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Here I will post thoughts on the subject of Life, that can be used for both work and life. I have been posting across social media for three and a half years (below posts from 2023-2025) using my forty six years of life, thirty five years of work experience, over a dozen years of quality knowledge and raising/managing a family of six, and will consolidate my thoughts here.
My Linktree can be used to locate where I post on social media. Additionally, my books My Thoughts on Quality, Business & Life & More Thoughts on Quality, Business & Life, can be found on Amazon. The below thoughts can be found in those books.
As I am a human, not AI or a computer, I use my innate ability to come up with topics and write about them. That means there may be spelling/punctuation errors posted here and there, but using critical thinking and not losing our humanity is important to me. While AI & machine learning tools may have their place to help mundane tasks in business, I do not believe they should replace us in the arts, and take over our thinking, accountability, responsibility and relationships.
Empathy
Empathy.
An underrated and often underutilized skill in the workplace.
It is important to understand that we all face challenges each day. Whether at work, home, or elsewhere, we face issues.
Good and bad events occur, but often the bad eclipses the good.
We need to understand that what one person faces will be treated and handled differently than someone else. We each have our limits and it is important to understand that. What one may say is too much, another could say no big deal. Don’t brush them aside as sensitive or weak.
This is why empathy is important and underutilized.
Empathy.
While it should be a goal to always do our best at work for the company, client/customer and the team, we are all still human.
Those in leadership positions need to understand that we each have situations in our lives we are facing daily.
That is where empathy comes into play.
Work is just a piece of our lives and it is important that is understood and it is often not. Work, work, work always comes first regardless of how we feel or the situations we are in. That doesn’t often work unless there is empathy given for the situation.
Leaders, just like any other employee, are people with situations of their own. A work environment that is open to this understanding will be have better morale, retention, output and will simply function better than a cold, rigid put up and shut up type of workplace.
The environment in which employees work in will often times resonate in the end product or service to the customer/client.
If the proper environment is not there, there is a good chance you won’t get what you need out of everyone.
That is why international standards from ISO talk of this and not just from a Quality or Safety standpoint, but in most of their standards.
Building and sustaining a positive, successful environment will get the company culture where it needs to be for the success of the mission.
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence may seem like soft skills, but they should be treated as hard skills. They are fundamental to the well-being of a workforce and in turn production levels that ensure success for the customer/client. Without it the Quality, Safety and Business Culture will suffer.
A Gift to Yourself
Each day is a gift. Even when times are difficult and we feel down and desperate, we are still here and able to make the best of what we can for ourselves and those around us.
The “gift” may not be what we expected, but it is a gift nonetheless.
It is important to live in the present and not allow possible future events that may never occur to bring us down.
Some out there may not like inspirational posts, but many do, because it may be just what you need at that moment.
If you impact even one person a day in a positive way through words or actions, you have changed the world for the better.
It is important to understand that we each have this one life. We do not know how long we have.
With that said we should be using it to live.
Too often, especially in this modern world, our lives revolve around work.
While I am sure there are plenty out there who have jobs they love, that drive them to go in and give their best each day, we should be working to live and not living to work.
How many people do you know or have known who wished they had worked more and harder when they are on their deathbed? I doubt too many. They wish they had more time to travel, to spend with family and friends, to do something new or different.
Let’s not waste our lives. Money is needed to live, yes, but it shouldn’t be the only driver.
Just a reminder to find time to enjoy life in some way.
While work itself is fine, it shouldn’t be the ‘be all end all’ consuming force in your life.
It only takes a moment, a smile, one small act to change or even save a person’s life in a positive way. With everything going on in the world we need more positive change happening.
Our lives are like a candle.
Like a candle, we burn brightly for a time; as the candle wax melts, we grow older. We need to use that light to help those in the dark. Use our knowledge and experience to educate and not to tear down.
We don’t know how long before our flame goes out, but we should live every day to its fullest and impact those around us in a positive manner.
The world would be a better place if more did this.
Whether in your personal life or at work, you don’t always know what is going on in others’ lives. Be there to support, not break down. We can all find ourselves in a bad place from time to time so help when you can because you may need it in return one day.
Surround yourself at work and in your personal life with those who will support you, encourage you and elevate you for success.
Boundaries
The only people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were/are benefiting from you having none.
Vacations are often described as recharging.
Often vacations tend to be exhausting as we try to cram as much into it as possible.
Need a vacation from the vacation as the saying goes.
We shouldn’t think of a vacation as something needed to recharge from work because that means work is burning us out. It may be but that is really the wrong mind set.
A vacation is a chance to get away, even if local, to do something, to see something. Could be new or something not done in a while.
It is an opportunity to be free for a moment to live your life away from certain stresses.
The United States is the only industrial country without federally mandated personal time off. Much of the rest of the world has something in place. This shows its importance in our lives as we only get one and time flies by before you know it.
Leadership should never guilt employees who want to take time off.
Whether it is a personal day, vacation, holiday, shouldn’t matter; employees have the right to time away from work.
Leadership can take time off as well, they just often choose not too for whatever reason they have at the moment.
Unless you are an entrepreneur and a small business, most of the time the company will be fine if you are out 1 day, 3 days, a week or a month.
You need that time to relax and declutter your brain.
Life is short. Take the time while you can and not at the end of 50/60+ years of work when you may not be able to any longer.
Live.
Boundaries.
They are important in all aspects of our lives.
There are physical, mental and emotional boundaries to think of.
It is important to know your limits and communicate them.
Although leadership may not always like to hear it, the word no is important to use, even for themselves.
We aren’t always able to do x, y, and z or in a certain time frame.
Having boundaries sets expectations, sets what is important and able to get done for employees and management alike.
It helps lower a stressful environment.
It sets up a balance between home life and work. It creates an understanding that we each have varying types of lives.
Just because you like to work on time off or have no hobbies to consume your time, even to just rest, doesn’t mean others around you have that same mindset and life.
Management and employees alike need to take some time to understand those around them in order to work better as a team.
There will be people who will disagree and those of us who wish to have proper boundaries who will politely push back against the negative.
Respect is earned but important between colleagues. Setting boundaries begins to earn respect. Respect of one’s time, ability, choices.
If the environment does not allow for proper boundaries after clearly communicating the need, then leadership from top down is not interested in instilling it. It may not be the right place to be for you.
Time
What do you do all day?
It is something to think about. We get 24 hours a day. What do we do with it?
Often we tell ourselves and others we don’t have time to do x, y, z. Do we?
It is important that if you want to do something, you set aside time to do it.
I had goals set for 2024 and so I set aside time each day to make my goals come to fruition, and they will. I plan on continuing it into the next year.
Even if you work long hours and are tired, if you are serious about it, and have a passion for whatever it may be, you will find the time.
