Daily Dose of Positivity: What you think of others

It’s easy to see why leaders’ personal struggles get overlooked; when we face difficult situations or setbacks, it's human nature to think of our own point of view first. We tend to focus on how everything affects us, rather than thinking about others.  

Always take a step back to think about what you can control and where you might be able to take ownership. An ownership mindset helps others and empowers you as well.  

When you step outside your own perspective and consider what others are going through, you’ll not just treat others better, but you may establish a deeper and more personal connection that will endure through your life and career.

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Daily Dose of Positivity – Raising the bar of excellence

 Intelligence is now defined as the ability to rethink and unlearn.

Research reveals that the higher you score on an IQ test, the more likely you are to fall for ste­reotypes because you’re faster at recognizing patterns. And recent experiments suggest that the smarter you are, the more you might struggle to update your beliefs.

The curse of knowledge is that it closes your mind to what you don’t know. Good judgment depends on having the skill— and the will— to open your mind. A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of the most cherished parts of your identity."

One thing that is seen with emerging leaders across many aspects of business, family, and life is the temptation to lower expectations at the first sign of struggle.

Too many of us settle for being the second leader because it is more comfortable when we should want to be the third. 

One of the greatest feelings is accomplishing something we once considered impossible. When we lower the bar, we deprive others of experiencing that feeling.

“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.” – Stephen R. Covey

When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.”

— Jeff Bezos on the importance of what’s not going to change

Daily Dose of Positivity – Learning to say NO

“The biggest fear most of us have with learning to say NO is that we will miss an opportunity. An opportunity that would have catapulted us to success or that will never come again. And most of the time, that simply isn’t true.

The first part of learning to say NO is learning to accept that offers and opportunities are merely an indication that you’re on the right path- not that you’ve arrived at a final destination you can never find again.'”

— Grace Bonney on saying no

Waiting rarely makes things easier. Most of the time, waiting makes things harder.

The right time is now.

Daily Dose of Positivity – Self and Team Success

 A sports team where everyone is focused on himself or herself will usually underperform, as will a team in any workplace.

· Great leaders give their teams credit for success and take sole responsibility for failure. This is a rare skill today. Many leaders, especially politicians, love the credit but hate the accountability. However, these are two sides of the same flipped coin.

·       We need to judge our own past successes and failures more objectively. We tend to believe that our achievements are due to our intelligence and smart decision-making while ascribing others’ successes to luck and timing. What if the opposite is true? We should rethink those assumptions more often to avoid arrogance and overconfidence.

https://fridayforward.cmail19.com/t/y-l-otyhjyd-tkuijdtds-h/

Daily Dose of Positivity – Choosing Talent

If you want to make progress in any area, you need to be willing to give up your best ideas from time to time.

While natural talent may win in the short term, it rarely wins in the long term. A lot of people who are naturally talented don't develop work at getting better.

Eventually, naturally talented people are passed by people who choose talent.

How can you choose talent?

When you focus all of your energy in one direction for an uncommonly long period of time, you develop talent.

What seems like a difference in talent often comes down to a difference in focus.

Focus turns good performers into great performers.

Two keys to focus are saying no to distractions and working on the same problem for an uncommonly long time. Both are simple but not easy

Results follow obsession.

— Advice for Curious People

Daily Dose of Positivity – Goals as Continuum of fulfillment

Many of us set very audacious goals, only to reach the summit and feel let down because the goal does not have a deeper purpose or meaning. Too often, a goal only represents a sliver of time in our lives or an objective we believe will make us happy when achieved, rather than a meaningful continuum of fulfillment. 

Goals tied to purpose are always the most rewarding. 

“If you know the why, you can live anyhow.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Daily Dose of Positivity - Decision Making

The cost of making decisions to please others instead of yourself is misery.

Don't come out saying, “You're wrong, and here's why.” Come out saying, “Oh, that's very interesting. I think you're right about that one thing there.” Or, “We have this in common.” Or, “I can understand why you're saying that,” or, “Here's something in my experience that confirms what you said.” And once you start by agreeing on something, then you can pivot to, “But now, on the other hand, it seems to me that...” and then you can raise your point. And then you're much more likely to persuade the person