One of my favorite posts over the last couple of months has been my look at a three step technique I am using to control my negative self-talk. In that post I also asked whether positive self-talk can end up making you blind to mistakes and errors. Is taking a positive, optimistic attitude to everything just as irrational as taking a negative one? There were many interesting comments on that subject but here are just a few highlights for you to check out.
Joely Black: “I would definitely emphasize healthy, positive self-talk. You can acknowledge mistakes, struggles and difficult situations without turning them into the end of the world. The positive mindset can work excellently without seeming Pollyanna-ish about whatever happens. You can acknowledge and accept very difficult situations, but the difference with positive self-talk is that you look for a solution to get yourself out, the benefits you might find in the situation, rather than letting it get on top of you.”
Shanel Yang: “Positive self-talk need not be irrational. In fact, quite the opposite. It is realistic and intended to counteract only irrational negative self-talk. If what you are calling negative self-talk is actually constructive criticism, then, by definition it isn’t negative. When we screw up at work, we should look at it critically, analyze what went wrong, and look for solutions for how to avoid a similar outcome in the future. But, when that type of analysis degrades into name-calling (”That was just stupid”, “How could I do such a thing!”), then it’s time to counteract with rational positive self talk.”
One big question I raised at the beginning of March was what would your ideal productivity app be? As I pointed out at the time I’m very much a pen and paper person so it was great to see that many hi-tech productivity fans read the blog and shared their thoughts on the topic (such as Matt’s comment below). Why not add your own comments to the debate?
Matt Soreco: “I wouldn’t concentrate on what it does, but how. For me it must be painfully easy to use, and also work cross-platform (on PC, on smartphone, in Firefox). That leaves something that’s web based, and compatible across the board. A lot of productivity tools fail for me on this level. I’d like access to the data from anywhere, whether it’s a conference room somewhere, my phone, a library PC, etc.”
I’ve recently started reviewing productivity books so that I can share those that I personally enjoy. So far I’ve covered The Power Of Less by Leo Babauta, and the much anticipated follow-up to GTD, called Making It All Work. In that review I discussed how MIAW is not a beginner’s GTD book.Mark agreed:
Mark: “Despite this book’s many merits and the vociferous chorus of claims coming out of David Allen and his coaches, this book should NOT be read before the first book. No way. But therein lies MIAW’s real value. It takes almost any GTD practitioner to higher levels. It has especially prompted me to start really fleshing out my 30K, 40K and 50K horizons and tying them to my projects and one-to-two year goals. Stuff at 10k & 20K that I have trouble tying to my goals and vision have received special, “Why am I doing this?” scrutiny.”
April 10, 2009 Miscellaneous
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