What is important for you to spend time on each day? Use those 24 hours given to you and use them to your advantage and wisely.
Don’t live with regret. Time is finite.
There are times it is important to be bored.
We live in a world with so much at our fingertips, it is hard to imagine an opportunity to be bored.
Boredom offers a chance to dwell on our own thoughts, a chance to be creative. This is the time ideas might pop into your brain to write down, or an chance to be creative through other arts.
There are times you just need to have some peace away from social media, electronics, modern society that makes us feel we always have to be plugged in.
Whatever happened to that imagination you once had as a child?
Unplug.
As we grow older, and time passes, we lose many of the traits we had when we were children.
But there are traits of children that we should strive to retain as we grow older. It will make both our personal lives and work lives better.
Retaining curiosity & wonder in life will open us to new looking at ideas and having innovative thoughts. Children are often happy for no reason and that is something adults would benefit from.
Taking some time to look for our inner child may help us grow and become happier even in difficult times. Not necessarily easy, but something to strive for.
What do you value?
Value means different things to different people and companies.
Values can also change over time. As we grow older what we value will change as we learn and grow wiser.
Certain basic values will often remain for most but certain elements within our lives will become less important as circumstances change.
What do you value and how does it drive your life?
There are numerous types of value out there and dependent on the customers need, the perceived value will be different.
The goal is to have a perceived value by the customer in what you are providing. It should be of value.
We should want to provide a Quality service or product. That requires proactivity, value add actions, and a motivated & knowledgeable group of employees who make it work.
We should want to be a value to our client/customer. Internally as a company, employees should also feel valued as that will permeate into what they do externally.
Everyone wants to feel valued at work. The more value you feel, often is tied to better output and alignment with what the client/customer wants.
Having your voice heard and acknowledged as well as your work appreciated goes a long way.
Although we may not think we do, we use Cost Benefit Analysis all the time in our lives. It isn’t just for work with new projects or improvement ideas.
Any time you think about getting a new phone or vehicle or even coffee, in the back of your mind (or even openly like myself) you are thinking, is this worth the price? Can I do or get better?
Time is a finite and irreplaceable resource. Once a moment has passed, it cannot be recovered, making it more valuable than money or possessions. We do not know how much of it we will get, and thus it is a precious commodity, far too often neglected. As we grow older our intentions change, and certain things become less important.
Understanding and valuing time is crucial for personal growth, productivity, and overall well-being, which we can take for granted when we are young. Using time wisely and making the most of each moment is essential for achieving potential and fulfilling one’s purpose. We put a lot of time and effort into work, our careers and can often down the line regret not spending time on our passions. We must throughout our lives decide which opportunity to choose over another at any given time. Even with the best time management skills, it can be very challenging to take on too much and be successful with them.
Is what you are doing fulfilling? Will it be something you are proud of in the future? Living with regret can be just as bad as the fear of doing or not doing something. You must choose.
How do you maintain emails? What is your strategy?
I am sure we all face those in the business world who does not do well in this endeavor. Thousands of unopened emails. Reading and then responding to emails days late, past when it was viable to action.
Not reading an important email and in the process ignoring said email when sending another one out.
It is easy for those on the receiving end or those being ignored to get frustrated with this, especially when it is from a sr. leader.
How do we get better with that?
While some of us get hundreds of emails a day, it can stack up quick and with busy schedules can be difficult to keep under control.
It is important to block off time each day to catch up on emails.
It is also important to ensure the more important emails are handled first.
Flag emails to handle later or that are urgent. Not every email needs to be read or actioned.
Create folders and rules to make it easy to see who sent you an email. Some people need quicker responses than others.
Delete emails that may not be necessary.
Those that have this challenge will only get better at it if effort is put forth.
How do you handle the deluge of emails each day? What are your recommendations for co-workers to improve, whether they are above or below you in the hierarchy?
Meeting and managing deadlines at work, school and even home takes focus and proactive planning, efficient time management, and clear communication.
Breaking down large tasks, prioritizing, and setting realistic goals are key. Realistic goals are key and that takes those imposing the target time frames to do so in a method that will allow success.
Regularly tracking progress, communicating with those involved, and avoiding over commitment also help to meet deadlines. Sometimes, even if we don’t like and others don’t like it, we have to say no.
Blocking off times each day for certain tasks will help to keep you focused. Ask for help when and if you can or need it. Not all environments are open to such requests, unfortunately. Not all people want to ask for help as it can be seen as weakness or failing on their part. Neither of these are good long term.
A favor becomes a service/obligation. This can take away your time, so it needs to be well thought out as a long term obligation can have consequences.
While it is great to help people in life, whether at work or personal, it can become a burden quite easily and quickly.
It is important to teach people to fish and not fish for them.
That is not easy because people inherently want the easiest route.
From a Quality standpoint, and really any business function like Safety, HR, Finance, Supply, Environmental, Security and more, teaching employees the ins and outs should not become something to fully depend on.
For leaders, especially those in the operation of a business, they need to take the ownership of these requirements and do it. While we can assist in certain matters, especially at the beginning, if process owners do not take responsibility for their processes/requirements/systems, holding hands will not get them better.
Quality at the Source is about getting all employees thinking and utilizing Quality in their daily work. Having Quality, if a company has a team, do all the heavy lifting will not get Quality to the Source.
Assisting cannot become a burden. It takes a team, the whole company, working together to achieve success for their client/customer.
It is important to remember that although our lives seem filled with work and school, that our lives are short, and time is finite. We all age, our health declines and a myriad of issues may creep up.
We should not feel guilty wanting to take time away, to explore this world of ours, spend time with family, friends and unwind.
Those who are workaholics, more power to you if you feel that is your way in life. It is important though to not push that onto others.
When you can, get out and check out the world, even if local, spend time with those important to you, but it should not feel mandatory.
Take the opportunity when you can. You may regret it if you don’t in the end.
Remember that in the hustle and bustle of our lives in these crazy times that we remember to live.
There is more to life than work and time is finite. Spend some time for yourself and with those you love.
Enjoy your time and place in this world and don’t let these crazy things around us keep us from living.
What would you do if you had 5 weeks, months or years left? The time is arbitrary, it could be any time frame.
We put so much focus on work, whether to survive, or it becomes our identity, that we can lose focus on the world around us.
Whether based on finances, fear, or other situations, we often do not pursue something, saying there is tomorrow. Is that something you regret?
We all have so many opportunities, even if we do not see them, and we will often stay on the safe and easy journey through life. Safe, easy and secure is the stability that most strive for, but can also become a prison, removing oneself from the chance to experience new wonders and opportunities that could be right around the corner.
Being busy does not mean you are productive or effective. Being busy often involves performing unimportant tasks or reacting to external issues and requests.
