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Being comfortable, is it a good thing?

January 18, 2012 By 2 Comments

Well, the title of this article would certainly seem to be correct.  Being comfortable is a good thing.  I mean, if you sit down it’s sure nice if your chair is comfortable.  When you lay down to sleep, a comfortable bed is a big plus.  How could it not be a good thing to be comfortable?

However, I am not talking about your body being comfortable when you sit or lay down.  What I am talking about is more of an inner feeling of comfortable which is related to staying within your “comfort zone,” and not venturing outside the comfort zone.  Believe me, that is not a good thing.  So, yes, there are times when being comfortable is a bad thing indeed.

If you don’t venture outside your comfort zone, you cannot grow.  You cannot learn about things that are foreign to you.  Doing things that make you nervous brings understanding  and learning.  If you do things that are uncomfortable enough, they become part of your comfort zone.

Resting in Comfort

Resting in Comfort

Back in 2000, I decided to move to the Philippines.  I am an American, but my wife is Filipino.  Starting in the late 90′s, I had a desire to move to the Philippines and experience life here, which was something that would be totally foreign to me.  When I had finally put everything in place for the move, though, and was getting close to the time when I’d get on that airplane and fly to my new home, I got quite nervous.  Was I doing the right thing.  Was a move to a foreigner country the right thing for myself, my wife and my kids?  Frankly, it suddenly scared me to death.  But, because I had the desire to move, and I had worked hard to put everything in place for such a move, I went ahead with my dream.  Yes, things were scary, and it took time for myself and my family to adjust to our new home, but we came to love living in the Philippines, and we are still in the Philippines after all of these years.  My feeling of being uncomfortable worked out great for me.

A Philippine Jeepney

A Philippine Jeepney

Just last year, I took another leap into the discomfort and it worked out well.  What did I do?  I decided to start riding jeepneys.  A jeepney is basically the most widely used public transportation vehicle in the Philippines, where I live.  When I moved here, I bought a car, we Americans are so used to having our cars, so that is what I wanted.  All these years, I drive around wherever I want to go.  But, I have always been somewhat curious and also enamored with jeepneys, so last year I decided to give it a try.  I was very nervous about doing it, because it was something so unfamiliar to me, and so far outside my comfort zone.  But, that was about 6 months ago when I tried it, and to this day I still ride jeepneys almost daily!  I drive too, but I take the jeepney much more often than driving, and I enjoy my time riding jeepneys.

So, I would say, based on my experience, that going outside your comfort zone is almost always a good thing.  It almost always works out for the best, and is productive.  Even if you try something and don’t like it, you have still learned and grown from the experience.  Learning is always a good thing to do, and one great way to do that is by making yourself a bit uncomfortable from time to time!

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Goal Setting

January 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Is it important to set goals?  Is it a smart thing to do?  Well these questions are a matter of opinion, but I would say that setting goals is a very smart thing to do, and very important too.

If you don’t have goals, you might end up just wandering aimlessly.  With goals you have a constant reminder of where to focus so that you can achieve your goals.

Many people make a mistake, though, when it comes to goals.  They set their goals way too high.

For example, if you set the following goal, what are you going to do to achieve it?

I want to be a millionaire.

Is that a realistic goal?  Not really.  I mean, I am not saying that it can’t be achieved.  In fact, it is not hard to achieve at all these days.  Truth is in this age, a million dollars is not a huge amount of money.  But, if you do want to become a millionaire, you need to set some smaller goals first, because you cannot become a millionaire overnight, or even by the end of the year.  At least most of us cannot.  Instead you need to start out making more money than you are now.  You need to earn enough money that you can start setting some money aside.  Maybe you will invest that money, either in something like a stock, or perhaps use that nest egg to start your own business.  Starting from such an investment will allow your money to keep growing.  Once you achieve that goal of earning extra money, it’s time to move on to another small goal that will propel you on the way toward your ultimate goal of becoming a millionaire.

