GarthBox

There’s a number of activities we all participate in that we could easily and quickly chalk up as being a waste.

That’s not very useful for us, though. Unless our goal is to feel bad about ourselves.

That latest TV show may be impactful for you to watch it you’re going to a trendy trivia bar next Tuesday.

That old school pokemon game could be the reminder of the power of patience and persistence you were looking for.

That walk you took where you forgot your phone and didn’t have any ear buds in could give you the silence you need to source fresh ideas.

The only activities that aren’t useful are the ones you don’t find a use for. Of course, that’s on you…not the activity.

Stay Positive & You Don’t Need Lemons To Make Lemonade

No, this isn’t a post about the power of asking questions. You know that.

It’s about asking the same question.

But differently.

It’s the one path of question-asking that scares the shit out of people because it might just open pandora’s box.

Why doesn’t this person have any ambitions? Is one question.

What is this person excited about? Is the same question, really.

That wasn’t even trying very hard and it’s clear that one way of framing the question is like driving to a dead end, but the other is finding a roundabout.

The challenge here is this: if you don’t get the answer you need when you ask the question. Don’t just to asking a different question. Jump to asking the same question differently.

Stay Positive & Know What I Mean?

It’s a trick question, really.

You can learn from anything as long as you’re curious and you try to learn from it.

But the reality is that most things are like milk when they come to lessons learned: there’s an expiration date.

The difference is the milk has the date printed on it. In life, you determine the date.

You determine it when it no longer brings you joy, when you’re no longer curious, when you’re ready to learn large lessons rather than tiny ones.

Perhaps the better question to ask is this: Do I still want to learn from this?

Stay Positive & There Are Other, Newer Milks Out There

May I…

What it seems like is…

Would it help if…

Stay Positive & What Do you Think…

If you’re like me, you’re probably reading this with music on. Take a moment and listen to it (or turn your favorite song on) and listen for the moments that there is silence during the song.

One of the most beautiful elements of meditation (or, you know, breathing) is that pause between breaths. That moment that you’ve expelled your breath and your body prepares to take in anew. It’s magic if you take a moment to focus on it.

The single greatest interview tactic a journalist is taught is to ask a question and then shut up. 9 out of 10 times the interviewee fills the silence.

Silence isn’t absence, it’s presence and it’s power.

Stay Positive & …………

Thanking someone in a slack can be perceived as sarcastic.

An apology doesn’t resonate as much in an email than in person.

Saying “I love you” may check a box if it’s in text format, but it’s a world of difference to say it face-to-face.

Giving candor to a colleague will lead to performance changes faster if it’s done via a Google meet than through a written performance review module.

Funny how this list could go on and on; and it’s all the important stuff.

Stay Positive & Which Scenario Are You Opting For

p.s. the exception here may just be a handwritten note mailed. That sometimes carries more impact than something said in person. Oh, the irony.

My wife and I have a little container of change for an adventure fund that we’ll probably use for the girls one day when it’s full.

Would we rather have a massive barrel full of change already, though? Of course we would, despite the obnoxiousness of the size and the hassle of converting it to cash. But given the option between a barrel and what we have now, the selection is obvious.

Real life change works just the same.

A little bit of change is manageable, still beneficial, still growth.

A lot of change is hard and a hassle but far more valuable in the end when it’s cashed in.

I heard a great reminder about change the other day that’s worth sharing here: you can either have control or you can have growth.

It’s an “or” statement… and the catalyst from control over to growth? You guessed it: change.

Stay Positive & Change Pays