I am a planner. Plans never happen exactly as envisioned, but I’m conscious of what I want to accomplish. My process ties back to the Hope Equation by Charles Snyder: HOPE = Goals + Willpower (Motivation & Habits) + Waypower (Alternative Paths) Yet, I realize I...
Halfway Day is coming up next Thursday, July 2nd. The first half of the year will be behind us and we have half remaining. This is the perfect time to take pause, reflect, celebrate and set intentions. In order to take advantage of the day, it’s good to plan ahead....
This episode of Self-Improvement Daily mentioned the following quote: “Stop trying to prove yourself. Start trying to improve yourself. One keeps you stuck performing for other people. The other keeps you growing for yourself.” - Fio Bros The statement immediately...
On a recent episode of Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Gretchen & Liz discussed a “tripwire”. The classic definition or use of this term is a low-placed, concealed wire or device used to trigger a specific action, often a trap or alarm, when disturbed or moved. They...
With the first quarter coming to an end, it’s the perfect time to take stock of our goals. Check in on our accomplishments and celebrate the wins. Note what fell to the side and assess why those things didn’t happen. Maybe they weren’t a priority. Something was...
I had the opportunity to be part of an author talk with Dan Coyle, author of the newly published book Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning and Fulfillment. I reviewed the book a couple weeks ago and found the questions and conversations in the book talk to be equally...
Last week, I wrote about 7-year cycles and my experiences with them. The background of this idea ranges from philosophical to biological. The beauty of the cycles is that it suggests life is not one long beginning, middle, and end. Rather, we have multiple cycles of...
When we set goals, measurement often has us thinking about outcomes. We define what we want to achieve. Yet, the what typically doesn’t help us with the how. If we switch our perspective to process goals, we fill in the how. Outcome goals look like this: Write a book....
Throughout our lives, we all face forks in the road. Moments when we have a decision to make. One path vs. another. During these moments, those around us often have opinions. Go this way. It would be awesome. The decision is clear. However, that often isn’t the case....
We all have things we put off because the stakes feel too high. We don’t send a request because we are afraid of a “no”. We avoid the purchase of a piece of furniture because we fear it might not work in our space. A big one for me is something that I heard a...
Each year we have goals we want to achieve. At work, we often think about goals that are in the hands of other people. A promotion, a raise, a job change, etc. With these goals, we don’t control the outcome. I think a better question for the year is if we need to...
As the new year begins, we are thinking about our dreams and aspirations. Many of us will likely have a goal that rises above the others. The one we really want to obtain but aren’t sure it’s possible. The goal is daunting. So big we don’t even know where to start....
Note: CliftonStrengths is a Gallup product. The information below is my interpretation based on my coaching others as a CliftonStrengths certified coach. Use this link to find content directly from Gallup. This post builds on the post from yesterday about setting...
Not all goals are created equal. Often, we set goals that we don’t have final control over. Revenue targets, market share, promotions, merit increases, etc. Someone else is determining our fate. What we can do is to create the conditions that make the outcomes...
Some people feel alive when they chase a bold, audacious goal. Others make progress when they focus on one small step at a time. Neither is right or wrong. It’s about what motivates you. Why It Matters We often get stuck because we're following someone else's...
This year, the word that started to come to me was tone or tune. The idea of setting the tone and tuning my approach. There was an underlying theme of music. I was drawn to the Year of Wonder book with a classical music score each day. Then, the idea of tone turned...
As we head into a new year, many people are setting goals. We imagine the person we want to become. One technique that I’ve been doing for at least 10 years is writing a letter to myself. I start with “Dear December Lori”… The voice is looking back at the year....
A Misogi goal is a bold goal chosen for growth, not comfort. It’s meant to stretch us. It’s not guaranteed to succeed. And it’s bigger than our normal goal-setting systems. The idea gained popularity through stories like Jesse Itzler’s extreme challenges. However, at...
We have spent time reflecting on 2025. Setting goals both large and small for 2026. Now, we can shift our focus to finding inspiration to keep us on track in the year ahead. People use different approaches. A word of the year. An inspirational quote or song. A symbol...
A manifesto is not a plan. It’s a declaration. A line drawn in the sand. A statement of who we are, what we stand for, and the world we intend to build. Most people focus planning on objectives, strategies, and tactics. A manifesto sets the vision. It starts at the...
I’ve chosen a word of the year every year since 2015. What started as inspiration has evolved over time into something a bit different. Today, I treat my word like a personal operating system. An operating system runs quietly in the background. Shaping priorities,...