The Moment It’s Stressful

The moment you realize you’re stressed about something, think about something that’s more stressful.

As traumatizing as it was, any time I face a stressful situation, I force myself to remember what it was like in the delivery room and NICU for both of our girls. I can’t not think of everything else being lighter after thinking of that.

Almost every emotion we feel, comparing it to another hurts more than it helps us.

Except for stress. Aside from squeezing a stressball or going for a walk, the best action you can take to overcome it is to think of something even more stressful.

Cake walks are only cake walks after knowing what a death march is like.

Polarizing? That’s the point.

Stay Positive & Shock The Stress System

The Best In (Your) Class

If you want to rank #1, classify your novel in a very niche category.

If you want to be the best in search results, optimize your site for a very niche long tail keyword.

If you want to be known for something at work, invest in being irreplaceable in one very niche aspect to your role.

The group classes are already filled. You’ve gotta now be the best in yours.

Stay Positive & “He was number one!”

Doubling Down With Data

When you’ve got your gut telling you something, gone are the days that that’s enough to support action.

Data is too accessible today and the kind of feelings we have gut reactions to are more meaningful than they used to be.

If your gut is telling you something, remember that leaders are credited for it when they work fast to support it with data and then take action.

Ever notice it’s rare that meaningful decisions are based on guts? Because they don’t have to be.

Stay Positive & Data With Gut Over Only Gut Any Day

Less May Not Be Fun

Less may be easier. Less may be more manageable. But less may also be less fun.

It’s worth a pause the next time you say or think of saying the words: “let me take this off your plate.”

It’s human nature that overcoming challenges bring people more joy than overcoming, well, a non-challenge.

If there’s panic and pain and failures; then yea, it makes sense to lessen the load.

But a slight squeak? A complaint here and there? A little vent?

That’s a signal that they’ll celebrate the achievement more, not a signal to be saved.

Stay Positive & It’s A Fine Line, But That’s Where Leaders Dance

What’s The Emotional Impact?

Everything we do has an emotional impact on someone, but we often overlook it.

In marketing, it’s a bit easier to remember it. We have briefs that we have to document “how should this person feel” as it relates to our initiative.

But in real life? It’s easy to forget.

Consider looking back at the last 24 hours. Replaying the day. What emotions did you ignite in others?

The way you drove impacted people. The way you walked into the office (or if you were smiling when you logged into your first video call) had an emotional impact. The text versus a call. The way you took ownership of a mistake. ….and so on.

Emotional impact is real. It’s on us to ensure we’re cognizant of the impact we’re making throughout the day.

Stay Positive & People Wear Their Heart On Their Sleeve For A Reason

Read The Line

Reading the room still has to happen, but fewer rooms are being occupied.

There’s no shortage of lines, though.

Lines for events. Lines for tickets. Lines for online orders. Lines for restaurants. Lines for trying something new. Lines for trying something old. Lines for who want to take your spot. Lines for the spot you want to take.

When was the last time you tried reading the line?

Reading it can influence design, setup, hiring practices, educational stipends, incentives, feedback loops, and ultimately make the thing they are in line for better.

And better is the goal.

Is the line happy? Scared? Low energy? Frustrated?

Stay Positive & Line It Up

Everything To Lose

There’s a lot of good moves we can make when we have nothing or little to lose.

It’s why Vaynerchuk says to start a business when you’re in college or young – for less to lose.

On the other hand, what put Minnesota Wild head coach into fame this week was he pulled the goalie in overtime for an extra attacker. He had everything to lose by doing that. Fans, news, and management would have tore him a new one if his team lost because of that call.

But they won.

There’s magic to progress when there’s risk. If we’re only seeking out “nothing to lose” moments, we’re still moving, but it’s either slow or in circles. Remarkability happens when people leap. And when one leaps, there must be something at risk.

Stay Positive & Everything To Lose, But Everything To Gain