Hitting the Target

Hitting the Target

What are the problems with setting such a lofty goal from the beginning? Well, I can think of at least a couple of problems with that:

  • Setting a huge goal may become a burden.  It may discourage you since you cannot meet your goal in a short time frame.
  • You may set such a large goal and not be able to figure out how to do it.  If you set smaller goals you can more easily get it done and work your way toward your larger objective.
  • Because achieving your large goal may take so long, you may lose focus and eventually just consider it impossible.

One way you might work is to figure out what you ultimate goal is, and then set smaller goals that would be like steps toward your big goal.  Setting a goal that will not be completed, though, for 10 years or even 5 years is somewhat unrealistic, though, because you will lose interest and abandon the goal before you reach it.

Goal setting is a good thing.  It’s a smart thing to do. Just remember to also be smart about the way you approach goal setting.

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Learning the right skills

December 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Learning is important no matter your age.  Even if you are already old, learning new things helps keep your mind active and I would argue that continued learning helps keep you feeling younger.  But, what about kids?  Are our kids today learning the things they need to learn.

Last week, I was watching an American TV news network.  They had a story about some organization who had come out with a list of 10 things our children will never have to worry about.  Many of the things on the list I agreed with, they were simply things that technology had allowed us to pass by when it comes to education.  But, the number one thing listed as being unimportant for kids to learn these days was something I was in big disagreement with.

Typing

Typing

The organization had said that the number one thing that kids no longer need to learn is typing.  What?  Personally, I would argue that technology has made it even more important for kids to learn how to type.  I mean, with computers today, we use keyboards constantly to input data to our PCs.  Typing skills are critical today in my mind.

I am a pretty good typist.  I took two years of typing in High School, and have been using my typing skills ever since.  Today, I am nearing 50 years old and I type more now than I ever have.  With my work being computer based, it is critical.  I can type about 100 words per minute, which I think is pretty good.  Because I can type accurately and fast, I can get my work done pretty quickly.  For a person who doesn’t know how to type, but has to hunt for the key he wants to use, well, his working speed can come nowhere near somebody who is an accomplished typist.

Now, there can be a legitimate argument on this, though.  Voice recognition technology is coming.  Actually it’s already here, but it is not good enough yet to replace typing, in my opinion.  Over the past few years I have had some trouble with arthritis in my hands, and have thus tried voice recognition and using a microphone to enter data into my computer as opposed to a keyboard.  It works.  But, it’s not as good or as fast as a keyboard is for somebody who knows how to type.  Maybe in 5 or 10 years we will enter data into our computers with a microphone and the keyboard will be a thing of the past.  Or, maybe in 50 years we will still be using keyboards.

For now, though, I think that learning to type is critical for a school kid.  Of everything I learned in my years of schooling, typing has been the most valuable in my profession.

What do you think?

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Pomegranate juice – great taste, great health

September 8, 2011 By 4 Comments

Want to get into a great habit for improved health?  And, something that tastes great too?

Have you ever tried Pomegranate Juice?

I enjoy drinking juice.  I particularly like mixing various juices with iced tea to give the tea a bit of a flavor boost, and a different taste than normal.  Until about 6 months ago, I had never tasted pomegranate juice before.  I had eaten pomegranate, although not for a long, long time, but had never had the juice.

Enjoying a glass of pomegranate juice

Enjoying a glass of pomegranate juice

At some point, about 6 months or so ago, when I went to the grocery store to buy some juice, I was looking over the various flavors and saw pomegranate juice on the shelf, so I decided to give it a try.  All I can say is that when I tried it, I found out how great it really is.  The flavor is wonderful, and even just a small amount mixed in with my iced tea gives off a super flavor that is quite unique.

