. Be a gentle coach. Remind yourself that exertion needs the balance of rest. Even a river, whose flow is constant, will have wide sections of calm. Rest is part of the equilibrium in every natural system, your schedule included.