Hindsight is 20/20

Do you think about the choices that you make and the things that you do? Of course you do, we all do. We want to make the best possible choices that we can. So, we review the facts and weigh our options before making any big decisions. But somehow we still often end up with different results than what we were shooting for. Nobody gets it all right the first time.

 

Why is that? Sometimes there are options that we don’t see when we are putting all of the data together. Or other times people don’t act the way we had expected them to. Simply put, we can’t possibly know what the best possible option is without knowing every single little detail that could possibly come to play in a given scenario. And since there are so many different variables in every circumstance, that is practically impossible.

 

Once the moment we are preparing for has passed however, everything is set in stone. It has already happened. Then the choice that we should have made becomes ultra clear. That is the reason for the saying hindsight is 20/20. We can see with perfect clarity of vision exactly what we should have done.

 

But it’s already in the past. What good is that? Click here to read on and find out.

Interrogatives ftw

My son and I were playing in the living room around 2:30 this afternoon when one of the other denizens of the house came out from her room. It was obvious from her appearance that she had just woken up. I offered a bright and cheerful “Good morning!”. She mumbled something noncommital, got a drink from the kitchen and went back into the other room. My statement was intended to acknowledge her presence, greet her, indicate that it was nice to see her, share how my day was going so far, wish positive things upon her, and to just be friendly in general.

 

After she had gone I started to think about the interaction. I am very direct and tend to say exactly what I mean. It is possible,though, that she thought I was being sarcastic. After all it was no longer morning. And if it was no longer morning perhaps the well wishing was not sincere either. Another thought that crossed my mind, was to wonder if she thought I was judging her in some way for only now starting her day when everyone else had already been up for hours.

 

Sometimes small events like this end up causing enormous problems down the road because you take one thing away from the conversation and the other person takes something completely different out of it. And one or both of you make decisions and choices based on your side of the story that cause you to make things even worse without even really trying to.

 

With me so far? Read the rest of my post here

Sauce day

I woke up today and decided that I was going to go out and get the supplies to make tomato sauce. Tomorrow night, for dinner, we are having home made marinara sauce, angel hair pasta, meat balls, garlic bread and Italian sausage.

 

I haven’t made this particular meal in a couple of years and around here it’s somewhat legendary. It is a fan favorite amongst all who have ever tried it. And I personally love it. But it takes me eighteen hours to three days to make, depending on whether or not I start out with fresh tomatoes instead of canned. So, I almost never go through the effort.

 

What is funny about that is I am always saying I am gonna make it again soon. And I have tried to talk myself into it several times over the last few months. Not today though. I woke up and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was going shopping and that once I got the supplies, I was setting to work making this awesome food. It kind of a amazes me how this sudden desire came out of the clear blue and I am still wondering about it.

 

Why now? Why today? Click here to read more

Involuntary command

People say leadership takes great skill, but it isn’t really true. Not if you know what leadership really is. Another thing that people say is that there are two kinds of people, followers and leaders. And this is not really true either.

 

Being a leader is about living your life in a way that others wish to emulate it. When you are making choices and decisions that others wish to emulate, they follow you. When others live their lives in a way that you wish to have your life run, you follow them. Being a leader does not require any skill whatsoever. And during the course of your life, as you observe others and others observe you, you will naturally and quite often rapidly shift from being one to being the other.

 

Great men throughout history were not great because they had legions of worshipful admirers. They were great because the choices that they made and actions that they took resonated positively with those around them.  Jesus, Gandhi, William Wallace, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, in fact all historical leaders and successful public figures have led their lives in ways that others wanted to be like them. Very few if any ever set out specifically to amass a following. They simply said and did the things that they felt needed saying and doing, and the masses arrived anyway.

What does this have to do with your personal life? Click here to find out.