(#5 of 7) from the series: Does Positive Thinking Really Work? Intention Guides Your Actions A mother was preparing to have a conversation with her 9-year old daughter. She wasn’t happy about having to discipline her. “How do you want your daughter to feel after the conversation?” I asked. She was quiet for a moment […]
(#4 of 7) from the series: Does Positive Thinking Really Work? All Those Masters Can’t Be Wrong Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle used questions to challenge their philosophy students. Albert Einstein believed that formulating the question was more critical than calculating the actual solution. Rabbis and other spiritual teachers impart wisdom through skillful questioning.
(#3 of 7) from the series: Does Positive Thinking Really Work? What are you willing to believe? Last week, a new client and I were having our first coaching session. I asked her whether she was willing to believe that anything is possible. She immediately said yes and added, “Doesn’t everybody say yes to that question?” […]
(#2 of 7) from the series: Does Positive Thinking Really Work? Your Toughest Critic is YOU In the last issue, I invited you to begin noticing your internal dialogue. What do you say when you talk to yourself? If you are like most people, you may have detected the voice of a critic who occasionally […]
The Problem with Positive Thinking In the 53 years since Norman Vincent Peale first introduced his book, The Power of Positive Thinking, many others have written on the subject. The terms positive thinking, positive mental attitude (PMA), and positive mindset are commonly used today.
What Tempts You? Checking your e-mail 100 times a day…Watching mind-numbing TV vs. a program you truly enjoy…Having a cigarette just two weeks into quitting… Inhaling nacho chips when you’re not even hungry (my personal favorite)…Pressing the snooze button instead of getting up a little earlier to exercise… Picking up the phone instead of working […]
The Heart of the Matter I still have the draft I wrote nearly 14 years ago — a few paragraphs that describe what is most important to me in life. Certain words emerged strongly, clearly, and easily. These words are what I consider to be my “core values,” a term we dismiss, perhaps somewhat skeptically, […]
Musical Metaphor Miles Davis, as quoted by Adam Shatz in a New York Times Book Review (1), often said that the biggest challenge in jazz improvisation is “not to play all the notes you could play, but to wait, hesitate, let space become a part of the configuration.” Likewise, in a television profile, Placido Domingo commented that one […]
The Scenario Jill, a marketing director, has just been assigned a high-exposure project and great opportunity. Without an addition to her staff, however (which she was told is unlikely), she is concerned about being able to meet the aggressive deadline.
Fleeting Inspiration It’s great to hear a compelling speaker or to read an inspirational book, but why is it that sometimes the motivation we’re sure of in the moment seems to evaporate before we can say Monday morning?