#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #routines #RoutinesThatPayOff
Much has been made about the loss of routine during the pandemic.
Many articles feature tips on how to get one’s routine back, once COVID-19 disappears.
Sure, we want our kids back in school. We want to be able to go to weddings and other gatherings. We may want to go to parties and other friendly assemblies.
But did we have a job we really want to go back to? Certainly, we want income back that may have been missing during the coronavirus spread, but is that job the best way for us to get it?
Routine is a word that has two edges. The first edge gives us a sense of normalcy. We get used to doing things in a certain way, in a certain order to give us a sense of contentment.
The second edge gives us a sense of doing the same thing over and over – year after year, day after day. No changes. We feel obligated to do things that way, perhaps because we were taught to do it a certain way.
That first edge – normalcy – may be something we all want.
The second edge –obligation – may be something we don’t want.
If we have to accept the second edge to gain the first, is that really OK?
What if your routine never fulfills your dreams? Sure, contentment may mean pleasant survival, but, as the Peggy Lee song says, “Is That All There Is?”
Maybe you’re a person who wants something more from life. Maybe, pleasant survival will not get you what you want. Maybe, there is something out there that will help you get everything you want.
Indeed, there are many programs out there that allow anyone, regardless of education, experience or background, to have the chance to get what he or she wants.
Such a person needs to be open-minded, willing to look at something he or she may never have thought they would do. And, if he or she sees those dreams stand in front of them and takes the plunge he or she then has to be coachable. Yes, there may be a routine they have to follow. But, the payoff will be so worth it.
If you are such a person, and are willing to check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Military, law enforcement and other professions not only thrive on, but require routine. These routines have been proved to get the desired results. You may have had – or still have – a job that requires routine. Such routines may be dreaded. Others may be comfortable, even fun. Others may be completely necessary.
The question you have to ask is whether the routine you are in, or seem to want to go back to, gives you the payoff you really want? Some will. Some won’t.
If your previous routine isn’t giving you the payoff you want, why would you want to go back to itr?
Certainly, employers shake up routines for no good reason. Job descriptions often change from what you were allegedly hired to do. They may have a reason for these shakeups, but you don’t see it. And, just as you get used to the new routine, it gets shaken up again.
It may be time to find a routine that not only works for you, but also gets you closer to your dreams. You may have been discouraged from dreaming as a child, because those dreams were deemed unattainable for you. Those same discouragers may have, at the same time, encouraged you to find the security of routine.
Since then, you may have learned that those routines disappear before you want them to, regardless of a pandemic.
In short, dream. And, know that those dreams can come true if you find the routine that pays off for you.
Peter
Monthly Archives: September 2020
GOOD LEADERS POSITION THEMSELVES TO BE LUCKY
#luck #leaders #leadership #success
You need luck to be a leader.
Though many people might quarrel with that statement, David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group private equity firm, told that to Fareed Zakaria on Zakaria’s GPS program on CNN Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020.
Rubenstein has interviewed many leaders of all styles in his research.
But let’s break this down a little more. Many would dispute that people who are leaders, who do well in life, are lucky. They also would dispute the opposite – that those that do not do as well are unlucky?
Rubenstein also believes leadership is a skill that can be learned.
If that’s the case, those willing to learn to be leaders just need to work at it. Luck really would have nothing to do with it.
You’ve heard others say that they would rather be lucky than good. If you are an amateur golfer, for instance, and you sink a long putt, you might consider yourself lucky.
But good luck is more than just carrying four-leaf clovers, a rabbit’s foot or some other charm.
Good luck is acquired, in general, by those willing to put themselves in position to get it.
How does one do that? It requires an open mind. It requires a person to look at things that may seem out of their comfort zone, and take a shot at them. You take enough shots at good things, and you will probably get lucky more often than not. Also, you can take multiple shots at ONE good thing and probably get lucky enough to keep you in the game.
Regular gamblers get lucky often enough to keep them coming back to the table. They also have the mind-set that losing – even losing often – goes with the territory. You might look at that as a failing forward strategy, though gambling might not be the best vehicle to do that.
That brings us to the topic of risk vs. luck. It would be difficult to find a real leader, or successful person, who didn’t take risks. One never gets to the top of the mountain by playing it completely safe, just as one doesn’t get rich with simply a savings account in a bank. He or she may start off with a savings account, but, eventually, for wealth to grow at a reasonable pace, he or she has to invest in things that may carry more risk.
It’s the person who takes calculated risks as opportunities arise that becomes successful. It’s the successful person who helps others succeed that becomes a leader.
Rubenstein points out that leaders come in various styles. In general, though, real leaders will, as the saying goes, know the way, go the way and show the way.
Do you consider yourself a leader? Are you willing to learn to be a leader? If so, do you have a vehicle that can propel you to the leadership you want to provide?
If what you are doing now doesn’t suit that scenario, there are many programs out there that can allow you to become a leader, regardless of your education, experience or background. As stated earlier, you may have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone to check out these programs.
If you are, and want to check out one of the best such programs, message me.
In short, luck doesn’t just always just happen. More often, people put themselves in position to become lucky. To win, you have to be willing to play.
