Life Lesson

Despite common belief, there are two options to choose to act on when you find yourself overwhelmed.

The first is the obvious: do less. Cancel plans. Opt out. Rescind your offer to participate. Dial things back.

The second is less obvious: do more. Make more plans. Opt in. Offer to participate in more. Dial things up.

The first choice is a matter of one step forward and one step back. It’s a fair way to stay in one place if that’s your goal.

The second is a matter of two steps forward and one step back. It’s a fair way to move forward.

It’s all about managing the narrative of what overwhelmed means to us. It’s easy to reflect your present state and realize that you can handle far more than you were able to handle five years ago, right? It’s only the narrative of being overwhelmed we tell ourselves that will decide whether or not we will get to say the same thing in another five years.

One step forward and one step back is no way to dance.

Stay Positive & Find Another Sign Up Sheet First

No one says to walk with it.

Maybe they say to sit with it but they want you to do the same thing as if they said for you to run with it: Focus completely on it, work through it, and move fast.

Stay Positive & Have Your Shoes On?

It’s always a good strategy to attack from all angles.

Weight loss is best achieved when you eat healthy, exercise, have a peer to achieve it with and so on…

A marketing has better penetration when it’s across digital and real life, targeted to all personas, and taking form in all formats the target could potentially consume.

The trouble that leaders get into is trying to weigh all attacks equally.

(If you have unlimited resources, sure, go for it, but 10 out of 10 times, you don’t.)

A friend is losing weight because they are eating incredibly well but all they do is walk and they post about it on social, but there’s not a dedicated friend they are losing weight with.

A marketing lead of mine has figured out how to take sound bites from a pillar piece of content to apply to multiple personas and used AI to quickly format it into other formats beyond written word.

So yes. Attacking from all angles leads to success more often than solely focusing on a single metric, but trying to weigh all angles equally is a recipe for failure.

Stay Positive & What’s Your Breakdown?

It doesn’t pay to pitch a ball too quickly, but it does pay to bring up a problem with your boss sooner than later.

It’s better to address the elephant in the room early on in a meeting, but it’s not better to toss the ball onto the court before the ref gives you the signal that you can.

There’s no gatekeepers to proactive communication in relationships and work like there is in sports.

Stay Positive & It’s All A Game

Chances are good that you’re not too fond of tricksters. They spin the unexpected in ways that they benefit from.

Funny, however, that if we trick ourselves, it’s a positive strategy.

Want to have faster muscle growth when weight lifting? Completely surprise your body by switching up the workout routine. In short: trick it into thinking you’re doing one thing and then do another.

If you’re like me, you probably trick yourself into being on top by setting your clocks just a few minutes ahead of the actual time.

Having goals is great. Same with great habits. But oftentimes to break past a plateau or establish a habit, we have to trick ourselves.

Stay Positive & What’s Up Your Sleeve?

There’s a moment when a server arrives and you ask about an element of the menu…. or merely place an order for something and if they don’t know that they serve or if they offer a flavor, they lose a good amount of trust. It looks bad on the restaurant, on the management, and on the individual.

The same can be said for the creative team that gets assigned a project and starts working on it before reviewing the creative brief.

The same can be said for the leader that has a 1-1 with their team member later today and they don’t review the submitted topics of discussion in advance of the meeting.

Simply put: Do the reading. It’s not just (sadly) a competitive advantage, but it’s respectful of those you’re serving.

Of course, you could just toss the menu, but I don’t expect you to sell much if you do.

Stay Positive & Can I Take Your Order Now?

In our fast-paced, results-driven world, there’s a common misconception that the more we produce, the more successful we are. We often find ourselves caught in the endless cycle of output—checking off tasks, meeting deadlines, and completing projects—without pausing to consider the true impact of our efforts. But what if we shifted our focus from mere output to meaningful outcomes?

Understanding Output vs. Outcome

Output is the tangible result of our efforts: the number of reports written, the projects completed, the emails sent. While these are important indicators of productivity, they don’t necessarily reflect the value we create or the difference we make. Outcomes, on the other hand, are the real-world impacts of our work. They measure how our actions change situations, influence people, and drive progress.

For example, a teacher’s output might be the number of lessons taught, but the outcome is the students’ understanding and application of the knowledge. A marketer’s output could be the number of campaigns run, but the outcome is the increase in customer engagement and sales.

Outcomes go beyond quantity; they focus on quality and effectiveness.

The Benefits of Prioritizing Outcomes

1. Increased Motivation and Satisfaction: When we see the tangible impact of our work, we’re more motivated and satisfied. Knowing that our efforts lead to meaningful change gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment that simply checking off tasks cannot provide.
   
2. Better Decision-Making: Focusing on outcomes helps us prioritize what truly matters. We become more strategic, investing our time and resources in activities that drive significant results rather than getting bogged down in busywork.
   
3. Enhanced Collaboration: When teams align around desired outcomes, collaboration improves. Everyone understands the bigger picture and works together towards a common goal, fostering a more cohesive and supportive work environment.
   
4. Continuous Improvement: Measuring outcomes encourages continuous learning and improvement. By evaluating what works and what doesn’t, we can adapt our approaches, innovate, and achieve even better results over time.

Stay Positive & What Has What You’ve Done Done Today?