June 2009

Todd's Results Chart and BlackBerry - 2009
Learn the purpose behind the chart and the Blackberry.

 

Ah-Ha! Moment – Whenever I come across the same theme in two different books, I immediately pay attention. In MJ Ryan's new book, AdaptAbility: How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For, my favorite section, "If You're Not Stretching, You're Probably Missing Something," contains this quote:

"Rather than seeing safety as a wonderful thing we should strive for, we need to view it as a warning sign that we're coasting on past learning, rather than paying attention to what we need to take on next." (page 179)

In his book, The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a RICHER, HAPPIER Life, psychologist and consultant Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar comments on research demonstrating that:

"... for peak experience and peak performance – for happiness and success – we need to engage in activities that are neither too easy nor too difficult. If we are not challenged enough, we become bored; if our aspirations are overly ambitious, we become anxious." (page 74)

Dr. Ben-Shahar also shares this quote from Richard Hackman:
"The right place to be for maximum motivation is wherever you have a fifty-fifty chance of success." (page 75)

The common theme? Playing it safe means you're not stretching yourself enough, and you'll become bored. Stretching yourself requires risking failure. The trick is defining a goal having a fifty-fifty chance of success – this will yield the most growth, because it also provides maximum motivation.

With nearly 20 years working for myself, I can think of many times I've really stretched myself – many times, I succeeded, and many times, I have come up short. Regardless, I've always been spurred on by having a challenging goal worthy of my efforts.

Todd

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