Your value as a person isn’t defined by what you did or didn’t do in the past. It’s defined by what you are doing, today, and the preparation you’re making for the choices you’ll face tomorrow. Look forward and be the best version of yourself. Continue reading Your value. Right now.

I’ve been persuaded to do things I don’t like, gladly. Other things I might like, I’ve done very reluctantly. The key difference is in how the thing is sold; how I’m persuaded – internally or externally. Worth remembering when asking others for their time and effort. Continue reading Persuasion.

It’s a powerful building block in many ways, but it can also be a barrier to new discoveries, new ways of working or of thinking. Challenging conventional wisdom is an integral part of forging a new path, so discern what supports your idea with evidence-based thinking; discard the rest. Yes, you will sit outside the norm. Continue reading Conventional wisdom.

I struggled with my mood again today, having to work hard to do anything more than close my eyes and lay down. Yesterday I’d resolved to pack a picnic and enjoy lunch in a local park; I did just that although it took 45 minutes from packing to getting out of the house. While there some of the many blessings I enjoy occurred to me. … Continue reading There are blessings.

This might seem self-congratulatory, or self-pitying – I don’t mean for it to be either. Life can seem unfair, but as a secular humanist I’d say that really ‘life’ is quite indifferent. There are choices in the face of life’s, seemingly unfair, difficulties. Especially when the chips are down, the easy choices tend to be selfish or short-term. If one faces a lot of difficulty … Continue reading To the broken.

I popped in a cafe in Bakewell today, which is a lovely little market town nestled in the Peak District. There are plenty of options if you’re looking for a good cafe, but the one that caught my eye was also a bookshop. Cafe plus books. Joyful! Sadly, it wasn’t everything I hoped. All the signs were of freshly made food, but the lady behind … Continue reading Ready made disappointment.

Inspired, as so often, by a post from A Learning A Day. Ten years go, I’d been married just over six months and my then-wife had suffered a mobility affecting collapse among the vertebrae in her lower spine. My then step-daughter (still very much a dear daughter, in my heart), was suffering from bullying that precipitated a decline into very complex mental health issues. My … Continue reading 10 years ago.

There will be times when you feel stuck. You face a problem that you don’t know the solution to and you’re not sure you even recognise the causes. A diligent approach will help you. Experimentation, observation, consultation – these three skills (for they can be honed as such) are key to figuring it out. They work well with people and with technical problems, if you … Continue reading You can figure it out.

Seth Godin wrote a recent blog post about conspicuous consumption. The ratchet effect of getting in the game has been accelerated by social media, he writes, and the only way to do well in the game is to refuse to play. On Twitter especially, but across social media in general, the style of discourse I see is largely anathema to my longing for meaning, connection … Continue reading I refuse to play.

All for one is an easy enough relationship – everyone is making the same choice of the one they’re for. One for all? Much harder. All means everyone and it’s very hard to be for everyone. Every person has different needs and wants, even though plenty of people will be broadly similar. I firmly reject the polarising breakdown of society that mainstream media presents, but … Continue reading All for one, one for all?