Pomegranate Fruit makes for a delicious juice

Pomegranate Fruit makes for a delicious juice

After enjoying pomegranate juice for a while, I started learning about the health benefits of the juice.  I saw a report on the news about this, and have since learned more.  Probably the number one benefit is that it appears that pomegranate juice is a major cancer fighter.  Studies are still preliminary, but many studies are pointing to pomegranate juice as a major plus for health.  In addition to fighting cancer, they are also finding that pomegranate juice also helps fight off heart attacks and even high blood pressure too.  One of the reasons that pomegranate juice helps fight off heart attacks is because it contains a fairly large amount of resveratrol, the same thing that is found in red wine, which has long been known to fight off heart attacks.

Isn’t it great when you can find a product that you love for the flavor, and then you find out that it also helps keep you healthy?   I know that I think it’s great!

So, give pomegranate juice a try if you have not already.  You might not know what you’re missing!

Pomegranate juice, a great habit to get into for good health.

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Spending money on your tools

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Unless you are already retired, you must have some kind of job, a career, whatever you want to call it.  In short, you must be doing something to earn money.  They say that money can’t buy happiness, but I know that having no money is surely a sad situation and having money makes life quite a bit easier, and in my opinion happier too.

Of course, there are millions of ways to earn money.  Maybe you are a painter.  Maybe you work construction.  Perhaps you are a taxi driver.  Or, like me, maybe you work on a computer day in and day out.  These days, it is likely that you spend at least some time working on a computer, regardless of what your job is.  I mean, if you are a painter, you probably spend some time on the computer to track your customers.  Really almost any job these days has some element of computer use.

Logitech Wave Keyboard

Logitech Wave Keyboard

Today, what I want to address is your tools that you use for your work.  If you are a construction worker, maybe your tools are things that we would more traditionally consider to be tools – a hammer, screwdrivers, saws, etc.  But, every profession relies on some type of tools that are needed to get the job done.

My profession is mostly writing, but also includes other things that I do on the computer.  I suppose that the computer makes up probably 98% or more of the work that I do, and the money that I earn.  So, one of my tools is the computer.

I have other tools too

High Quality Mouse

High Quality Mouse

Working on the computer, what tools could I possibly have?  Well, think about it.  I have lots of tools:

  • Keyboard
  • Mouse
  • Digital Camera
  • Cellular Phone
  • Printer
  • Blank CD’s
  • My Desk
  • My Chair
  • I could go on and on…

Yes, each of these things is a tool that I use to do my job.  I don’t swing a hammer, but I do type with my keyboard and use my mouse to navigate around my computer.  Without these important tools, I could not do my job.

Because these tools are very important to me, I spend money to buy quality tools.

Let’s look at my keyboard as an example.  I use a Logitech Wireless “Wave” keyboard, which is a high quality ergonomic keyboard.  I have been using this Wave keyboard for about 5 years now, as I recall.  Before I had this keyboard, I used a cheaper keyboard which was not an ergonomic model.  I began developing problems with my wrists being painful, and I could not do my job as I wanted to due to the pain.  Now that I have an ergonomic keyboard, and some other tools, my wrist problems have been greatly alleviated.  Now, I can do the work that I need to do in order to earn an income, and also to make me happy with my life.

This keyboard was expensive.  It cost me about $150 back in the day when I bought it.  That’s an expensive keyboard, although certainly not the most expensive around.  But, is it really worth spending $150 on a keyboard?  Yes, it is.  You see, as I explained earlier, when I used a cheaper keyboard I developed problems with my wrists, and could not work as much as I needed to.  In fact, even 10 minutes or so of typing, and I had to quit for a few hours to let my wrists rest.  Now, $150 for a keyboard, which I have used for 5 years?  That means that the keyboard has cost about 8 cents per day.  And, the keyboard does not need to be replaced yet.  Maybe I’ll get another 5 years out of the keyboard, making it only 4 cents per day.  But, even if I went out and replaced the keyboard today, the $150 investment was really worth it.  Having a quality tool made it easier to do my job, provided a better quality of work, and offered great reliability.