Being effective focuses on completing meaningful, impactful work/tasks that contributes to long-term goals for the team, section, department and company.
When overwhelmed, your bandwidth diminishes, leading to poor decision-making and a vicious cycle where one feels busier but is often less productive in the end. Burnout occurs, stress rises, and physical and mental faculties diminish.
To become more effective, you need to prioritize meaningful tasks, eliminate distractions, and work smarter and not harder. This is easier said than done because you may not have control of the workload. This is why it is important that leadership ensures equal workload as well as not having unnecessary tasks worked, wasting time.
Use the 80/20 model. Identify the 20% of efforts that make up 80% of your results and focus your time and energy on those.
Sometimes you need to say no to protect your time and focus, because taking on too much will cause failure for what you already have on your plate.
While it is important to remember the past and plan parts of your future, don’t let either take you away from your present and those around you.
Made popular back in 2008 by Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hours was deemed the length of time needed to become an expert at something. That rounds out to 5 years at a normal 40-hour work week.
That of course is dependent on the effort, dedication, and deliberate practice put to achieving true expertise. Quality matters in this case, as it usually does in many aspects of our lives. How much focus will you have, how intense will you put your effort at improving and reducing elements to deter you? While the hours may be a guideline to achieving success in your given profession or even hobby, it requires consistent, high-quality effort rather than just time spent alone.
Remember that habits and knowledge take a while to set in, so being an expert should be treated like a marathon and not a sprint. You will learn much along the way and probably mess up here and there. All the greats have.
Every person is different. Some will take longer than others to reach success and expert level thinking where you are the go-to person everyone relies on. Never think an arbitrary number is the goal. Talent and ability are different for everyone, regardless of what is learned.
Don’t be depressed if you haven’t hit your goals or met success yet.
As time is finite, when you spend too much time in the weeds at work or in other scenarios, you are not spending your time wisely. This is important for anyone in a leadership role.
Don’t get bogged down with mundane tasks, get overwhelmed and focused on too many minor intricate details that others can handle. Micromanaging and bottlenecking tasks and the team will not only harm them, but yourself.
Being busy but ineffective is pointless.
Delegating tasks, prioritizing tasks and focusing on the bigger picture are key goals for leadership in most cases.
Being busy in life alone does not mean success. What you’re doing with your time will determine your path. Make it worthwhile.
Frustrating and Stressful Situations
How do you handle stress?
There is stress that will strengthen you and stress that will damage you.
Stress may occur when it doesn’t even need to which will make handling it even more challenging.
There are times people come into our lives to test us, for good and bad. And although we may not want it, it will often give us the knowledge, the experience and the strength the endure the future.
The best way to handle stress is to plan for it whenever possible, which is not always an option. A strategy and steps to break down the task or situation will help to ease some of the stress overwhelming you.
Ask for help when needed. Know your limits. Communicate it.
Stay calm and breathe.
Frustration.
We all get frustrated from time to time and it is usually considered a big emotion. It may very well be if it is constant as it can lead to stress.
I saw a post elsewhere that talked about frustration actually being a good emotion to have at times.
Frustration will show that you still care about something.
It will also spur change sometimes.
It will show you what not to do but also what you need to do better or at least work on.
Just don’t let it get the better of you.
Stress.
It is something we all live with.
Some is good, much of stress is negative, especially long term.
Each of us have our own limits and only we know them.
Often we will be surprised by how much we can take.
We have to do our best to manage it. At work it can be difficult with growing workloads, last minute tasks and requests, difficult people.
Even though challenging and sometimes difficult, we must find ways to cope and release the stress so that it does not impact us negatively.
It may require a change in our life.
I was surprised when I came across this.
To recover from burnout could take years. A day off or a vacation won’t help long term.
It is important, whether in our personal lives or in a work environment, to admit there may be a problem. Then you can work towards the goal of getting better.
This is as important for a business as it is to an individual. It may take a while, but the first step is acknowledging a problem, then seeking assistance and sticking with a plan of action.
It’s difficult to always be at 100%.
Even the best out there has bad or odd days.
Constantly being expected to be at 100% or higher will eventually lead to burn out or worse. It may take a month, year or decade but our minds and bodies will eventually give out.
While high performance at work may not always be there 100% of the time, we should still strive to do our best. Reach out to those around you if you need help and together goals can be achieved.
Are you feeling burned out at work? Stress can be a positive at times, but too much for too long will wear you down. Whether at work or in our personal lives, burnout can happen.
Always reach out to those around you, if you can, as talking can often times release some of the tension.
How do you handle it?
Work Life balance is important and there are a lot of studies and information you can get on the web on the subject. You need to be able to step away from work and not just a vacation. Unless you are on call for a specific reason, taking time to relax is key to mental health. We after all are not robots.
As we go through life, we make decisions. It is up to us to make the right decisions and the best we can at the time.
As we move through this journey of our life we will often look back and question those decisions. What if we had done x instead of y?
It is important to remember to not live with regret. For better or worse, those decisions have made you the person you are. If you wish to become a better person, learn lessons and use them.
Lessons learned can be both positive and negative, but not taking the negative and turning it into something positive will not help your future.
When those gather to memorialize your life, how do you want to be perceived? How do you want to be remembered?
Whether in your personal life or professional, actions and words resonate with others.
This is why I started writing the children book series because it is important to remember empathy, integrity, compassion, ethics, goodness in our daily lives. Whether children learning these as they grow, or adults remembering they are important, we need to instill these values in our life.
It shouldn’t matter our station in life, the title we have, the job, the company, the sector. We are all human.
Let’s treat each other as such and not just as numbers or resources to manage.
You can be right or do something correctly a thousand times and as soon as you make a mistake, that is what is remembered.
A client/customer may thank you but often will be silent and satisfied when everything is going well. As soon as one mistake occurs, a slip, an error of some kind, they can rain down fury on you.
Same can be said of workplaces and coworkers for small errors in reports or emails or anything really.
Same at home with family or friends.
It is important to understand that we will all have bad days. Days we feel like crawling in a hole and never leaving.
We must not hold others only to the mistakes they make.
While some mistakes can be serious, even life threatening and need to be avoided whenever possible, they need to be taken at face value, case by case.
Even computers, machines and systems make mistakes. Some may be based on programming from a human, but even in a Six Sigma world where you try to get to Six Sigma, there will still be deviations.
Give people credit for what they do, give recognition when people are going the right thing, their best and providing a consistent quality effort.
No matter the age of a person you are having a disagreement with, it is important to do your best to remain civil. Not always easy, at any age.
As a teenager you will face adults who tell you what to do all the time. Some may be wrong in their advice and may also become belligerent and disrespectful because they feel as an adult they know best.
