I am constantly working on my listening skills and trying to keep the advice monster at bay. These good intentions of mine regularly need a reset, often daily, in an ongoing effort to “try again.” Michael Lewis on The Tim Ferriss podcast shared how he and his close friends tend to obey the rules … Continue reading Improvisational friends
Category: Attention
Dangling carrots
An insight has inspired me to view “upsets” as dangling carrots vying for my attention. “Look at ME”, they say. “Talk about ME.” “Think about ME.” “STAY AWAKE with me!” They distract! Sometimes for hours. Sometimes for days and for one or two “issues”; actual years! Disrupting, distorting, derailing: Progress, productivity, creativity. This dangling carrot: … Continue reading Dangling carrots
No more advice!
This week I gave a friend advice on how to get from where she was to where I thought she wanted to be. Quickly. Hands dusted, job done! That good advice didn’t pan out well. I felt confronted by a realisation. And not a new one… That instead of giving advice, I need to … Continue reading No more advice!
How to concentrate
Although mindfulness mantras are all around us, and we nod in agreement about “being fully present”, the fact is that many of us struggle with concentration. The words “just focus”, aren’t that helpful when it comes to mastering our attention, yet it’s what we say to ourselves and to our children anytime concentration is … Continue reading How to concentrate
Meaning takes time
This week I listened to a fascinating podcast by Krista Tippett interviewing Maria Popova, the wonderful author of Brain Pickings. She said this… "...The reason we’re so increasingly intolerant of long articles and why we skim them, why we skip forward even in a short video that reduces a 300-page book into a three-minute animation … Continue reading Meaning takes time
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