The positive in negative situations

March 15, 2016Scott Miker

I have found that the positive moments and negative moments in our lives are all jumbled together.  There are always good things going on and certainly times when everything seems bad.

But the paradoxical nature of things says that even in bad there is good.  Even in our most challenging situations we can find positive aspects.  And even in good times there are bad elements.  

Unlearning

March 11, 2016Scott Miker

In the paradoxical world in which we live, we have to understand the value of unlearning.  Most of our lives we strive to learn as much as we can.  We are graded and rated based on our ability to learn quickly.

But we all know people who get stuck in their ways and are unable to learn new things.  The old idea that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks makes sense when you start to understand this idea of unlearning.  

Success isn’t instant

March 04, 2016Scott Miker

There is no such thing as instant success.  What may seem like instant success is usually years and years of hard work.

In order to truly succeed you have to find a way to consistently do the things necessary and put in the effort to reach a goal.  It isn’t about finding the magic idea, technique, or tool.  It is much more basic than that.  

Adding 1% more could be the key

March 01, 2016Scott Miker

The systems and habits approach to reaching goals has many advantages.  But if you rely on this approach make sure to understand its limitations.  

Because the focus is on slow incremental improvement, some areas could turn catastrophic with any slip up.  These are times when even one mistake could mean failure.  

Work is what takes us to our goals

February 26, 2016Scott Miker

It is amazing how often people overlook the work involved in reaching a particular goal.  I see it in business where an executive lays out a new strategy for the company but somehow doesn’t realize just how much work it will entail.  Or when we decide on a personal goal and focus more on buying running shoes than running or when we brainstorm how we will spend the money from an investment instead of researching that investment.  

I see that quite a bit when I work with startup businesses.  They have very ambitious goals but they don’t put enough effort into understanding the work involved and how they are going to do all of the work.  Somehow it seems like if they have the right product or the right approach they won’t have to work in order to be successful.  

We are not measured by our intentions, but by our actions

February 23, 2016Scott Miker

For the latest version of this article, click here.

Focus on the process not on the outcome

February 19, 2016Scott Miker

I am a big advocate of setting goals based on the process of getting where you want to go, not on the outcome you hope you achieve.  While many will argue that using specific, measurable goals mean that you will be more likely to achieve a goal, I disagree.

To me reaching a goal isn’t just about what goal you set.  It is about how you are going to achieve that goal.  It is about what you do to achieve the goal.

3 Things to Reduce Performance Anxiety

February 14, 2016Scott Miker

Years ago I wrote an article about performance anxiety.  I talked about the Yerkes-Dodson curve, which is a chart that shows that as anxiety increases, performance increases also.  But this only goes to a certain point.  After it crosses a certain level it actually hurts performance.  

The Yerkes-Dodson curve helps us understand performance and the relationship to arousal and anxiety.  The interesting point is that arousal or anxiety can either boost or hinder performance.

Automate your life

February 12, 2016Scott Miker

David B. Agus, MD has written several books about health, nutrition and exercise.  In his book, A Short Guide to a Long Life, Dr. Agus recommends, in chapter three, to “automate your life.”

I immediately found myself agreeing with this advice but also seeing that there would be many critics to this type of advice.  Critics would argue that it is better to be free than to form a rigid schedule.  They would point to techniques such as muscle confusion or a complicated weight loss plan to confirm their beliefs that automating life isn’t helpful.

Change the default

February 10, 2016Scott Miker

The other day I was having issues with my work computer.  It was behaving strangely and I wasn’t able to log on to certain websites.  

I talked to our IT manager and he recommended restarting the computer.  When that was done and hadn’t fixed the problem he changed the browser to go back to default settings.  This fixed the issue and I was on my way.

We always have options

February 08, 2016Scott Miker

In life we always have a choice.  Even in the direst situations we still have a choice.  But too often we ignore those choices and feel limited to just one.

Many motivational speakers talk about response.  They say that there is an event, combined with our response, which then equals the outcome.  In theory this makes sense but it may be difficult to translate the theory into practice.

Learn to be less defensive to be able to improve

February 05, 2016Scott Miker

One of the first self-improvement books that I ever read was Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles.  To say this book changed my life is an understatement.  Reading this launched my interest in improvement and really laid a foundation for improvement that still impacts me today.

In the first chapter he talks about taking responsibility.  He says “One of the most pervasive myths in the American culture today is that we are entitled to a great life – that somehow, somewhere, someone (certainly not us) is responsible for filling our lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time, and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist.”

Discipline and freedom

February 03, 2016Scott Miker

I love reading about the systems and habits of the U.S. Navy SEALs.  To me they embody the most efficient and effective teams and individuals in the world.  Their ability to work with a small number of individuals, in the most dangerous places on earth, and still accomplish complex missions amid chaos is astonishing.  

But I have found that many people assume these individuals are undisciplined cowboys who use aggression and muscle to accomplish tasks.  But the more I study their tactics the more I realize that they rely on a highly disciplined and systematic approach to what they do.

The Balance of Change

February 01, 2016Scott Miker

Change is something that everyone experiences.  Change is there before every major event in our lives.  Change is there during some of the most difficult times of our lives.  Change is also there throughout moments of our lives that don’t have major significance.

But how people react to change is always different.  Some charge right for it in order to maintain the image of control.  Some avoid it as much as possible because of its natural uncertainty.

Control the ego in order to improve

January 29, 2016Scott Miker

I am reading a book written by two Navy SEALs about leadership.  It is a very interesting look at extreme leadership.  Most people understand leadership in basic, business settings.  But the battlefield is much less forgiving of mistakes and requires a much more thorough understanding of how to lead.  

I enjoy reading about the lessons that they learned because they often apply to business as well as their military experience.  But I often find that society’s opinion of the military is incorrect.  

Looking at the full system gives a better picture

January 26, 2016Scott Miker

We tend to look at things linearly.  We see cause and effect, beginning and end, start and finish.  But the reality is that we tend to ignore most of the system in order to try to understand reality.  

One of the best resources for understanding this limitation and how to adjust your thinking to better understand the full system in various situations is Donella Meadows.  In her book she describes the limitations that we have when we ignore the full system.  

There is no one way to success

January 25, 2016Scott Miker

Years ago I attended a seminar with a successful business owner.  He went through his presentation and provided a lot of great insight into running a business.

Towards the end of the presentation he made a statement about success that is very true.  He said that his way isn’t the only way to be successful at business.  The reality is that there are a lot of ways to be success, this just happens to be the only way he knows.

Don’t underestimate simplification

January 22, 2016Scott Miker

One of the keys to being able to improve your systems and habits is to rely on simplification.  By simplifying we can focus our efforts on the essential elements.  We also avoid overcomplicating things and creating unnecessary obstacles.

In Extreme Ownership – How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, authors and former SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin outline a situation while fighting the war in Iraq.  They don’t shy away from their emphasis on simplification.

How do systems help in a chaotic situation?

January 20, 2016Scott Miker

When I was attending Kent State University studying psychology and justice studies I did an internship at a juvenile detention center.  I learned a lot and got to experience the corrections industry but what I remember most and will never forget is one specific incident.  

Despite just being an intern, I was able to take part in much of their training.  The training provided various situations, where the officers had to work as a unit to take control of chaotic situations.  But the training seemed to be just training to me and I thought, surely, if something were to happen it is about reacting not trying to follow some training class instruction.