From Volume 9, Issue 10:.Over my lifetime I have frequently identified myself as being “in a rut.” I do the same things day in and day out. I eat at the same places for lunch. I pal around with the same people. It can be a little boring, but comfortable. And therein lies the rub. It’s comfortable. But does that mean I should stay in the rut or not? Here’s why we like our ruts and how to tell if it’s time to leave them behind.
From Volume 8, Issue 6:Back in March, I penned an article on “wanting it more,” using the term “hunger” as a motivation amplifier. Yesterday, I sat in a meeting facilitated by an expert who suggested that “wanting” was not enough to obtain or accomplish. “Wanting” has to be paired with “desire.” That got me thinking about what desire is and how we can use it to change our habits for the better. Here’s some food for thought that you might be able to use to finally make that change you’ve been wanting to make.
From Volume 8, Issue 5:Let’s play a game. Imagine that you’re in a classroom. In front of you, there’s a professor, wagging his or her finger while preaching to you. (The professor is in the Knower/Judger persona, naturally…it’s the job.) The professor goes on and on while you sit there. How likely is it that you are going to retain the new information? Now imagine that you’re being given the same information but there is a game or competition involved. Will it be easier to learn? You bet! Here’s why.
From Volume 6, Issue 9:When you repeat a behavior that you want to stop, you’re addicted. We all have these. They’re the responses we give to which we utter the Homer Simpson “D’oh!” or “I wish I hadn’t said that!” But it’s too late. You said it! You always say it! You’re addicted! You say it or do it because it’s in your comfort zone. That part of you that feels warm and fuzzy when you stay within your “rules of life” gets a high from it. Here’s what you can do to finally break the pattern and adopt the behaviors that will get you where you want to be.
From Volume 6, Issue 6:Working with leaders around the country and in Asia and Australia over the last 10 years, I’ve observed that people tend to be “comfortable” when their momentary emotional needs (MEN—and that acronym is not an accident!) are taken care of. Sometimes we even interpret this as being happy. But often people ask for my help because they want to stop some habitual dysfunction and I discover that they are truly comfortable when operating in that manner. Comfortable, but obviously not happy, or my help wouldn’t be required. So what’s really going on here?
From Volume 6, Issue 3:Why do we ever change anything? Because we want to. There really is no other reason. The question is, how do we develop the desire to change anything? This story of a frustrated baby (who would grow up to use the story in his newsletter…) and his response to recurring pain in the patella, or kneecap, explains it all.
From Volume 5, Issue 8:Are we creatures of habit or blessed with free will? I believe the former. Each of us makes thousands of decisions, but the vast majority of them aren’t really choices. Does this mean there is no free will? No, but making a real choice requires understanding some complicated concepts.
From Volume 5, Issue 1:Remember when Coke cost a nickel? American cars had big tail fins? VHS was the way to watch movies at home and telephones sat on tables—and had dials? It all changed. We accept that things change. We don’t go berserk about cell phones or small cars. So why do we have such a problem when a rule we internalized back in 1975, like “You must clean your plate,” isn’t working anymore? There are some rules that need breaking, but doing it is hard, unless you understand where they come from and know how to free yourself.
From Volume 4, Issue 11:“Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.” — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856–1941), Whitney v. California, 274 U. S. 357 (1927)
From Volume 4, Issue 10:As I write this, hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. citizens are voicing their displeasure about conditions—mostly economic—by “occupying” Wall Street and other iconic sites. This action appears to be a manifestation of a growing frustration with how things have changed since the economic meltdown of 2008.
by 