Use the right hammer for the job

Use the right hammer for the job

Same thing with the mouse.  Having a good quality mouse is very important, especially in ergonomic ways.  You see, using a mouse that properly keeps your hand in the right position and such helps keep you from developing an injury like carpal tunnel syndrome or something similar.  I routinely spend $100 or more on a mouse, even though there are models available for as little as $2 or so.  But, I am a writer, and do other things on the computer.  This is my profession.  Sometimes I spend many hours every day using these tools – the tools of my trade.  Spending the necessary money is not a worry, in fact, if I did not spend for quality tools for my profession, that would be a worry for me.

Now, in other areas, I don’t necessarily buy the best quality of tools.  For example, I have a cheap hammer.  But, I don’t use a hammer often, nor is it part of my profession.  The quality of my hammer does not affect the work that I do to earn money.  I think that if I used a hammer twice in the same year, that could be considered as a year when I gave my hammer heave use.  Because of these factors, I really don’t need a high quality hammer.  Just like Bubba the builder, he doesn’t really need a $100 mouse, since he uses the computer only rarely.

So, what about you?  What is your profession?  Do you have the right tools for the job?  If not, maybe it’s something to consider.

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Incorporating Faith into your life

June 16, 2011 By 6 Comments

Look, I am going to be very up front and clear.  I am not a Bible thumping person who goes around pushing my religion on others.  Not at all.  In fact, I admit freely that I often feel that my faith is not as strong as it should be.  I am a Christian, and I try to live a life that follows the path of the Lord, although like all of us, I am not always successful in that quest.  In fact, I often am not, even though I desire to be.

I will also readily admit that sometimes when I read or talk to people who tell me that there is no God, I can be vulnerable and consider the possibility that they may be right.  Thus, my faith is not nearly as strong as I wish it was, or where I think it should be.  But, in the end, I believe in God.  When times come up when my faith wavers a bit and I consider the possibility that there may be no God, even then I feel that I should live a clean life where I care for my brothers in the world, and live in a way that follows the same path that we are taught by God.

On the road to faith

On the road to faith

I also understand that we, as a human race, follow different belief systems.  I believe in God and his son, Jesus Christ.  I have friends who are Jewish, Muslim, Atheists, Agnostic and whatever other belief systems you can think of.  I have no problem with any of them.  In part, I believe that we are all worshiping the same being, just with different names, and slightly different beliefs about that entity.  Well, of course the Atheists do not follow any God, although they have their own personal belief system.  I have no problem with any of that.  What I choose to believe and what you choose to believe may be different, but I feel that we can still live with respect and even admiration toward each other.  I don’t see a conflict.  I also do not feel a need to make an effort to convert others to my belief system.

Journey of Faith

Journey of Faith

There is something that happened today, this morning, which strengthens my faith.  Truth is, this thing that happened has happened so many times over in my life that I should expect it.  You see, this morning I had a need for something that was lacking in my life.  I felt it was impossible that the thing I needed could be obtained, at least not today.  Maybe someday my need would be fulfilled, maybe not.  But, I felt like I needed to have that need fulfilled today, and just felt it was not even remotely possible.  I have been thinking about that need for some time now, but this morning I felt it was critical in my life to get fulfillment of the need.  About half an hour after I was thinking that, I got an e-mail from somebody whom I don’t know.  He knows me through reading some of my websites and such, but I don’t know him.  Well, he e-mailed me and told me he wanted to do something for me, and went on to tell me what he was going to do.  The thing he was going to do was to fulfill that need that has been on my mind.  I thought it was impossible, but now he has already done it.

Now, I just feel that if there was no God, how could such a thing happen?  Just by chance?  The odds of that are nearly zero.

As I say, this sort of filling of a need at the seemingly most opportune time has happened to me before, when I felt the need was strong.  It can be anything in life that is needed.  So, it leaves me wondering, if this sort of thing has happened many times over in my 49 years of life, how can I let my faith waver at times?  I guess it is because of being human and imperfect.

What I do know is that I am very thankful that my need was fulfilled this morning, and I am thankful to the person who filled that need.

