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Thought-Provoking Ideas that Inspire.
Struggling With Perfectionism?
Aug 19, 2020
I recently had the pleasure of coaching someone I care deeply about. She was struggling with perfectionism, and that was affecting her stakeholders.
It was clear that she cared very deeply about her work, and wanted to serve her stakeholders with professionalism and excellence. Sadly, expectations ruined it...
Expectations permeate every aspect of human endeavor — they’re inescapable. They’re the fuel that drive many decisions, and often ruin many relationships and aspirations.
“Are you asking me to lower my expectations?” she asked. “No. I’m asking you to temper them.” There’s a huge difference between LOWERED and TEMPERED expectations.
Tempering is the process of superheating and cooling that results in, say, tempered glass. It’s a lot stronger than “regular” glass. To gain that strength/resiliency, more is required...
When we temper our expectations, we season...
Dialogue or Debate?
Jul 15, 2020
I’m a proud member of AARP... 
For my non-American audience, that’s the American Association of Retired Persons. No, I’m not 50 (yet) but I read a Forbes article a couple years back that said they’d let a 35 year old in. At 40, they let me in... 
In our most recent publication that was mailed to me, AARP’s President, Catherine Alicia Georges wrote a compelling piece. This attached words really capture the heart, spirit, and soul of what we need most right now:
Unity over Division
Hope over Hate
Faith over Fear
Compassion over Confrontation
A more “just, caring, and thriving world” (in the words of LeaderShape) is impossible without Unity, Hope, Faith, and Compassion.
I only have one thing to add to the list above: Dialogue over Debate.
If we focus on proving each other wrong, we can’t find common ground. All relationships depend on common ground (not complete agreement)....
We Can’t Sustainably Live In The “Red” Zone
Jul 10, 2020
I wouldn’t recommend running with an oxygen deprivation mask in 83% humidity. Most sane people wouldn’t do it even under the best weather conditions 
Stopping to take this picture this week gave me a brief break from my insanity. I wanted to illustrate something that many of us tend to do too frequently: staying in the “red” zone too long.
Like the RPMs in a vehicle, nothing good comes from spending too much time in the “red zone” — we could damage the engine. Yet, we push ourselves far beyond the limit a lot.
I’m a firm believer in sustainability. My definition of this word is doing something for the next five years without causing emotional, spiritual, physical, psychological, or other damage.
Running at 173 BPM or more for too long would eventually damage my ticker. That same concept applies to all other aspects of our lives. We can’t sustainably live in the “red” zone.
I’m certainly not knocking putting in...
What Do You See?
Jun 16, 2020
What do you see?
An “old” pair of sneakers? The holes in the sneakers? Let me tell you what I see...
...I see the most comfortable running shoes I own. I see the countries, cities, towns, and miles we’ve experienced together. I see how I really do have everything I want...
BIG IDEA: Be careful about wanting “new” things — they don’t always fit, they’re not the most comfortable, and they often come with little real and valuable experience. As for having everything I want, it’s just like my main nutrition rule: I can eat as much of the things I like as I want. The secret is in changing what you like...
© 2020, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.
© 2020, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.
