GarthBox

For some reason, it’s easier to accept that on the path to greatness there’s bound to be frustration and adversity and setbacks. You’re bound to feel emotions of fear and worry and doubt.

Yet the one variable that often gets us is tension and here’s why I think it does.

1. Tension isn’t an emotion. It’s an action, a force that takes place and impacts us, but more importantly it impacts others at the same time. (You can’t create tension with only one end of a string). The realness of it impacting our empathetic chords is exhausting, so we create a narrative that maybe, just maybe, we can reach the same goal and avoid it. If that means we face a bit more frustration than tension, so be it.
   
2. Tension doesn’t inherently lead to a “bad” emotion. I’m being on the nose by calling it bad like fear, worry, doubt (they’re healthy but debating their goodness or badness can be it’s own blog post for another day). That means we’re in emotional limbo when there’s tension: will we feel good after this? or bad? Ironically, when we don’t know how we will feel, default setting is bad, which explains why no one enjoys confrontation (you know, the assumed negative impact of there being tension).

All said, it’s worth remembering that like a string of a bow drawn tight, tension builds the energy needed for us to soar to new heights. It is discomfort that is advantageous: sharpening our focus and heightening our emotional awareness.

Stay Positive & Lean Into The Tension, Not Away

There’s no shortage of advantages to find with AI, but it’s not the end-all-be-all to reaching your objective.

Going out to lunch with a key prospect can be influenced and supported by AI but AI can’t go to lunch with them for you.

It’s really easy to fall down the rabbit hole of AI and how it can support your goals.

While others are zigging to leverage it in a way that removes humanity, perhaps it’s worth zagging to how it can support it.

There’s a difference in impact for a person to ask ChatGPT “can you write an email that convinces them to watch a recorded demo” versus “can you write an email that convinces them to have a meeting with me at their headquarters.”

Even if both result in the same impact: which prompt do you want to be the author of?

Stay Positive & Use AI, But Keep The Humanity

Between the most two important moments is the ability to decide what happens in the next one regardless of what happened in the one prior.

Chances are you’re not smiling as you read this. Go ahead. Smile.

You can choose an emotion to go with it if you want. Or a mindset.

Stay Positive & It’s A Choice

Eat healthier more than not.

Have creative ideas more than not.

Show you love them more than not.

The ratio is straightforward.

What many forget is that to have more than not, you must have some not.

You snack.

You have shit ideas.

You act selfish.

The goal isn’t perfect. It’s more than not.

Stay Positive & Perhaps We Call It Human Perfection

When you remove the emotion and nuance out of it, getting to the next level is pretty simple.

Connect more. Understand more. Speak more. Risk more. Help more.

Of course, doing more of that on the same level you’re at isn’t the answer.

You’ve gotta do all of that on the next level.

What I’ve found is that some people want to pick the brains of those a level above to try to understand what they should do; when in reality what that does is delay.

If you are trying to figure out if you actually want the next level, it’s a fair tactic.

But if you know you want it, researching how isn’t necessary.

Connect more. Understand more. Speak more. Risk more. Help more.

And do all of that a level above. (Example: if you’re a product manager and want to be a director of product, you need to do all of those things for all products, not just the one you own.)

Stay Positive & The Path Is As Simple As You Want To Make It

I know that there are some leadership qualities I suck at. And I’m okay with it.

Mainly because I know that if I try to be perfect and nail every leadership quality, I’ll fail a bit at them all.

All to say, perfection is the enemy of success.

So it goes with parenting. Or relationships. Or driving skills. Or sales goals.

The faster we can be okay with “the cons” of the way we do something or goal we set, the more smoothly we can excel at “the pros.”

There are two facts to life. One is the obvious “the only guarantee about a plan is that it won’t go according to plan.” The second is that “if it’s not what thing, it’s another.”

Fortunately, we have the ability to choose what that thing is…and then be okay with it.

Stay Positive & Acceptance Is A Form Of Forward Movement

There’s really nothing that is set it and forget it.

Not if we want it to make an actual difference ongoingly.

Which restaurant would you prefer to visit: the one that reprints a menu when something changes or one that waits a week and updates multiple items at once?

I appreciated the staff this morning who were out squeegeeing the tables outside because it rained this morning.

Sales force won’t adopt a platform no matter how strong you come out of the gate with it without all the methods of upkeep.

Consider the fact that when we sign up to do something, we’re not just signing up to do it, but to also maintain it.

Stay Positive & Maintenance May Just Be Your Differentiator