Hard To Notice

Garth Beyer

It’s hard to notice if someone is driving better than you.

Hard to notice if someone is getting more out of a book than you are.

It’s hard to notice if the meaningful work you’re doing is actually making a difference.

Hard to notice if that “I appreciate you” you said to your colleague resonated with them.

You can start to imagine how easy it would be to note all the easy things there are to notice.

Which begs the question: which are you observing more of?

Stay Positive & What Gets Focused On Gets Formed

In It Together

Garth Beyer

I worry about neighborhoods that stop developing and growing because of the togetherness it forges with people. Consider the togetherness experienced by students moving in the dorm together or a round of families moving into a new neighborhood at the same time because it was just built.

Or consider the power of workshops Seth Godin puts on or bootcamps by your local fitness facility.

The power of getting a group to be in something together is undeniable.

Which begs the question if you’re creating those moments or not?

It’s quite easy to be passive, a cog, and do the work to spec and hand it off to the next person.

The reward is minimal, though, too.

Stay Positive & Handshakes, Hugs, And Habits Go Along Way When Done With Others

Questions As A Default Setting

Garth Beyer

It feels good to have answers, even if they are half-baked or entirely rotten.

Far more productive, however, to respond to a question with a follow up question.

Two results occur.

The first is that you learn something that can help make your answer better before giving it.

The second is that you learn to respond rather than react.

(If someone truly wanted reactions, they’d stick to asking social media.)

Stay Positive & What’s Your Default Response When Asked A Question?

Nuance Of The Golden Rule

Garth Beyer

Yup, the golden rule is to treat others the way you would want to be treated.

But the concept is so 1-1, direct, and immediate.

It does a very poor job of motivating people to have foresight; how to respond in a single moment, but for a future impact.

Consider a situation that you’re moving and then a new couple is moving into your house. Applying the golden rule may make you think simply of being nice and supportive of them when you meet them at your closing. You’re gonna treat them how you’d want to be treated when you interact.

But what about how you leave the house? Did you touch-up paint for them? Did you mow the lawn for them? These are actions that 1. they benefit from later and 2. you will never know if they appreciated your efforts. But it’s safe to say that you would have liked people to have treated you that way if you were moving into the house, no?

The golden rule is a great mentality, but like anything meaningful, it’s the nuances of it that actually make it shine.

Stay Positive & Future-State Is Just As Important As The Present Situation

Enjoying The Process

Garth Beyer

We got to a crux in conversation with a couple of authors the other day. It wasn’t about how to write or how to self publish. It wasn’t about the need for a marketing budget. It was about enjoying the process.

One author switches to working on short stories to continue enjoying the process of writing when editing his novel gets hard.

Another author simply takes a break each time she starts to get frustrated while editing.

Yet another said they had written down all the challenges they expected to face so they couldn’t complain when they happened (ex: I’ll have to cut some great ideas).

It was a great reminder to construct a way to enjoy the process of our jobs or relationships or parenting or -insert your muse here-.

It’s far easier to enjoy a process when we’re intentional about enjoying the process.

Stay Positive & The Plan Is Yours