Having experienced that as a teenager I am aware of the difficulties.
Responding in a negative fashion will not improve the situation. It is important to do what is right, at any age and time. Sometimes kids can also educate adults in how to act.
No matter the age there is always something to learn, even if you think you know everything.
I am sure this has happened to you at some point in your lives. You ask a question, and you receive a response, but not an answer. You see it a lot in politics. You will see it at work, home and anywhere at some point from someone.
A non-answer is a response that doesn’t address the question asked (even partially), or that avoids answering the question altogether. It can be an inadequate, vague, unsatisfactory, noncommittal, or an uninformative response. It can redirect or deflect. It can also include confusing language that leaves you scratching your head. Essentially, it’s a response that doesn’t provide the information you asked for. It can be frustrating.
It can be avoided by simply answering the question or stating you do not know, and you may need to inquire further and get back, especially if it is work related. Non-answers at work will only fuel the possible lack of trust that may be in place but certainly will create it.
Children will often not answer a question when a parent is asking because of a situation, especially when they are younger. They will become silent because they are afraid of the response they will get. That should not carry over into adulthood.
We should be able to have clear and concise discussions with one another. Work, home or out in the world, clarity will help clear up frustration and maintain trust with one another.
It is important to remove stupidity from our lives as much as possible. Sometimes, you just have to walk away from it.
It is easy to lose connection with one another. Even though we are in the age of technology, it feels that we are farther apart as a society.
At work, depending on the business, its size and complexity, we have a myriad of tools to use to communicate with. Even then we may find ourselves lost in the sauce, so to speak.
Not being responded to, not being kept in the loop with emails or other notifications, not being informed of events or team updates. Being ostracized or ignored doesn’t do well for mental well-being, morale or confidence.
None of us are perfect. We make mistakes, we miss stuff, we get tired and worn out. We forget something, we make a bad choice. We have positives as well as negatives in how we communicate and interact with others at work, home or in public. We can do a hundred things right, and one mistake is all that people remember.
Professionals to novices are all people, no matter the age or position. We learn as we go. We need to understand that when others make a mistake because next time, we may make the mistake and need understanding.
We should do our utmost to learn from our mistakes as well as others’ mistakes, so we reduce the possibility of repeat failures.
This is important in all aspects of our lives. It takes effort from everyone to enact this understanding in every facet of our lives, improving all our communication and interaction.
In a frustrating world, in frustrating times, dealing with frustrating people, resilience is what will get us through.
Our capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, adjust to adversity, and maintain our psychological well-being when facing challenges will be different for each of us. Some are stronger than others mentally, physically and emotionally. There won’t be a right answer that can help everyone generically, but in the end, it isn’t about avoiding hardships that we face, but rather about developing the ability to cope with stress and bounce back from difficulties, hardships and setbacks. Resilience, like most things, can be learned and strengthened through various strategies and practices.
It is important to have a strong support system around us, and even with all the technology connecting us in ways unimaginable in the past, many do not have the support around them.
Paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, learning to understand the negative emotions and thoughts you get from various situations, can help you challenge them, adapt to them and cope with the difficulties in life.
Finding hobbies and activities that interest you can help take your mind off negativity and even at times reframe them. I write, and have since the 1990’s, to not only bring ideas to life, but find ways to express myself in various manners with the characters in my stories.
It is a skill that takes practice to build strong mental and emotional health.
Being too nice, unlike what you may think, can be bad. There needs to be a middle ground reached between being too difficult and a pushover. Neither is desirable the majority of times but may have their places.
You may have heard or interacted with people who get a big head from fame, promotion, title, a win, power, etc., and it can be frustrating as the entitlement, and ego can be a bit off putting.
Some may not intend to or feel they are being arrogant or conceited, but when expectations change, they except the unusual, rules are broken or bent for them, and
It is important that no matter the title, power within a business or elsewhere, after a win, promotion or anything, that you remain humble and not allow the situation to go to your head. Wins and titles are temporary. What matters is how you act toward others, your expectations, and what you expect, within boundaries and not.
I have unfortunately seen people break the rules and go outside what is technically allowed because they held a certain position and wanted something done, regardless.
I have lost respect for those individuals because of that. How you hold power and a title, treat people, rules, requirements, and act is how you will be judged in that role and long after.
While none of us are perfect, we are directly or indirectly judged by our peers and strangers in life, and we should always work to be our best self within the confines of our environment (at work, school, public).
This also starts young, at home and school, as kids need to learn that a win doesn’t mean disrespecting the others who didn’t.
Win with grace, lose with grace.
Demeaning others will not ingratiate you to anyone worthwhile.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding failure. It’s how you respond when it happens. Think of it not as a shield that stops the blow, but as a shock absorber that lets you keep moving forward when faced with difficulty.
Let’s look at a situation. You get laid off, or the project you led gets canceled, or you’re passed over for a promotion you worked hard for.
The Non-Resilient Response.
Shutdown.
You internalize the event as a personal failure with the I’m not good enough mindset.
Blaming.
You focus energy on blaming the company, the economy, or your boss.
Stagnation.
You get stuck in the disappointment, unable to move forward.
The Resilient Response (The Pivot)
1. Acknowledge the Hurt (The Shock).
Don’t pretend it doesn’t matter. Allow yourself to feel the disappointment for a short, set time, a day, a weekend. Then, make a conscious choice to move to the next step.
2. Conduct a Blameless After-Action Review (The Assessment).
Ask yourself objective questions:
- What can I learn from this situation?
- What skills did I strengthen in that role that I can take with me?
- What would I do differently next time? This is not about blame; it’s about gathering data for improvement.
3. Focus on Your Circle of Control (The Adjustment).
- You can’t control the company’s decision. You can control your response.
- Update your resume and online profile, if you have it. I recommend always having your resume updated and ready and be willing to network.
- Reach out to your network for coffee or a chat.
- Use the time to complete a certification or other training you’ve been putting off.
- Exercise and maintain a routine to keep your mind sharp.
4. Take the Next Step (The Move Forward).
Resilience is action. Send one job application. Make one phone call. Learn one new skill. Small, consistent actions build momentum and prove to yourself that you are not defined by the setback.
Resilience is a muscle built through practice. Each time you choose to pivot after a fall, you strengthen your ability to handle the next challenge. The goal isn’t to never get knocked down; it’s to get back up faster and wiser every time.
While competition in life can be good, it can also be quite the opposite.
The emphasis and drive to win and achieve personal success and achievement can become detrimental, leading to burnout, damaged relationships, and unhealthy comparisons to others as well as backstabbing. While competition can be a positive motivator, it becomes toxic when it creates an environment of jealousy, strife, and a belief that personal worth depends on being better than others. This is most obvious in business with office politics.