So, I have to say, I believe that incorporating faith into your life is a smart thing to do.  It’s not that a smart person can analyze and come up with proof of a God, or anything like that.  In fact, it is about being smart enough to give up some control and believe in something even without evidence.  That’s what faith is all about, and I believe that faith is a smart thing to have in my life.

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Taking Stock

May 27, 2011 By 4 Comments

I have a routine.

I think we all have a routine to one extent or another.

Things we do.

Just automatically, almost without even thinking about it.

I think that for most of us, whether we even think about it, our routine is important to us.  It is what we do, and the reason why we do it is simply because for one reason or another, at one time or another in our life, the things we do in our routine have become part of our routine because they are things we need, and things that are important to us.  If these things were not important to us, we would not do them every day.  Right?

This morning, I was in the middle of my morning routine:

  1. Get up.
  2. Boot up my computer.
  3. Check my e-mail to see if anything important came in overnight.
  4. Check a series of websites that publish information on topics that I care about.
Taking Stock

Taking Stock

Hold on.

Scratch that #4 above.

As I was checking my “regular websites” this morning, I realized that much of this stuff was not important to me anymore.  Some of the stuff, to be honest, I really don’t care much about anymore.  Why am I spending time checking about stuff that I really don’t care about.

After the realization, I sat there thinking.

What is important to me these days?  I’ve changed a lot, and it is different things that are important to me than what it used to be.  But, what things really are important to me now?

Honestly, I was not sure anymore.  Oh, of course things like my family and friends are important to me.  That’s not what I’m talking about, those things are a given.  I’m talking about my interests, things that I care enough about to spend some time every day keeping up with the topic.  That sort of thing.

Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett

As I sat there thinking over what is important in my life, the words to a song that I like came to me.  The song is called “Distantly in Love” by Jimmy Buffett.  The first verse of the song seemed to fit my feelings this morning:

Pay phones all were ringing as the crowd went roarin’ by
Lovely dancers swaying to an island lullaby
Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what’s to be
Writing you this letter that you’ll probably never see

It’s the third line that fit my feeling today – “Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what’s to be.”

Yes, I realized that it’s time for me to take stock of my feelings and interests today, and to revise my routine to something more current.

One of the parts of my routine that really is of little interest to me these days, but used to be, is an interest in US Politics.  I used to be a real political junkie.  These days, I don’t even live in the USA any more, so why do I even care?  Fact is, I don’t care too much any more, but I still check the political news religiously every day.  Why?  I need to cut that off, and spend that time on something that is more relevant to my life that I am living today.  I need to take stock of what’s to be in my life, and modify my routine to fit what I discover when I take stock.

The fact is, as I think this over, we all need to take stock from time to time and unclutter our lives of things that really don’t mean much to us any longer.

Just like what Jimmy Buffett says in the song… I want to go sit next to the southern ocean and take stock of what’s to be.  I think I’ll do it today.

What about you?

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My day for good habits

May 19, 2011 By 6 Comments

It’s only a little after 10am, and I’ve already made this a day for good habits.  Even though it is still morning, I have already worked in three good habits for my day.

I didn’t set out to make today a “good habits day,” it just happened that way.

I was thinking about it a little while ago, and realized that I was already on a roll for the day, and I might as well work in a few more good habits for the day to make it really spectacular!

What have I done so far today to get the day started right?

Lets have a look:

  1. I went for a good walk.
  2. While out on my walk, I got a haircut.
  3. I made it a priority to write a new article on this site.

I consider each of these to be good habits.  Why?

Walking

Walking is good exercise

Walking is good exercise

Any kind of exercise is a good thing.  In these days when we have computers, TV, all kinds of other such things, it’s easy to lead a lethargic lifestyle.  That’s why we have to force ourselves to get up from that chair and go do something physical.  I basically have two activities that I like to do for exercise.  I like to walk, and I like to swim.  Lately, I have not been swimming much, so I have been relying on walking to get in the exercise that my body needs.  So, this morning, when I decided that I needed to have a haircut today, I decided to walk to the barber shop and to walk back home again.  Why not?  The barber shop is not too far anyway, so I even made a few rounds around different blocks in my neighborhood, taking the “scenic route” to the barber shop.  Getting exercise is important to me, especially because I have diabetes, and exercise helps me maintain good health.  I admit that I don’t always get as much exercise as I should, but lately I have been doing pretty good with it, especially doing a lot of walking.

