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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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CHANGE...why it's like pulling teeth

by Rick Baker
On Feb 28, 2012

CHANGE...why it faces a DENTAL thing.

D is for Doubt. When you boil it down, Doubt is a lack of confidence. Doubt is a lack of self-confidence and it shrouds everything. Doubt seeks the comfort of safe territory. Change is the arch-enemy of Doubt. Change is always trying to drag Doubt out of safe places and drop it into uncharted, scary territory. Knowing this, whether it is visibly evident or not, Doubt always resists change.

E is for Ego, excessive Ego. Sometimes Ego is like Doubt. It can be silent and invisible. Other times Ego can be boisterous, side-tracking, and demanding attention. Excessive Ego likes to rule behind the scenes and it likes to blind-side us. Your own Ego can do that to you if you don't take action to keep it in check.

N is for Negativity. Negativity is closely related to Doubt. While Negativity is also born from fear, it does not necessarily appear so fearful as Doubt. Sometimes Negativity appears cynical, sometimes aggressive, even hostile. Other times it self-justifies by making statements like "I don't want to be a Devil's Advocate...but". 

T is for Time...specifically, not enough Time. When you hear those 3 words in a sentence you know you are facing deep-rooted resistance to Change. Probably, most people believe they don't have enough time. That's a side-effect of busy times and busy lives. Some people actually accept that thinking as justification for their status quo. About Time

A is for Ambivalence. Ambivalence is a mindset that can be described this way, "that may be a good idea but we tried something like that a few years ago and it didn't work...so...I just don't know". Ambivalence is conflicted thoughts: without a clear winner the thoughts keep on conflicting and nothing gets resolved, and so - no change gets done.

L is for Laziness. We all have of some of that, don't we. Most of us resist its influence. Most of us view Laziness as a weakness that should be countered...at least, while we are at work. But...some people don't resist their Laziness. Some people embrace Laziness as a fact of their business lives, a necessary part of their workdays. 

Yes - CHANGE...Why...it's like pulling teeth!

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change

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Thought Tweet #420

by Rick Baker
On Feb 24, 2012

Thought Tweet #420  "Man was born into fear in that he was born into a world of which most of the energies were set against him."

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

An interesting quote from [Canadian-born] Basil King's 'The Conquest of Fear', (1921) Yes - most of the energies we experience are set against us…but, fortunately, (1) not the most-important one & (2) we have managed to partially-harness some of those set-against-us energies and put them to good use [as examples: fire & heat, electricity & magnetism, wind and solar energy].

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Thought Tweets

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About Napoleon Bonaparte and the 'thought-force'

by Rick Baker
On Feb 23, 2012

About Napoleon and the thought-force

"Napoleon's army is in the East. The plague is beginning to make inroads into its ranks. Long lines of men are lying in cots and on the ground in an open space adjoining the army. Fear has taken a vital hold of all, and the men are continually being stricken. Look yonder: contrary to the earnest entreaties of his officers, who tell him that such exposure will mean sure death, Napoleon with a calm and dauntless look upon his face, with a firm and defiant step, is coming through these plague-stricken ranks. He is going up to, talking with, touching the men: and, as they see him, there goes up a mighty shout, - The Emperor! the Emperor! and from that hour the plague in its inroads is stopped. A marvelous example of the power of a man who, by his own dauntless courage, absolute fearlessness, and power of mind, could send out such forces that they in turn awakened kindred forces in the minds of thousands of others, which in turn dominate their very bodies, so that the plague, and even death itself, is driven from the field. One of the grandest examples of a man of the most mighty and tremendous mind and will power, and at the same time an example of one of the grandest failures, taking life in its totality, the world has ever seen."

 

From Ralph Waldo Trine’s ‘This Mystical Life of Ours’ (1919 edition)

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Hero Worship

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Know Negativity

by Rick Baker
On Feb 10, 2012

Have you ever stopped to think about negativity?

I mean - have you ever set aside 30 minutes or so to consider what negativity does and the many forms negativity takes.


An Introduction to What Negativity Does

  1. It consumes and wastes our precious personal-energy.
  2. It is contagious, affecting one then infecting other people...wasting their personal-energies.
  3. If you believe in the Law of Attraction then negativity attracts more negativity and causes negative outcomes.
 
The Forms Negativity Takes
 
We do not have to think and do these negative things.
 
We do them because they are part of human nature. We do them because many of us were not born with the gift of self-monitoring and self-regulation....so, if we want to be less negative then we must learn how to do it. And, learning how to be less negative takes work and discipline. It is a skill. 
 
Being less negative is a skill we can learn if we choose to.
 
Working on being less negative is a Good Habit.
 

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | Communication: Improving Communication | Criticism: Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Optimism & Pessimism | Thick Skin & Thin Skull

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Thought Tweet #409

by Rick Baker
On Feb 9, 2012
Thought Tweet #409 Confidence: what you feel when you believe you have what it takes to do well, or excel at Actions in Situations

 

The Thinking Behind the Tweet

That's a Spirited Leaders' definition. Like Courage, Confidence is one of Spirited Leaders' Values. Courage and Confidence go hand in hand...with Courage taking the lead. 

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Business Contains Only 3 Things | Definitions - Spirited Words Defined | Thought Tweets | Values: Personal Values

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INITIATIVE...TAKE IT!

by Rick Baker
On Feb 2, 2012

INITIATE.

Few people excel at it.

Why?

Probably because, at some point in their lives, they embraced once-burned-twice-shy thinking. Or maybe they succumbed to the criticism of some well-meaning authority figure. 

Really, it doesn't matter why many people struggle to INITIATE. 

What matters is, regardless of the past, people can learn how to overcome their reluctance to INITIATE.

Here are a couple of suggestions on how to help people INITIATE:

  1. Understand, at least, the basics about the human brain. Understand the executive functions of the brain1. Understand, INITIATE is one of the executive functions. For the most part, our brains operate along habit lines. INITIATE can be a habit. Or, it can not be a habit. That's a matter of choice. Like any other habit, it takes time to build the INITIATE habit.
  2. Give yourself an INITIATE pep talk...or, better still, let Seth Godin2 give you an INITIATE pep talk. Check out his recent audio-book 'Poke The Box'. In this book, Seth champions a new way to do business under 7 Imperatives3. Seth puts INITIATIVE at the top of the list of his 7 Imperatives.
And, of course, practice INITIATIVE...focus...think...make decisions...take Actions.
 
Sure, you will make more mistakes...that's the way to learn.
 
INITIATE: that INSPIRES people!

 

Footnotes:

  1. A link to an article about Executive BrainSmartsTM INITIATE.
  2. A link to Seth Godin's video-introduction to his 2011 book 'Poke The Box' 
  3. Seth Godin's 7 Imperatives: (1) Be aware of the Market, (2) Be Educated, (3) Be Connected so People Trust you, (4) Be Consistent, (5) Build an Asset, (6) Be Productive, & most-important (7) Take INITIATIVE.

 

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Entrepreneur Thinking | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | INSPIRE PEOPLE - GROW PROFITS!

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Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.