To deal with this, you can shift focus from external competition to others at work, school, family, etc. to self-improvement, embracing cooperation, and recognize that everyone’s well-being comes from self-worth rather than constantly trying to prove oneself to others.
This takes effort, time and everyone to make it truly successful.
Something that can be frustrating to see and happen to you is trust eroding. It can happen in any aspect of your life. You will see a gradual loss of confidence in an individual (anyone/anywhere), relationship (business or personal), or company (as employee or customer) due to behaviors like dishonesty, inconsistency, and a lack of accountability.
Common signs of this include poor communication (far too common across the board), a failure to follow through on promises, inconsistent, dishonest, breaking confidences, deceptive, and a lack of transparency, which can lead to suspicion and emotional distance.
At work one simple way to lose trust is an uneven application of policies, favoring one or some over the many.
You’d think the solution would be simple, but it apparently is not as seen everywhere by people raising their hand having this happened to them. It could be due to ignorance; by simply not knowing they are a problem, or more dangerous… not caring.
Fear
Don’t let others perception of you run your life.
As much as we may want to give off good impressions and want people to like us and respect us, that simply will not happen 100% of the time.
Do not let that desire, and often fear, railroad your life and cause you anxiety and stress. It isn’t worth it and often times what we think people’s opinions are is not the fact.
Press on and keep doing your best each day in life. Your actions and beliefs are under your control.
Barriers/obstacles in life are meant to go around and not stop you.
What is keeping you from advancing/changing to being what you would consider successful?
What is your roadblock? Is it fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Self-esteem, lack of confidence? Outside entities not being supportive? No support structures? It is important to have support in your goals.
Your mindset and attitude will determine if you succeed or not as the first hurdle.
Does your company provide support, training, growth and other avenues to learn and grow? If not, you may need to control your own destiny.
Uncertainty is another hurdle. Are you certain you want to go down this path? With economic issues being faced by so many, do you want to take a chance on a change?
Fear is ultimately the biggest hurdle most of us face. Fear of failure and change which leads to the unknown. Fear of trying and failing in your goals and ambitions.
If you want a positive change in your life, to do something, to meet a goal, don’t let uncertainty and fear drive away your ambitions. You may regret the decision to not try and you don’t want to look back on life with regret.
Fear.
It is a word rarely looked upon as a good thing.
There are leaders and companies who use fear as a tactic that they think will motivate employees to do better.
Wrong. It demotivates employees and puts a high amount of unnecessary stress on them.
Work is a part of life, got it.
Work is what supports our lifestyle, it should not dictate or control it.
It does far too often.
While the world’s current use of capitalism has picked up so many millions out of poverty across the word, companies also use it to take advantage of employees. Taking the last drop of energy from them each day. Expecting more and more with less.
When do we enjoy life? There can be a balance.
If fear is continued in the workplace, employees will take that and transfer it to the client/customer. If employees are treated in that manner, the company doesn’t really care about their client/customer. While companies may treat their employees as disposable, we can treat companies the same as well.
It is not easy to post something on social media, or to make a tutorial video, or to write a book because when you do all these things, you are opening yourself up to ridicule. That is something most people don’t want to do, and it is understandable. You are in a vulnerable state, but you may regret not doing it.
You may have something such as advice that can help someone. Even if one person has a positive experience, that is one person you helped. That is powerful.
Putting yourself out there isn’t easy.
You may be apprehensive to put ideas and comments out there for people to critique. Not every post will hit home, but if you impact even one person in a positive way, it is a win.
I have seen some complain they don’t get x amount of views or likes, but just think for a minute. Strangers are taking time out of their day to read or view your post. Be grateful.
There will always be trolls out there and nothing you say will dissuade them. Ignore the haters, take advice from credible/valuable feedback and try.
We can always learn from each other. It is a big planet even if it feels small sometimes. There are plenty of great ideas out there to learn from.
Continous Learning
While educating and training people on a variety of topics is important and often necessary, putting them into play is what really matters.
Training, reading, listening to an instructor, coach, teacher is great but you need to use it, otherwise what is the point of learning it.
Everyone learns in different ways and sometimes the best way for them is not always available.
But from experience, hand on tends to be the best way to get a grasp on something.
Practice makes perfect and practical application will get you hands on training and knowledge that will make it easier over time. This is often important after the initial training.
It may take time to get a firm understanding and not everyone will get it. Depending on the subject, task, job, not everyone may be capable of doing it as we each have our capabilities. Teams are often made up of diverse groups that feed off each other and complement one another.
While it is great when everyone can do everything the same way, that is not reality and needs to be understood.
Leaders need to leverage the teams capability in the best way for the success of the business for their customer.
We all will normally work at multiple places in our lifetime.
At each we will probably learn something and as we do we may bring those best practices with us.
As we climb the ladder and get into leadership roles, we may want to implement some of those best practices.
When we go to a new company, it is important that we learn about the company and get familiar with it before implementing something.
It is important to not take away best practices that got that company or program/project where it is. It is also important to not implement something that did not work elsewhere or at least didn’t help the previous company succeed.
Learning from the past will help ensure that both the negative and positives are known and the future will be positive.
While change happens and is sometimes needed to keep on a positive trajectory, change for the sake of change isn’t necessarily needed.
A new leader, especially, tends to want to make an impact. It should be a positive impact, not destructive or negative for the employees who make the magic work for the client/customer.
Leaders often have as much to learn from employees as they must learn from the leader.
Be willing to learn. If you aren’t, teaching anything will fall on deaf ears and will not be retained. It won’t be beneficial for either party.
We should all want to learn something new as we go through life.
The older we get, the more important it is to stay active mentally as well as physically.
The choice is yours.
In today’s world there no longer seems to be the chance to make an argument or discussion without facing retribution.
Intelligent people can discuss a topic, and both be right.
They can also agree to disagree. From the time we are children to the time we are adults we will have opinions. Will we have the freedom to voice those opinions? The more we discuss, the more we learn. Never stop learning.
Reading, Listening, Understanding and Asking Questions are important elements in our lives.
Whether it is reading an email, or taking time to read training material or take provided classes, it is important to read/listen and then ask questions if there are any.
Some don’t do either.
It is important at work to understand a task. Communication goes both ways, the sender and the one receiving. If one or the other… or both are not clear, lines will get crossed.
Productivity and time is wasted when this occurs.
Sometimes you just must go back to the fundamentals and work on them like you did in school. Reading, Writing and Listening.
It is important to be willing to learn.
I know I don’t know everything and I am always finding ways to learn about a wide variety of subjects, not just in my own field.
As Henry Ford said: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
Training is important in a workplace.
If training is not available there is a good chance that the service/product being provided will be subpar for the customer.
It starts from onboarding, to on the job, to more over the course of time.
