1 Simple Way To See More Opportunities

Do you practice?Not just hobbies or things outside the scope of your work. I mean your work, too.Do you practice patience, assertiveness, and creativity?

It goes without saying that if you’re not deliberately practicing, you won’t improve.

So, how do you practice if it’s not a language or an instrument or a technique?Its up to you to find the opportunities in your routine.Its up to you to prevent yourself from avoid the discomfort of those moments.

There’s no magic, here—you just have to care enough to show up.

And when you see opportunities to grow instead of problems that add friction, you’ll know you’re practicing the right kind of thinking habits.

2 Minute Action

What’s something that happened recently that made you uncomfortable?Think of an interaction with someone or a result you got that wasn’t what you expected.It will take you 2 minutes or less to reframe that situation as an opportunity to grow.Ask yourself what you could have done better.Take this lesson with you into your day and keep an eye out for opportunities!

How To Climb A Slippery, 3,200’ Granite Wall With No Ropes

To most people, risk just looks like chance.Luck.Rolling the dice.

But this isn’t how “lucky” people operate.

The reality is, that while chance can play a role, most “lucky” people set themselves up to be that way.They practiced and practiced and practiced until they felt confident in their abilities.They had run the course so many times that doing it on race day just felt like another day.The risk was more visible.

The risk was minimized.

Alex Honnold climbed El Capitan, which is about 3,200 ft of slippery granite, in about 4 hours without any ropes.While there are some clearly dangerous factors, he had climbed the route many times over the course of 8 years and knew every pitch well.When it was time, he already knew he could do it.He had done it so many times already.He was able to believe and trust in himself.

2 Minute Action

What is a risk you could take in your life, right now?Can you rehearse some or all of it?Could you role play with a friend? Could you do it with a safety net until you get the hang of it?Take 2 minutes to break down this risky maneuver into smaller, safer pieces.Stringing them together will feel very different from approaching it all at once with no practice.

How Advice Doesn’t Help and Neither Do Principles Nor Theories

Advice: Don’t solve other people’s problems.

Theory: Solving people’s problems robs them of their opportunity to grow.

Principle: Helping people means giving them the chance to succeed for themselves.

Action: “I can’t do this for you. You can do this and I believe in you.”

There are a few things we can learn by taking the same idea and executing it in different ways.

Advice might be accurate, but it usually doesn’t help unless it’s solicited. Even then, advice is often based on personal experience—so a lot of the time it’s just “here are the numbers I used to win the lottery.”

A theory attempts to be reasonable by sounding like a suggestion when really, most of us are just looking for a direct answer. (Not to be confused with a scientific theory, which is a declaration based on empirical data. The theory of gravity is not a suggestion, people.)

Principles can help guide but they can also be vaguely defined terms because they attempt to span so broadly. They also usually come along with deep seeded spiritual, religious, or political baggage that can create biases in judgment.

Action is what it is.

It walks the walk.

Examples:

“Just do it.”

“Be the change.”

"First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

2 Minute Action

What’s a principle, theory or advice you have for someone else?

How might you tell that person to take action?

Well, you can probably guess where I’m going with this.

That’s your action item for today.

Example:

“Practice random acts of kindness.”

• Take 2 minutes to say thank you to a co-worker.
• Take 2 minutes to leave a positive post-it note on a co-worker’s desk.
• Take 2 minutes to hide a love note in your partner’s car, backpack, or on their side of the bed.

Being positive and improving takes work every day.

That's what "practice" means.

Consistent, small, daily effort.

Let’s make it happen!