Recently, I was asked to write a short piece for a clients start of year newsletter. They wanted something that focused on building resilience, especially given the two turbulent years the world has gone through and its impact on their organisation. I thought it would be good to share this article in my own blog post as this is the time of year people take stock on life.
IF…
What connects the famous line in Rudyard Kiplings’ poem and Taylor Swift? What happens when you are in a situation which is ostensibly outside of your control?
Why do some teams fail?
One of the more interesting team related puzzles for me this year (2019) was the failure of the England team to, as I saw it, show up for Rugby World Cup Final. Having delivered a standout performance against the All Blacks in the semi-finals, it was difficult to believe that you were even watching the same team. Noting there were one or two ‘tactical’ substitutions. What happened?
Are you ever too old to succeed?
What do you do when the phone rings with an offer that almost seems too good to be true? This was the dilemma that faced 71 year old ex-musician, Mick Ware, who now works as an antique furniture repairer.
Do you need to get a life?
You may remember the story of Curtis Woodhouse, who was a boxer taunted by Twitter trolls in March 2013? Essentially having lost a bout (on points) he was branded a “disgrace”, amongst other things.
Certain? Are you sure?
A little while ago, I read The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischell. Most people will have some familiarity with the test that Mischell devised in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was not his thinking about what this test tells us about human nature that caught my eye…
What do you do when you have REALLY messed up your life?
This is quite an interesting question upon which to muse.
What do you do when nobody wants you…?
Ever felt let down and dejected because you didn’t get that job, promotion, investment or part in the play, or whatever you had your heart set on?
Why regret weighs tons…
Watching the last episode of a recent Bear Grylls survival programme gave an interesting perspective on regret. He commented that at the start of every series he tells participants that they will be sorely tested. His advice is to “hang in there” and explains that the pain “is only temporary, but the disappointment will last forever”.
What brilliant ideas did you talk yourself out of today? (How doubt kills more dreams than failure)
Have you ever had an idea that the more you thought about it, the more excited you became? Then over the following hours and days you successfully managed to talk yourself out of it? What was the conversation you had with yourself?