Haircut

Barber Shop

Barber Shop

I enjoy getting a good haircut, and I find that it makes me feel relaxed and refreshed when I do it.  I try to get a haircut weekly when I can.  Sometimes it slips to every two weeks, but never longer than that.

One of the things I really like here in the Philippines where I live is that when you get a haircut the barber always gives you a massage to end the haircut.  He massages your head, shoulders, back and arms.  It always makes me feel good and relieves a lot of stress when I get a nice massage like that, and getting a haircut makes me feel good too.

So, going to have a haircut is a natural for a good health habit, and an all around good feeling.

Writing here on Habits for Smart People

Writing on my blog

Writing on my blog

The last week or so I have slipped and have not been adding new articles to this site.  When I do that it makes me have a feeling of guilt, which I don’t like.  So, making the commitment to get back to writing, after lapsing, is a good habit to get back into.  I find that the act of writing about good habits helps me maintain good habits in my life.  Writing the articles helps remind me of the kind of lifestyle that I want to lead, and thus it is something important in my life.

So, there you have it.  Just a little after 10am now, and I have three good habits under my belt!  I want to get a few more in before the end of the day, so I better get busy.

What about you?

Filed Under: Being Smart, Feature, Good Habits, Health Habits Tagged With: , ,

When opportunity knocks, what should you do?

May 5, 2011 By 6 Comments

These days, the economy is terrible.  A lot of people, perhaps most people, are facing a life that is a lot more difficult than it was 5 years ago.  Some people are saying that our children may face a life of more hardship and poverty than we faced.  That would be a first for many generations, if it is true.

However, are there ways that we can overcome the adversity that we face from the world economy?  Sure we can.  Perhaps we will have to do a lot of work and building to accomplish the lifestyle that we enjoyed a decade ago, but that does not mean it is impossible.  A little hard work never hurt anybody, right?  In fact, life a decade ago was probably too void of the hard work that we faced in previous decades.  Perhaps getting back to working a little harder may be the answer to the situation that we face.

Opportunity Way

Opportunity Way

I’m sure we have all heard the old saying about “opportunity knocking.”  Let me ask you this… what do you do when opportunity knocks?  Do you answer the door when there is knocking?  Before you answer “yes,” or “of course I do” think about it.  I didn’t ask if you answer the door when you hear a knock.  What if there is a knock but you don’t hear it?  Of course, if you don’t hear it, you don’t answer, right?  That’s probably why many decades ago the doorbell was invented.  It made the sound louder when somebody was at the door, so that we could more easily hear it, and would answer the door.

Opportunity has no doorbell, though.  You have to be diligent if you want to be sure that you see opportunity and answer the door when opportunity is knocking.

What do you mean, Bob?

Opportunity Knocked - Were you out?

Opportunity Knocked - Were you out?

Well, when opportunity is in front of us, it does not always hold a big sign saying “I am an opportunity,” sometimes we have to analyze it carefully and come to the realization that what you are looking at is an opportunity, and that you can seize that opportunity.

Think about it.  We both agree that economically we are going through a difficult time at this juncture, right?  Maybe some of you who are reading this are unemployed.  The odds are that a fair number of readers are under-employed, having jobs that are good enough to just get by, but don’t really utilize the true talents that you have.  Maybe the only job that you can find is a part time job that makes just enough to pay the rent.  So, some of you readers are under tough economic pressure right now.  That is an opportunity.

What?  This is an opportunity?