Each company will have its own unique training.
In recent years, especially with COVID 19, training moved to an online, virtual setting. Dependent on the size, scale and scope of a company, this may be the norm as it’s easier to get people involved at multiple locations. It can save time and money as travel time can add up for in person training.
The majority of people are visual, while the remaining prefers auditory. Only a sliver is hands on.
Now just like with customer service it is important for those being trained understands the other side. Not every company will have a dedicated team and it may be a secondary task.
In most cases constructive criticism is welcome to better the training provided. Unconstructive/destructive criticism is simply a negative situation that doesn’t help anyone.
It is important to remember that no matter where we reach on the ladder at work, we all generally started at the bottom somewhere.
Often times that is forgotten when working with others. Ego may get in the way. As leaders we should remember that we were there once and help guide and mentor others to be where they will climb the ladder as well. It shouldn’t be a competition but a journey of teamwork.
We all have something to learn from each other.
It’s important as a leader to let your team shine. Don’t overshadow them. They may have more experience and knowledge then you and that is alright. Either they were hired for that experience and knowledge or you came in to lead a existing experienced team. Let them do what they do and learn what you do not know.
There is often too much ego and title loving in companies when it should be more about the team.
Always be willing to learn.
It is important to never stop learning even as we get older and been working for a long time or in a position for many years.
Even if we strive for no errors, mistakes occur but it is important to learn from them. Make them teaching moments.
Be open and humble with each other. Ego and arrogance tend to drives folks away. Titles are temporary. How we treat each other will be long remembered.
Less ignorance and lack of knowledge will not just make a company better but everyone within better for the future.
We have so much information at our fingertips in this day and age for anything otherwise.
Whether in the business world or in our personal lives, we will come across those not understanding a variety of topics. Education is a pathway to lead to understanding and elimination of ignorance on a topic.
Those who are not interested in understanding a topic, especially work related, goes down another path.
That is separate from having a difference of opinion.
Training is an important piece of being successful at work, but it is only the first step.
Having a can/want to and not and will/won’t do is also important.
You can be trained but if you don’t want to be there or don’t pay attention it is a wasted effort by the trainer and yourself.
Training is a two-way street. Having the right people involved goes a long way to be successful.
Lead by example.
Never stop learning and be open to new and different ideas. Collaborate and Empower your team.
Reading is fundamental.
Whether it is because it is too much to read, not enough time, laziness, procrastination, disinterest, whatever the reason, reading is not being used like it used to be.
With technology in place, the quick fix is what many expect these days.
Especially at work, it is vital to read any written policy and procedure in place to understand the process.
Next comes understanding and if questions are needed, ask.
If there is something out there available to include emails and other communications being used, and everything is ignored, the outcome will rarely be good.
It is also frustrating to the ones who communicate matters because they are being ignored and then their time is being wasted with inquiries asking about something they already sent out.
Reading is fundamental.
It is important to keep learning within our craft and outside it. We can always do with a refresher course every now and then, both as leaders and everyone in general. It also doesn’t hurt to dabble in something new every now and then to simply learn about something different.
Embracing self-development is not only good for leadership but also will often get others around them interested in learning, and in turn, growing.
As we get older we may think we have learned it all, done it all, but that is rarely true. Keeping the mind active for as long as possible also helps keep us healthy for longer.
There is so much out there to learn about, and just a little time each day will get you in the right direction.
We all have positives and negatives in our life, whether at work or in our personal lives.
We learn from both. Often at the time a negative situation is seen as such, but down the road a bit you look back and see it was actually a positive.
Often times we need that negative situation to move us past it and into a better situation. That negative turned into a positive. It has happened to me and it happens throughout our lives.
If you are in that type of situation now, use it to your advantage. It is often a motivator to move on, to change, to grow, to move beyond where you are that may be holding you back or hurting you.
We often think of people in our past or even current life that was or is such a negative influence but they are often the reason we may move into a better place, so in a way they were a positive catalyst in our lives.
Don’t lose hope. It will get better.
We all started somewhere doing something.
We were beginners, rookies at our job or hobby.
Over time as we continue to work at our job or hobby we continue to get better.
One day after a number of years we may even become experts.
It takes time and no one at the beginning should be afraid to ask questions and their leadership should understand that.
Leaders mentor so the next group of people will become experts.
Experts though should refresh their knowledge from time to time and also learn something new from time to time.
There is always something to learn.
Experience alone, just like training alone, does not mean you have learned to do x, y, z.
We all experience things differently. We each learn from training/coaching differently.
In the end what is important is the evaluation of experience and training to ensure it was processed correctly.
If not, both may lead to different outcomes than expected.
Experience alone, just like training alone, does not mean you have learned to do x, y, z.
We all experience things differently. We each learn from training/coaching differently.
In the end what is important is the evaluation of experience and training to ensure it was processed correctly.
If not, both may lead to different outcomes than expected.
No matter the age, the position in business or life, the years of experience in a given field, there is room to learn and grow.
It is of course easier to teach those younger as they are easier to mold than those older, but we should remain open minded and willing throughout life.
Whether it is continually learning within your field of work, or trying something new, it is important to maintain our minds as we age.
Too often we get stuck in a rut in life, or going through the motions at work and don’t look to improve.
We are unwilling to open up to other’s ideas, even if they are meant to be an improvement.
We too often put up blinders, or simply think everything is fine even when it may not be.
Getting other thoughts on matters may enlighten us and not hinder.
Be more open to ideas at times as it may benefit you. Work or at home, it doesn’t matter.
Here is a suggestion.
For those who train, whether internal or to a lot of people outside their department-like Quality, Safety, HR, Property, Finance, Environmental, etc., try to automate your training when possible.
We can’t always be on site in person. We don’t always have the time to juggle training events. Create videos of your training so they can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Videos of training reviewing slides, processes, or systems give people a visual, and something to listen to, which is better than just reading something. Hands on training can always come into the equation later if needed.
It’s even better if you have a system to capture training that employees can use at any time. Companies should give the opportunity for employees to learn when they can, whether it gives a certificate or not.
You have to think smart in this case as we can only get stretched in so many directions each day as a trainer.
While it is important to ensure training on the operational processes, safety and even the quality system is conducted, it is even more important to ensure it is done right.
Signing a training sheet after reading something, or sitting through a class does not mean the information was absorbed.
It takes the leadership to shadow the employees after training to ensure the material is followed. This gives an opportunity to monitor the process for potential improvement but also guide and mentor employees as needed.
Far too often in my experience leadership moves to immediately pin a nonconformance on an employee, even before root cause analysis.
Come to find out there is either no process in place, or there is no documented training. Even if there is, was it effective?
Employee failure should not be the go to root cause as most often it is the process or lack of process that failed.
