[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Since my results surprised me, I bet your results will surprise you when you do yesterday’s exercise to record your beliefs (aka mental models or just[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] We all know the story about the three guys doing the same physical work at quarry yet feeling different — one felt miserable because he felt[…] Keep reading →

Today’s post will sound like it’s about food, but it’s about a lot more. The other day I was at a party with a great spread — rich, delicious food and a lot of it: cheese, crackers, chips, cake, ice cream, and so on. I liked eating some, but realized I didn’t want to eat too much. But everyone was talking around the food table and I find it hard[…] Keep reading →

I was watching the beginning of the movie Patton. If you haven’t seen it, it begins with George C. Scott as General Patton giving an incredible speech. YouTube has only the audio, but here it is. Many see giving a speech like that as the pinnacle of leadership — “I have a dream,” the Gettysburg Address, Churchill’s great speeches, and so on. If they are the pinnacle of leadership, I[…] Keep reading →

I noticed something that helps people improve more than almost anything else, at least in myself, people I know, and clients. Most people trying to change something about themselves, the bigger or more complex, the more they try. The harder they try, they figure, the more they’ll do. They focus on the new thing they want to do. The unexpected skill for improving is not to try harder with the[…] Keep reading →

I heard that advice and thought it sounded useful: Don’t take things personally when they aren’t. Even more useful, it was followed up with the question and answer. So when are they personal? Maybe never. Whether the answer is right or wrong, I don’t know, but it sounds like a useful belief or model. How many times when people attack, insult, or make you feel something is personal do you[…] Keep reading →

When people feel unhappy or depressed they often stop doing things. They don’t feel motivated to work or go out so they don’t. You know how when you’re happy, you tend to smile? Most people also know smiling makes you feel happier, at least for a moment. Forcing a smile won’t solve all your problems, but we can build on what it demonstrates. Not only does emotion motivate behavior, but[…] Keep reading →