How to Regulate the Fight-or-Flight Response
Balance the cortisol with a little oxytocin
Our brains have a natural fight-or-flight response designed to keep us alive. Sometimes it kicks in when it shouldn’t. Here’s how to reset your response.
personal growth
How to Displace the Good in Your Life to Make Room for Something Better
Margin doesn’t suddenly appear
Nature abhors a vacuum. If you take something away, something else has to move in to take its place. Nature also doesn’t like two things occupying the same place at the same time. It’s the same principle behind every waiting list, every swap, every upgrade. Something has to leave before something else can arrive. It’s […]
Do You Trust Yourself to Get a Job Done?
How to Reestablish Trust with the Person in the Mirror
If you had a friend who told you they’d be there to help you move on Saturday then didn’t show up, how would you feel? Once, fine. Things happen. Every time? You’re not going to trust them any more. They’ve overdrawn the account. They might be there for the good times, but you won’t trust […]
What Are You Bringing to the Barbecue?
How you’ve kept past commitments tells others what to expect
Everyone can bring something to the table. Your job is to help everyone make the greatest contribution they can.
How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
Break the cycle that’s making you stress over money
When one paycheck doesn’t last until the next one comes in, you’re going to be stressed about money. Here’s how to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, stabilize your cash flow, and start taking control of your finances.
Why You Must Claim Your Time First
Think about what it says about your priorities
Do you give everyone else first claim on your time? You’re setting yourself up for failure and frustration. Claim your time first and you’ll be in a better position to help others.
Why You Have to Care for Yourself First
Your First Stewardship is Your Self
It’s in every preflight safety training, even the epic ones: “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs.” On his Smarter Every Day YouTube channel, Destin Sandlin induced hypoxia in himself—under the close supervision of professionals, including a flight surgeon—to demonstrate the effects. By the end, he couldn’t figure out how […]
How to Make Your Comfort Zone Less Comfortable
Sometimes, we need a stick more than a carrot
Sometimes, it’s hard to change simply because we’re pretty comfortable where we are. Here are some tips—and caveats—to make the status quo a little less comfortable.
How to Set a Strategic Vision for Your Life
Reach your dreams sooner by heading in the right direction
Setting a strategic vision is some of the most important thinking you can do to take your life in the direction you want to take it. Chances are you’re already doing it and calling it daydreaming.
How to Shift from Chasing Your Dreams to Living the Dream
Move to the intersection of vision and action
I lived in Colorado Springs after I graduated from college. Wonderful town. Absolutely loved my time there. One day, I was at a networking event. They started things off by asking an icebreaker question: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? As we went around the room, people were naming […]