Additionally, training is not a preventative measure as it does not eliminate or control anything. It is often a bandage for when little effort is taken in root cause analysis.
It can be 1 action taken, but alone it is weak. We are all but human and we forget things, make errors and are fallible.
There are plenty of choices to offer as a company to assist employees. Company training, whether for new hires or existing employees, is key to their success. From quality to safety, HR and finance, job specific, to need to know for regs, a program in place online or in person is critical. There are also plenty of options for employees to use outside of work if motivated. We each learn in our own way, and training is only as good as both the trainer and trainee.
Learn, grow, and be teachable, but watch who you take advice from.
Think of the 1% rule.
Aim to get just 1% better or learn one new thing each day. The compound effect over a year is staggering. It doesn’t really take that much effort too. I have had people say that taking an hour a day is too difficult, but that is why it is important to look at what you do spend your time on in the 24 hours we get each day.
What are some ways to do that?
Listen to a podcast while you commute to work. Turn drive time into learning time. Listen to a podcast on leadership, history, or a new language instead of the same music playlist.
Subscribe to a few newsletters in your field or a topic you’re curious about. Skim them with your morning coffee or tea. Just one idea per week is a win.
The fastest way to learn is to teach. Explaining a concept to someone else solidifies your own understanding. Likewise, asking a knowledgeable, experienced colleague how they would handle a situation is a powerful learning opportunity.
Embrace the fact that you do not know everything. The next time you’re in a meeting and someone uses an acronym or concept you don’t understand, instead of nodding along, ask them to briefly explain that so you understand. You’ll learn something instantly, and others likely will, too. Far too often we don’t because we are embarrassed, we don’t know.
Spend two minutes at the end of the day asking yourself a couple things.
- “What did I learn today?”
- “What would I do differently next time?”
This turns daily experience into lasting knowledge.
Continuous learning keeps your mind agile, makes you more adaptable to change, and opens doors to opportunities you can’t yet see. It’s the ultimate personal investment with a guaranteed return.
Happiness
Remember that no matter what we do in life we will not please everyone.
What we do, say, or write may be loved by a majority but hated by others.
There is nothing we can do about it. If you try to please everyone, you will end up pleasing no one and simply stressing yourself out.
Don’t stress it.
Learn and grow from objective, useful opinions from people close to you, as well as failures and wins.
Ignore the haters.
Keep moving forward.
We are all human beings. While there are some professions and positions that elicit more expected respect and certain etiquette than others, we should all understand that we are all people.
I have always believed that whether you are the janitor or the CEO, you should be treated the same, fair and humanly.
We are all at varying aspects/levels of our lives, our careers and while you may be on top now, that may not be the case for long.
If you allow ego and title/position to influence how you treat people, especially for the worse, you shouldn’t be in that position. You should be able to be spoken with as a human regardless of position and title.
If folks are afraid to give you an opinion, or facts on a situation, something needs to be reevaluated if it is because of how, they perceive you will respond.
Just my thoughts.
Is there a difference between a nice person and a good person?
They are often seen as the same, but there are some differences.
Often being nice may simply mean being polite, not causing waves and seeking approval from those around them, especially leadership.
Being good embodies deeper virtues that we should strive for such as having integrity and working toward making a positive impact on those around us daily.
Often being nice will be seen as a push over while being good looks to take responsibility for actions and activities they are involved in and ensure they hold to positive principles. It may mean holding up the ideal of justice and simply what is right, whether at work or in personal life. That can sometimes take sacrifices.
Treat those around you with decency, no matter their position in life. Work or in your personal life, it shouldn’t matter.
We are all going through something each day.
Acts, good and bad, can have a lasting effect. Titles, in many cases, are temporary and have no lasting impact. What we do while we have then is what matters.
Regardless of the industry and position you are currently working in; whether it is Quality, Safety, HR, IT, Property, Supply, Contracts, Finance and more in either Manufacturing or Services, you should be treated well as anyone else should.
Treat people how you wish to be treated falls on deaf ears until it affects you. When people are treated well, the business will succeed, and our personal lives will become more enriched.
Focusing on Quality especially when everyone is involved, whether in the workplace or life in general, will provide what is expected effectively and efficiently making everyone’s life a little bit better.
No matter what we do we will never please everyone, get along with everyone and see eye to eye with those in our personal and work lives.
We may try but it may not be an us problem. You can reach out, mend fences, be civil, but still not get the same back.
There may be a reason, there may not be. Some people clash no matter what the circumstance. Personalities.
I have been fortunate to get along with most people at work I have been around for the decades I have worked, but there will always be outliers.
If there are more than just outliers, it may in fact be a you problem and not an everyone else problem.
Egos may be a factor. Self-preservation could be another.
If these and other reasons cannot be surmounted, it may be best to walk away from the situation, especially if it is damaging your health.
We should all want to get along, to learn a bit about each other. It certainly doesn’t hurt, and it contributes to a healthier work environment for everyone to be successful in.
There are times to care more about your opinion than others. As with everything, it is a balance of advice and opinions from within and from the outside.
Relationships are what drive us to success, even if we aren’t aware of it.
For introverts it can be especially difficult to form relationships and unlike when we are kids, adults have a much more challenging time.
We can all be difficult and there will be times we can’t stand one another for a given reason, but whether at work or in our personal lives, relationships are what drives us to be successful.
Even though some may think they reach a position on their own merits, they need to understand that on their journey they had help here and there.
As we all start somewhere we were given a chance by someone to get that start. It is important to understand that and be grateful for the opportunities and remember to return the favor down the road.
It is important to remember that we are all human, all fallible and all need help from time to time. Be open to help, to change as needed and to support and mentor those when we can.
We find happiness along the way with the people we meet and the tasks we undertake. Just don’t forsake happiness for either people or tasks/jobs.
Being too nice, unlike what you may think, can be bad and can affect yours and others happiness. There needs to be a middle ground reached between being too difficult and a pushover. Neither is desirable the majority of the time but may have their places.
This may be a controversial thought, but as I have gotten older and more experienced, I have moved away from my previous perfectionist mindset.
With the amount of work on our plates, mistakes are bound to occur. In business it is important to act and not delay actions/actions/decisions due to the attempt at perfection.
While there will be plenty of jobs that require precision, especially in medical, engineering, nuclear sectors, plus more, the vast majority in the business world do not have lives hanging in the balance.
Balance speed with quality.
Until AI, machine learning and robots take over our jobs, tasks and activities, we humans will continue to make mistakes, even after they take over. We are imperfect and we need to understand that. While it is important to learn from our mistakes and improve upon what we do, we should also not beat ourselves and others up when they occur.
A typo in an email or report is not the end of the world. Also, as much as the world seems to be going toward AI and machine learning, they are still imperfect as they are learning from us.
