…isn’t as effective as working to make things different. The past can have a very strong pull on your attention when thinking about how you’d prefer things to be. You can see the decision points that, if re-visited, could make all the difference. Of course, there’s no changing the past. What happens here in the present will impact what happens in the future. Looking back … Continue reading Wishing it were different…

Beyond the fact that I refer to myself as a practising Stoic, which in itself might be self-aggrandising, it’s particularly through the practise of Stoicism that I’ve recognised boastful behaviours that I’m not proud of. Because of low self-esteem I’ve sometimes created tenuous links to past experiences to bolster the feeling that I have value in a situation. I’ve used my ability to project confidently … Continue reading A self-aggrandising Stoic?

I read an article that I’m pleased to share below, asking if small acts of kindness add up. I firmly believe they do and this excerpt makes the point well: If, for example, I’m friendly to the bus driver he’s more likely to be considerate to the next customer who’s more likely then to go home and have a positive conversation with their partner. Do … Continue reading Kindness as a direction of travel.

It’s a lie. We can’t have infinitely more. Not yet. Perhaps not ever. Where there’s profit to be made from believing it though, we’re encouraged to act as if this were true. Then, perhaps perversely, profiteers manufacture scarcity if price elasticity allows. As consumers we have a hand in this. We respond to marketeer’s cues. We’ve come to demand all of the vegetables all of … Continue reading Discernment in an age of infinitely more.

Leadership demands sound conclusions, confidence and a definite purpose. But not certainty. Modern politics seems to have coalesced around combative certainty, even (perhaps especially) when the problem in question is very complicated. Yes, Brexit is on my mind, but that’s not the only example. On ultra-marathons and weekend jollies in the hills, I’ve found myself lost with friends a good few times. How best to … Continue reading Leadership isn’t combative certainty.

Especially if it is pleasant in the short term but makes the long term even more difficult to address. This doesn’t mean you have absolutely have to do a thing you’re dreading – you could change course. You don’t have to attempt something you’re not currently capable of – you might have to build up to it. This chimes with the two reasons Andy Groves … Continue reading Address the inevitable.

A friend was kind enough to listen to my ‘indifference problem’ today, and offer her perspective. I’m not sure I was fully understood (so I recognise my communication can improve) and I’m not sure there’s an answer to a specific aspect of it without making a personal relationship difficult. Nonetheless, my friend’s perspective did get me to look at my problem differently and spark a … Continue reading Problems benefit from perspectives.

And a slow start doesn’t mean your pace will stay the same. Inspired by reading about another blogger’s first half-marathon, while I’ve been standing still instead of training for my own ‘race’ on the 28th of July, I actually went for a run this morning. The first in very nearly a month. I’d intended to go yesterday, but there was almost biblical rain and I … Continue reading Slow progress beats no progress

Today I nailed some coding. Admittedly not terribly hard coding, but I’m delighted with how I embraced the process of learning. Working with a former colleague (now my boss), many moons ago in a different company, I lost confidence under pressure and infamously spat out ‘this is not the time’ through gritted teeth.  Today, faced with similar difficulty and with my boss gently probing while … Continue reading Sometimes I learn, and well!

On my long list of things I’d like to write, is a version of a ToDo list that helps you things you’re stuck with. Not just a list of things that you can easily manage and even get positive nudges for completing, but a tool that recognises when you’re procrastinating or perhaps stuck. I’ve settled on a combo that works well for me; ToDoIst for … Continue reading How to do ToDos?