Another day begins
Accept my limitations
Find my strengths: excel!
Author: Carl Setzer
A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.
One last haiku today
I was going to write
But now I’m falling asleep
Yet I did write this
Too much time on the internet: a haiku
Oh, the internet!
I made a mistake today
Witnessed ugliness
Yeah, spent too much time this evening reading terrible news stories. Humanity’s ability for brutality stuns me beyond all sensibility.
I’ve found that I need to find the good when faced with this. Go create, seek out beauty and kindness.
So, here I am.
A Few Thoughts On Challenges
I’ve been asked, many, many times if “x” will present a challenge. And, far too often, the context of that is “kill the project”.And that’s the wrong thinking. EVERY project will have challenges. Internal, external, whether inertia or outright attack, things will rise.
Before running away from challenge, we need to remember value. What are we trying to bring to life with the project? And then dive deeper into the cause of the challenge. Can it be overcome? At what cost? Does this negate the value of the project?
I’ve bought into the notion that “everything in life is easy if you’re aligned with the universe”, and that “challenges are signs of divine disfavor”. Perhaps not quite as dramatic as this, but the point’s still there. Challenges shouldn’t be existential. Anticipate they’ll come and remember your why, and you won’t descend into fear driven chaos.
A Quick Haiku: A Moment In Paris
Gazing upon this
Such a cultural symbol
Moments of beauty
Love this photo by Mathieu Rivrin. Check out more of his work here.
My mind fights me
Awake
Not my desired state
Yet here I am
Fighting my own mind
What do I gain
When I win?
Keep your focus
My mind grinding forth
So very much to get done
Hey! Don’t lose focus!
My Pre-Dawn Mind: A Morning Haiku
Sitting here, pre-dawn
My mind frantic with work stuff
The night is quiet
I’m awake, my mind reeling with ideas. Sadly, but restful, peaceful ones. Rather, things I need to change, ideas i need to incorporate. In the morning calm, my brain is editing my work. But they most desirable thing, I guess. It doesn’t facilitate and being of being well rested. The
My response? Open up my tablet and capture these notions, then set an Afghan to remind me to look at them once in at work. It calms my mind.
I Received A Phishing Phone Call Today: Beware, My Friends
This afternoon my office received a phone call from “800”. I had just finished one project and was reviewing my notes when this popped up. In a good place to deal with random distraction, I opted to grab the call. As the tech-savviest of my office mates, I’m glad I got this one.
Female Robot Voice: “Your Windows license has expired and your account has been compromised…” at which point, I hung up. Now, a malicious part of me thought I should’ve played this up and trolled the phisher, but, no. I do have a ton of real work to do. Stuff that brings money into the company. But I really did want to disturb these creeps.
It’s not the first of these phishing phone calls I’ve received, just the first one like this one. Different verbiage, different delivery mechanism, but, in the end, the same deal.
So, no, this isn’t legit. No, Microsoft isn’t monitoring YOUR computer. Oh, and Windows licenses don’t “expire”. Last but not least, whether it’s a phone call or a pop-up on your browser, your machine probably isn’t compromised. Exception: if the antivirus software YOU installed is telling you this, it might be legit. In that case, along with anything repeatedly popping up on your computer, consult an expert.
I need to remember to “Sharpen My Saw”
I tweeted this earlier today:
I’m often challenged by the simple act of remembering to recharge, to care for myself. Then I’m puzzled by my exhaustion. #ThoughtForTheDay
— Carl Setzer (@CarlSetzer) August 7, 2018
So, here’s a bit more insight. I’ve known for years the importance of taking care of yourself. What’s called, in Franklin Covey parlanence, Sharpening Your Saw. This analogy states that the lumberjack who never sharpens his saw, doesn’t take care of his tools, slowly loses his effectiveness and, eventually, the tools, the saw in this case, fails.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the busyness of the world, of my modern life. My office is running pretty short-staffed right now. (If you’re interested in working with us, all our open positions have been posted on our Facebook page.) There’s so much to do, it seems indulgent to take some time for one’s self.
Yet, we…well, “I”…need to remember that not taking care of myself means decreasing effectiveness and eventual collapse. I’m not some strange superbeing who is exempt from all the rules that others are bound by.
I spent my morning journaling time considering this. Most of my refresh time has been reflexive. I want to shift to a more deliberate approach. The main reason is to avoid hitting the proverbial wall and THEN trying to figure out how I get more energy. No, I’m going to spend time daily doing things that feed my soul, that rejuvenate me and make me better. Substituting coffee (or worse) only creates a bigger problem down the road.
So, what do you do to recharge your soul? That gives you zip in the morning? I’d love to hear what works for you. I delight in hearing what inspires folks. So, drop me a note below.