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 in this series Top
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Related articles
More articles on Ethics at Work:
Workplace Politics vs. Integrity
- A reader wrote recently of wanting to learn "to effectively participate in office politics without
compromising my integrity." It sometimes seems that those who succeed in workplace politics must
know how to descend to the blackest depths, and still sleep at night. Must we abandon our integrity
to participate in workplace politics?
The Power of Presuppositions
- Presuppositions are powerful tools for manipulating others. To defend yourself, know how they're used,
know how to detect them, and know how to respond.
Looking the Other Way
- Sometimes when we notice wrongdoing, and we aren't directly involved, we don't report it, and we don't
intervene. We look the other way. Typically, we do this to avoid the risks of making a report. But looking
the other way is also risky. What are the risks of looking the other way?
Extrasensory Deception: II
- In negotiating agreements, the partners who do the drafting have an ethical obligation not to exploit
the advantages of the drafting role. Some drafters don't meet that standard.
Influence and Belief Perseverance
- Belief perseverance is the pattern that causes us to cling more tightly to our beliefs when contradictory
information arrives. Those who understand belief perseverance can use it to manipulate others.
See also Ethics at Work for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming March 29: Time Slot Recycling: The Risks
- When we can't begin a meeting because some people haven't arrived, we sometimes cancel the meeting and hold a different one, with the people who are in attendance. It might seem like a good way to avoid wasting time, but there are risks. Available here and by RSS on March 29.
And on April 5: The Fallacy of Division
- Errors of reasoning are pervasive in everyday thought in most organizations. One of the more common errors is called the Fallacy of Division, in which we assume that attributes of a class apply to all members of that class. It leads to ridiculous results. Available here and by RSS on April 5.
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- Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )
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