The 6 Habits

So after all of the intro stuff I’ve posted thus far, we’re finally here at the take-away practices from this blog. I call them the Six Habits for Marginally Effective (yet Happy) People.  So here they are, in particular order:


1. Meet Yourself – Our effort is derived from our understanding of our own capabilities. By understanding our capabilities and limitations we can better align our efforts to what we have the capacity to achieve.

2. Set the Bar Low (and Barely Exceed the Bar) – Our effort is based on the need to meet other’s expectations. By committing to less we can actually ultimately please others (and ourselves) more.

3. Get a Smaller Plate – Our effort is based on our productivity-derived self-worth. By understanding that being busy does not equal being productive we can make sure the activities we do support the endstate.

4. Procrastinate – Our effort is based on our time management skills. By understanding the time required to complete a task we are freed from over analyzing, thinking, and stressing about the outcome.

5. Avoid the Machine – Our effort is based on our susceptibility to the allure of the perfect state. By understanding why we succumb to the self-help machine we can be much happier with the state we’re in.

6. Cage the Rage – Effort is based on our emotional state in achieving success. By understanding how “failure” affects us emotionally, we can reduce the stress we feel when perceiving certain outcomes.

The rest of the posts from here on out will be stories and examples that show the benefit of perfecting these habits. And I sincerely hope other’s share their examples as well. Next up: The Disclaimer.

But first, the…

Song of the Day
In honor of the passing of the legendary blues and boogie-woogie piano player, Pinetop Perkins, the song of the day is Pinetop Perkins’ “Mojo Workin’.”  Stick around if you can through the whole song, or at least check out around the 2 minute mark.  It's pretty amazing to see someone in their 90's jam.