Let’s learn and improve together and not beat each other over the head for the mistakes that will inevitably occur. This in turn will create a happier place for everyone.
In business, a balance sheet provides a snapshot of health by showing assets, liabilities, and equity. What if we applied this to our personal lives? It’s a way to take stock of where you truly stand.
Here’s an example of personal balance sheet for lifelong well-being.
Assets (What You Own That Adds Value)
These are your resources. The goal is to grow them.
1. Health Capital.
Your physical and mental well-being.
Examples are regular exercise, quality sleep, a nutritious diet, strong emotional resilience, annual check-ups.
2. Relationship Equity.
The strength and depth of your connections.
Examples are a supportive partner, trusted friends, strong family bonds, a reliable professional network.
3. Knowledge & Skills Inventory.
Your intellectual property.
Examples are formal education, practical skills, hobbies, continuous learning, lessons learned from past mistakes.
4. Financial Reserves. Your monetary security.
Examples are savings, investments, a manageable debt-to-income ratio, a budget.
Liabilities (What Weighs You Down)
These are your drains and obligations. The goal is to manage and reduce them. Some of these are easier than others to put a number to.
1. Stress Debt.
The cumulative toll of chronic pressure.
Examples are overwork, constant worry, financial strain, toxic relationships, poor work-life balance.
2. Negative Habit Loans.
High interest drains on your energy and potential.
Examples are procrastination, negative self-talk, poor diet, substance abuse, holding grudges.
3. Relationship Liabilities.
Connections that cost you more than they give.
Examples are one-sided friendships, toxic family dynamics, unresolved conflicts.
4. Ignorance Liability.
The cost of not learning and adapting.
Examples are updated skills, closed-mindedness, repeating the same mistakes.
Your Life Equity (Your Net Worth)
This is the final calculation. It’s the value you have built for yourself.
Life Equity = Total Assets – Total Liabilities
A positive and growing equity means your assets are outweighing your liabilities. You are building a resilient, fulfilling life. You have the resources to handle challenges.
A negative or shrinking equity is a warning sign. Your liabilities are draining your energy and potential, leaving you vulnerable.
How to Conduct a Life Audit.
1. List Your Assets. Be honest. What are your true strengths and resources?
2. Face Your Liabilities. Write down what’s holding you back. Don’t ignore them.
3. Analyze the Gap. Is your equity positive? Is it growing?
4. Create an Action Plan. Invest in Assets.
- Schedule time for exercise, call a friend, read a book, contribute to your savings.
- Pay Down Liabilities.
- Apologize to mend a relationship, seek therapy for stress, replace a bad habit with a good one.
You are the CEO of your life. Manage your life’s balance sheet wisely.
Make investments that yield long-term happiness and resilience, and work diligently to settle your debts to yourself.
Your future well-being depends on the decisions you make today.
Is it true that we tend to lose happiness, joy and wonder as we grow older? It can certainly feel that way. It feels as though we are expected to let certain things go as we move from childhood to adulthood.
In childhood our wonder and joy maybe seeing everything as new, exciting with a curiosity moving to a life of increased responsibilities, dealing with complex problems, and the world around you are losing the novelty you had when young. Unfortunately, life can leave us jaded, something else that changes as we move away from childhood.
It is important to try and find the small and simple joys in life when we can. Stay curious. Stay joyful.
Our thoughts can make or break our day and affect the quality of our lives, all internally, regardless of outside interference. Don’t allow it because you have the power.
Personal Issues
Jumping to conclusions is some extra exercise for those who like it.
All it does is cause conflict, confusion and misunderstand. None of these are good and rarely needed.
There are plenty of these types of extra exercises that are not beneficial so stick with the traditional exercises.
And stick with facts as facts are the best to go by when making decisions. Best alternate many times when possible is simply ignore the scenario instead of assuming.
On the flip side of the coin, there may be situations people put themselves into that open themselves to these types of exercises from others. Stay clear of that.
There are times when issues creep up, whether at work, or in our personal lives.
Ignoring those issues can have a detrimental effect on ourselves, our colleagues, friends and family.
We can lose employee morale, team cohesiveness, Client/Customers business if issues are ignored by sweeping under the rug or not being handled timely and effectively.
It is important to get into a proactive state instead of running around constantly putting out fires.
Working openly and diligently with everyone involved will get the issues solved the right way and keep morale up. Ignoring concerns or not involving people will only set things back in the workplace.
Think fire prevention and not firefighting.
Although at times it may be difficult, especially during challenging situations and down times, be thankful for what you do have. Help those around you when you can and find those moments of happiness and joy in life.
It is important to remember that everyone has different levels of threshold tolerance regarding stress and pain.
We can’t treat everyone equal in this. It is often case by case at work and our personal lives.
A blanket statement or action will leave someone out and frustrated further.
Everyone goes through something negative at some point in their lives, often many times over the span of a lifetime.
It is important to understand that and understand that people are not robots.
I always heard the saying to leave your home life at the door, but for most people we cannot divorce our personal life from our work life. It is not that easy. To say that it is, is a serious lack of empathy.
Treating people kindly is free in life. You never know what each person you meet is going through. Being kind to a person could make their day.
There are times where the way we think alone could cause us to fail, never mind outside influences.
It’s important to understand why we may be thinking the way we are and find solutions to remove it from our lives. It is rarely easy and will require time and sometimes even a new environment.
Jealousy and envy are more negatives that at times permeate our lives. We all succeed at life, whether our personal or professional lives differently and at different times. Don’t let others positions or stature in life deter you from achieving your own.
Certainly, don’t allow your work life or home life sour because of what others have that you may not have now. Your time will come if you work for it.
Jealousy and ego.
It can be easy to happen to us, but it can cause harm to not just ourselves but others.
There are plenty of times competition can be healthy, driving us to better ourselves and succeed. You see it in the sports world, as an example.
In business, competition can drive teams and companies apart as jealousy and ego will not bring people together but alienate each other.
This world is big, even though at times can feel small. There are people online, and off, all preaching about best business practices and talking about Quality, Safety, HR, Procurement, IT and so much more.
For me, I encourage it. The more the merrier. The more people talking about the positives, as well as challenges in their sector and business, situations may turn around for the better.
You’d be surprised at how many people still don’t know about topics such as quality, safety and more. Although we may feel drowned out or repetitive in our posts or books, if even one person learns something new, it is an accomplishment.
It is up to us to educate the current and next generation of employees, leaders and people in general. This is vital in business as the more subject matter experts within a company working together will only strengthen the business for its client/customer.
That should be what matters.
While it is important to remember the past and plan parts of your future, don’t let either take away from your present and those around you.
J Buzzard- Tired QA Guy 
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