Some Things I've Learned Along the Way

Insights can be really helpful, especially when we face challenges. When I seek advice from those I respect, I often have that forehead-slapping moment where I think, "I knew that!" or "Duh!". When that happens I write down what I just learned. Here's some of what I've come up with.

• Good enough usually is.
• When I want to feel good, I ask myself what I want. I'm the world's expert on Me.
• There's good news and there's bad news. Sometimes the hard part is figuring out which is which. Sometimes the same news is both.
• People tend to believe they know what other people are thinking.
• I can't possibly know what you're thinking. Mastering ESP is still on my To Do list.
• Whenever I make a mistake, I remind myself that I probably didn't invent that particular way to goof up.
• Nodding understandingly goes a long way, but only if you actually do understand.
• The nastiest thing about nasty problems is not that they don't go away when you refuse to deal with them. It's that they get worse.
• If you don't have a plan you can't follow it.
• Plan for today first. Planning for the distant future is worth less the more distant the future is.
• Kids know way more
  than they get credit
  for. Way more.Most people do their best. When it seems otherwise, maybe you just don't get it.
• Kids know way more than they get credit for. Way more.
• Deceiving others is difficult, especially if they're your kids.
• Dogs never ask you how you're doing because they already know.
• What fits for me might not fit for you. What fits for you might not fit for me.
• When someone speaks from the heart, listen to the beat.
• Experience eventually leads to wisdom. Some people require more experiences than others.
• That voice in your head that tells you you're messed up is usually coming from the part that's the most messed up.
• Feeling embarrassed is a waste. Most people are too busy worrying about themselves to notice.
• Speaking your own No is more powerful than repeating anybody else's Yes.
• If you don't like your choices, choose to look for more choices.
• Even though you know your favorite flavor of ice cream, try one of the others now and then.
• It's a lot easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble.
• Attributing significance or intention to other people's mistakes is often a mistake.
• Lots of people have been through really terrible things that they don't talk about. It's safest to assume that everyone deserves your respect and admiration.
• You don't always get back what you give. But since we can't really measure that, feeling slighted might be unwise.
• A human being is a wonder. You are a human being.

I could go on, but maybe you're wondering what your own list would look like if you wrote it down. You can find out.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

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More Things I've Learned Along the Way: V

When I gain an important insight, or when I learn a lesson, I make a note. Example: If you're interested in changing how a social construct operates, knowing how it came to be the way it is can be much less useful than knowing what keeps it the way it is.

See also Ethics at Work and Ethics at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming May 14: Working with the Overconfident

A cognitive bias known as the Overconfidence Effect causes us to overestimate the reliability of our judgments. Decisions we make based on those judgments are therefore suspect. But there are steps we can take to make our confidence levels more realistic, and thus make our decisions more reliable. Available here and by RSS on May 14.

And on May 21: Mismanaging Project Managers

Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't grant those project managers control of needed resources. Nor do they hold project sponsors or other senior managers accountable for the consequences of their actions when they interfere with project work. Here's a catalog of behaviors worth looking at. Available here and by RSS on May 21.

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