Vacations are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Americans get less annual vacation time (14 days) than many other countries, according to Expedia.com. The French, for example get about 38 days per year to get away.
According to John de Graaf of Take Back Your Time, 137 countries make paid vacation mandatory; the United States isn’t one of them. To top it all off, over 30% of Americans don’t use all their annual vacation days, leaving about 3 days on the table each year.
Are you getting enough sleep? How long have you been getting less than your optimal amount of sleep and blaming it on being busy? Do you think your performance isn’t effected by your lack of sleep?
On the whole, people in the America today don’t get enough sleep. Dr. Daniel Amen, author of Making a Good Brain Great, notes the hours for an average night’s sleep have plummeted. At the turn of the 20th century, Americans got 9 hours of sleep, on average. In 1975, they averaged 7 and a half. By 2008, an average night’s sleep plunged to 6 hours!
Why aren’t more people optimistic? Optimism may be the ticket to being happier, healthier and more successful. Who doesn’t want that?
Honestly, optimism often gets a bad rap. Many people see optimism as looking at the glass half full or seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. That’s not necessarily the case.
Carpe Diam, seize the day, is one of my favorite adages. It is a value I hold, something to aspire to. This attitude begins first thing in the morning. I believe that how we start our day has a direct correlation with the value in the rest of our day. Thus, being intentional to develop a powerful morning routine is essential.
In the hustle and bustle of our busyness, we sometimes struggle to make time for the important things in life. For me, some of those important things include personal and professional development, quiet time and staying in touch with people. What are the things you wish you had more time for?
As I combed my calendar and daily schedule for some gaps, I came across a great discovery. Monday through Friday, I have a fairly consistent block of time with no appointments or requirements. My daily commute is ripe for the picking.
If you are at all like me, then you’re looking for ways to get ahead and make the most of every minute. My commute presented a great opportunity. Perhaps you could get more out of your commute too. Allow me to share with my discovery with you.
How do you respond when your spouse, friend or family asks, “How was your day?” If you are like most people, it is all too easy to unload the various frustrations, injustices and wrongs you encountered. We tend to do this rather than highlight the good experiences from our day. Some term this the negativity bias. Put simply, it is our natural tendency to focus on the bad instead of the good. We do this at work, at home, with our children and so on.
To be honest, the negativity bias isn’t all bad. This natural bias helps us detect and avoid danger. However, when we become overly focused on the bad (i.e. pessimism) at the exclusion of the good, it can lead to a host of concerns:
People matter. If we intend to go far in life, we can’t go it alone. Are you able to take risks, pursue opportunities and achieve more because of the people in your life? That has absolutely been true for me. Without my family, friends, colleagues and especially my wife…well, you wouldn’t be reading this. I am able to accomplish my goals and pursue my potential thanks to the relationships I have. Hopefully the same is true for you. But, one thing I’ve learned is that thriving relationships don’t come easy.
What separates the most successful people from those who are simply good at what they do? It’s not talent. It’s not even skill or ability. The true mark of great performers is that they consistently learn from and build on successes. Anyone, whether you lead meetings, serve customers, cook dinner or coach rec. league soccer, can learn to do the same. Doing so leads to consistently better performance. Who doesn’t want that?
“When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic,” stated John Maxwell in his book, Failing Forward. This is a mindset we desperately need in our culture today, whereas we see failure as akin to some kind of plague. Parents go to great lengths to protect their children from failure. Our education system forces teachers to do everything except lie to protect students from failing a class.
We easily forget the failures of many famous names: Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs. These achievers didn’t let their failures define them and went on to great success. Are we dealing with failure all wrong? How can we capitalize on our failures to spur future success?
Frankl relays to us that we have the ability to choose our thoughts, our emotions and our actions.