Yes, I believe that it is, you just don’t recognize the opportunity.  But, think about it.  During this tough time, would you like for somebody to come along and ease your suffering, and make your life better?  Think about what it would be that somebody could do to improve your life right now.  If you come up with any ideas of what could be done, you just identified opportunity!  That’s right, you just found a list of things that you could do to help others.  I mean, if you are in a tough situation and others are too, surely the things that you need or want to assist you would also be desired by others.  Perhaps you could begin offering services to assist others in need.  That is an opportunity that is being present to you, yet you might not have seen it or recognized  it because you were too busy trying to figure out how to get out of the situation you find yourself in.  So, now that you know some things that are needed, you have to get busy figuring out how best to turn what you discovered into a small business.  You can do it!

Always be on the lookout for opportunity.  In my life, for years and years I have been doing that.  Everyplace I go, I am watching for ways that I can benefit from things that I see or encounter.  It’s not all about making money, there are other things that opportunity can do when you answer the door:

  • Improve your life
  • Make you a happier person
  • Help you earn money
  • Help you to help others
  • Meet new people that will improve your life
  • the list is endless, but you have to look for and recognize opportunity when it presents itself!

You can do it.  But, you have to be on the lookout for opportunity, because you never know when or where it will present itself!

Filed Under: Being Smart, Feature, Good Habits Tagged With: ,

Are you complacent?

April 13, 2011 By 4 Comments

Are you complacent?  Have you ever been complacent?  I have, and sometimes I still am.  I try to avoid it, though.

What is complacency?  Well, it is when you become satisfied with something.  You get satisfied, you are no longer critical, you just accept it as it is and really do nothing to improve on it any longer.  It’s not a good habit.

Generally, I find that when you get complacent with something, that things starts to slide.  Why?  Because you are no longer giving it your attention and improving on it.  Even though it may well have been great at the time you became complacent, it will inevitably begin to go downhill when you no longer strive to improve it.  There is not much choice in the matter, that’s just how it is.

Complacency will lead in only one direction

Complacency will lead in only one direction

Ever heard the saying that if something is not improving, it’s getting worse?  I have heard people say that kind of thing before, and it’s really true in many instances.  If you are not complacent, you are paying attention to what is going on.  You are striving for improvements.  You are working, or at least thinking about the project at hand, and that work helps improve the project.  Once you accept the project and become complacent, you stop working for improvement.  As time goes by, you not only stop trying to improve in it, but generally you will also tend to ignore it, and the lack of attention can accomplish only one thing really… the project slides in importance, and also slides in it’s quality.

I have been Complacent

I have been Complacent

I have had this problem with some projects in the past.  One in particular that comes to mind was a business that I still own.  The business was really a big money earner.  It had lots of customers, and it was an innovator compared to it’s competitors.  But, because it was flying so high, I got complacent and gave the business less of my personal attention.  No problem for a few years, the company kept doing well just through it’s own inertia.  But, after a few years, things started to slide.  At first, you don’t get concerned, you just figure that it’s an anomaly.  Things will get better next month.  Seven or eight months down the line, though, when things continue to slide, you know something is wrong.  A bit longer and you realize that you’ve been complacent, and it cost you dearly.

Projects, businesses or whatever it is that you have become complacent about can be recovered, if you don’t let them slip too far.  If you let them go for too long, though, and the slide proceeds too far, it will be difficult to recover, and take a long time and a lot of effort.

Perhaps my best advice to avoid complacency might sound a bit strange.  What I would say is that you should step back from the project more often.  But, for a short period of time.  Don’t just let the project go, but strategically step back to refresh your mind.  After being away from the project for a few weeks, when you return again you’ll have a fresh perspective, a new way to look at things.  You’ll see things differently than you did before, when you were deep in the project.  Stepping back for a refresher will allow you to refresh, see things differently, and innovate in ways that you couldn’t before, because you were too close to the project.

So, don’t get complacent.  But, do step back for a refresher.  That will help you sustain your interest, and do it through a new view.

Filed Under: Being Smart, Feature, Good Habits Tagged With: ,
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