I am so diggin' the Optimalism vs. Perfectionism idea! I am a long-time perfectionist with a dedicated drive to accomplish things to my greatest ability. However, I have found that so much energy is spent on my concern for the finished product, that the actual "doing" becomes laborious. Shifting gears and considering myself an Optimalist instead, puts a whole different spin on doing my best work. It feels lighter and less anxiety related. I can live up to the standards of Optimalism. Funny, I always remind my clients to work toward goals that are attainable... guess the lesson is for me this time :-)
work smart, not hard... I'm with ya' on this! I've always felt like I was cheating by perusing instead of going cover-to-cover with books. I'm a little too ADHD to sit through a whole book... prob'ly why I don't read novels. I find the meat & potatoes are much more manageable in books than all the side dishes. Glad to see others who have had similar experiences.
My credit card has begun levitating out of my purse everytime I open my PN email for the day! Here's a little tip for ya'- gohastings.com is a vendor listed on amazon for many of the books we're covering. If you go straight to their site to order, it's typically cheaper than going through amazon. May wanna' just compare the prices just to see. I got the daVinci books for a total of $14 (book & workbook) from the gohastings.com site.
I don't know how many times I've listened to this particular note in the past year since I first subscribed to PN, but I NEVER heard the part about pulling key content out of books and perusing the book instead of sitting with it cover-to-cover being a good thing! I have always done this, especially in college/grad school for the sake of studying, which boded well for me. However, a little part of my subconscious always told me that I was "cheating" by not reading cover-to-cover. I am now realizing that many of my "work smart, not hard" habits are, perhaps not accepted widely by mainstream thinkers, but are highly accepted and even recommended by the gurus who came before us. Being a part of this community of "Finer Minds" is so amazing and I have been so drunk with knowledge for the past 13 days! I can definitely feel a shift occurring within my perception and perspective on my past, present, and future. I am now researching mind mapping and fully intend to add this tool to my bag of tricks!
We have a running joke in our family... my brother and I are both a tad ADHD, so we laugh at our tendency to switch gears at the drop of a hat or become distracted by "shiny things." Each time we are quickly diverted from our focus, we say, "Oh look! A squirrel!" We have made fun of squirrels because they're so quick to change course and are a little neurotic on the surface. Hehe... I have to say, this PN has given me a newfound appreciation for squirrels. Instead of perceiving them as neurotic and flighty, I will have to remember that they are merely lacking in cerebral cortex functioning, thus making them absolutely unafraid of pivoting, switching their tails, and taking off to the next task at hand.
Holy Cannoli! This was a fantastic exercise in digging deep, yet letting your subconscious flow into the realm of consciousness! The 100 questions proved to be an amazing challenge. I found the first 60 questions to come relatively easily. Once I reached question #80, we had a storm, which blacked out our neighborhood. So, I got to complete the exercise by candlelight, which was even more meaningful. Total darkness, with a glimmer of light sets a whole different mood whilst contemplating burning questions from within. Once I reached #90, I hit a wall. The last 10 were brutally slow, but once they emerged, proved to be some of the more poignant ones in the list. My sister, who is also doing this challenge, and I had a great exchange of ideas and shared our top 10 on the phone just now. I am so thankful for this process and also that I have someone who knows me so well to share this challenge with.
Here's to bringing our wildest dreams to fruition and exposing them to the world!
Cheers!
I agree, Brian... seems the more you emit those good vibes, the "psychic vampires" retreat to their caves. I like to think of it as "good energy garlic"- wards off the uglies. :-)
WOWZA!! I've heard this note several times in the past year since I first purchased them, but NEVER has this part jumped out at me like it did this time: "Every thought vibrates, every thought radiates a signal, and every thought attracts a matching signal back." This has really made me more mindful of my thoughts/words/actions, because not only do I absorb the energy around me, but I often forget that others are absorbing the energy that is flowing FROM me. I work with developmentally disabled clients, some of whom do not use words to express themselves, so I have to be extra careful how my energy is flowing when working with them. I have found that my energy frequency often has a bearing on their responses to me & their responses to my work with them, so it was very good to have this PN kick me back into full awareness of this very important concept. THANKS AGAIN, PN for kicking my booty back into shape :-)
PN 50 Day 3: I totally dig the idea of resting before you're tired. I think there is a perspective shift that really needs to occur in the way "hard work" is defined in our society. I am a big believer in "work smart, not hard," so the concept of resting before you're tired could really alleviate a lot of the burnout we feel on a regular basis. I also loved the Mind-Body connection he mentions. Plato was right-on when he said that you must treat the mind and body consecutively. Awesome Day #3! SO Glad to be a part of this challenge! Cheers!!
Read this book a couple of years ago and loved it... it's great to revisit it in this format and surrounded by such amazing peeps. I am stoked to confirm that I am, indeed, NOT Pavlovian!! I had forgotten about the quadrants. It was very timely for me to dig them back out of the bag of tricks. I applied this as soon as I got to the office this morning and voila! I tackled the icecap on the top of the mountain of small stuff that needed to be cleared from my mind. Hey, ya' gotta' start somewhere, right? SO ready for day #3! Gotta' go to quadrant 2 for a bit and change my ringtone on my phone alarm to play a happy tune when I wake up tomorrow morning. Cheers!
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