Sometimes we sabotage our own efforts without realizing it. A bad plan can doom a project even before the first step is made. Proper prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance.
There are many guidelines for a successful plan. One of them is so important that there are different ways to describe it: Less Is More. Parsimony. Occam’s Razor. Keep It Simple Stupid.
The rule is a familiar one, yet it’s a common reasons why a plan fail. What can we do to avoid this mistake?
According to the philosopher Walter Benjamin, “To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.”
I’ve been tagged by my blogger friend Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz for a fun exercise where you’re supposed to describe your own personality. The first thing that came to mind was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to describe myself. But alas, I over-thought the challenge and it was just to compare myself to profiles based on birth month (see below). Just how close was it?
If you made the wrong choice, are you smart enough to change your mind?
Cognitive dissonance is when something you believe is true conflicts with something that you know is true. Psychology tells us that our mind will try to fix this conflict, even if it has to make something up that’s not true. For example, have you ever wanted something that you couldn’t get but then tell yourself you’re better off without it? Whether that’s true or not, that’s cognitive dissonance in action.
Sometimes you have to think about what would happen if you don’t act, rather than what would happen if you do.
So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?
- Martin Luther King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
This site is generally about achieving goals and dream, but this article is especially for dreams that are meant to make this world a better place.
Be careful of what you wish for, because it might come true.
It’s a trite saying, but there’s some truth here. Trying to achieve a goal can be enough of a problem, but what if you actually succeed? Will success change you for the better or for worse? What will the cost be to maintain success? These can be problems, but at least they are within your control.
When you succeed, some people may be genuinely happy for your achievements, but there may be others who, for whatever reason, will be critical of your accomplishments. What can you do when you encounter these kinds of people?
