Becoming An Expert In What Matters

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Myself is what matters. I’ve started to figure this out the last year. When I meet my career goal I stopped doing extra curricular projects that matched my day to day work. That was a few years ago now. It’s been a struggle filling that void. I need some kind of project, yet I failed to see myself as that project. I’m now focused on myself and improving myself because what I did in my career won’t matter in the end. What will matter is who I am and trying to become the best person I can possibly be.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Friday - If You Want To Learn, Be Humble

I’m reading a lot more. Most of the books I’m reading are really good. Others I find lacking. Still in those lacking books I try to find some takeaways or at the very least try to understand the book from the author’s perspective. There are still some books I can’t finish. Some times they’re well recommended and I can’t get through it do to interest in the subject. Others I just flat out disagree with but try to give them an opportunity to teach me something.

Golf has also highlighted this for me the past year. Just when I think I’m getting the game, it has a way of knocking me on my ass yelling, “you know nothing.” This is why I’m learning to take a humble mindset to each round. I’m trying to use each stroke an opportunity to learn something. I have a green journal I write in after every round with lessons learned. I discovered when I didn’t do that I had my worst rounds in golf for about a month.

Yesterday - Reject Tantalizing Gifts

Nothing is free. I’m always looking for the alternative motive or the trap I’m about to fall into when someone offers me something.

Today - Less Is More

This is something I live by. It’s crazy how much it applies to work, to the home, to owning stuff, to doing things. I just recently had a meeting with my team where we went over email etiquette. I essentially told them less is more. It highlights what’s really important in a communication and doesn’t clutter a message with unnecessary details.

Judgements Cause Disturbance

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Judgements on events determine how we respond to things. I broke a window the other day. My reaction to it was that I guess I’ll need to call the glass repair people. In the past I may have responded in a more emotional way. I would have been angry at myself or the golf club I was holding. Or the quality of the net I was using to hit golf balls into. Instead I grabbed a ladder some tap and trash bags so that I could ensure that I didn’t leak air conditioning or let water in from the storm that was hitting in a day.

Test Your Impressions

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

My instincts can sometimes leave me astray. It happens in video games where I follow my instinct for a big play and end up hurting the team. Instead I must practice questioning my instincts and impressions. I must let go things out of my control and look for what I can control with reason.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Saturday - Trust, But Verify

I’m a bit of a question when interacting with other people. I like to understand the context of things. I don’t do that as much with some of my own decisions and habits. I am starting to take more time though and stop. Think about the thought and verify it comes from a good place or at the very least understanding where it is coming from.

Sunday - Prepare Yourself For Negativity

This is the one passage I bookmarked last year. I did it to use it as my mantra for the morning. That didn’t stick. What did is that I am going to run into people with afflictions that impact how I interact with them. I can’t control that. So, instead of getting upset I’ve been prepared that it’s going to happen and I move forward with what I can. It’s been tremendous for every aspect of my life and I look forward to continuing to use it.

Yesterday - Expect To Change Your Opinion

It’s interesting how at a afar we make opinions good or bad about people we don’t interact with a whole lot. That can change as we get to know them. I’ve had that recently where it went from, “that person would never act like that” to “Oh. They very much act like that.” I try to keep an open mind about people. I’ve had too many experience where good people turned out bad and bad people turned out to be cool.

Today - The Cost Of Accepting Counterfeits

As mentioned previously, I’m a bit of a questioner. I’m not satisfied with answers like, “it’s always been that way” or “Because I said so.” I need some good reasoning or more importantly data for me to accept things. I think that’s helped me in forming opinions and decisions that impact others. I need to see the data that says this is the right way to interact with people or make a decision. This has put me at odds with others who don’t necessarily thing that way.