Successful people don’t just settle for contentment. Instead, they go for what they really want.
It’s also been said that good things come to those who wait. But, more than likely, if you are waiting and doing nothing to change things, good things will not come as quickly.
But if you are consistently doing things that put you in a position for good things to come to you, they likely will come more rapidly, and more often.
Peter
PANDEMIC MAY HAVE TAUGHT US GOOD HABITS
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #FoodWaste #food
In the early day of the conornavirus pandemic, many of us were outraged at farmers throwing away crops, milk and other food just as many lost jobs and would eventually need help feeding their families.
But, as restaurants closed and distribution was disrupted, farmers could neither sell nor store their crops.
In normal times, however, most food waste is generated from households. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that consumers might throw away 30 to 40 percent of the food they buy. So says an article by Rachael Jackson for the Washington Post. It was also published Sept. 2, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
But, as the article says, the pandemic is causing us to change our cooking habits.
“Perhaps, hesitant to risk virus exposure at the store, you have improvised more meals from whatever the fridge offered,” Jackson writes. “Or, (you) started doing inventories of your pantry and shopping with targeted lists. And, amid tightening finances, you may have eaten something past its ‘best by date, or frozen vegetables before they turned to mush,” she continues.
If enough of those habits stay with you, we may cut into the amount of food we waste, the article says.
So, the pandemic has us doing things differently. In addition to wasting less food, we are saving more money. Those two behaviors blend together well.
Therefore, we would like those behaviors to continue, wouldn’t we?
Staying at home has given us time to think. Among the thoughts undoubtedly is how best to improve our lives even when the pandemic goes away – which probably won’t be anytime soon.
Staying home gives us time to take stock of what was good about our lives, and what was not so good. Even if we are able to go back to the old way, do we really want to?
Was the job that perhaps the pandemic took away worth getting back? If so, will it come back? If not, what to do next?
Fortunately, there are many programs out there that enable a person to earn an income without the benefit, or headaches, of a W-2 job. And, technology allows many of these programs to be done from home, should another pandemic – or other disaster – return.
Anyone, regardless of education, background or experience can do these things. You just have to be coachable, and, more importantly, open to checking them out in the first place.
If you are, and want to learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, as you continue to contemplate your life, don’t just look at the bad things the pandemic has wrought. Look at the good things you have done to live with, and through, it.
A successful vaccine may be the only solution to this crisis. Hopefully, one will be found as soon as it is scientifically possible. Let’s hope we don’t offer a vaccine before it is thoroughly tested.
The lessons from Jackson’s article are many. Buy only what you will eat within the time it is edible. Congruently, eat what you buy within that time.
If you have to throw food away, think before you throw. Think of your friends who may have lost their jobs and are struggling to eat. Think of how else you might use that food.
It may mean more trips to the store. If the pandemic is still on, don’t forget to mask up.
Often, things happen for a reason, though we may not know the reason immediately. The pandemic has taught us some better habits. Let us continue them.
Peter
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #LaborDay #EssentialWorkers
“The metro (Atlanta) area alone has about 300,000 workers in retail and sales jobs, 250,000 people doing food-related work, 16,000 police officers and 8,000 emergency medical technicians and dispatchers,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And, we take them for granted.
That was the main point in the Labor Day article by Michael E. Kanell, business and economics reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was published Sept. 7, 2020.
“They have no choice. If your employer says, ‘Go back to work,’ you have to do it,” the article quotes Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, who has studied the labor market.
During the beginning of the pandemic, some of these workers were getting hazard pay. Much of that has ended, the article says.
Basically, these necessary workers who have to be out there regardless of the susceptibility to disease are overworked, underpaid and undervalued, the article points out. We might put school bus drivers in that category as well. They have lots of responsibility, but generally get paid very little.
Yes, as Kanell writes, Labor Day is a celebration of blue-collar labor. But as necessary as these folks are, many of the higher-paid white-collar workers got to work from home, protected from the pandemic.
And, these lower-paid, necessary workers also enjoy fewer benefits and protections in many places, Kanell writes.
“Each and every day going into work, you feel at risk,” Kanell quotes longtime supermarket worker Mary, who didn’t want to give her full name out of fear of retribution. “They make the schedule. And if you are on the schedule, you work,” the article quotes her.
Many of us can relate to hard work. Many of us can relate to having to go to work regardless of weather, job hazards etc. The pandemic adds a colossal risk to the workplace.
You could not only catch it yourself, but also spread it to anyone who lives with you or near you. Though you may not get noticeably sick, someone close to you, particularly if they have other underlying health problems, could catch the virus from you and get terribly ill – or die.
The pandemic gives new meaning to at-risk employee.
Still, many of those employees love their jobs. They want to help people, regardless of the conditions.
And, some employers, who may want to pay them more, simply cannot afford to. The traditional job market can be very unfair. Still, many of us have to work – period.
But what if there were something out there you could do that wouldn’t have to put you at risk, and paid you potentially a lot more than a risky job would? What if you didn’t need any significant education, experience or background to do it? What if you could do it around your current job, until it came time that you didn’t need your current job?
There are many such programs out there. To learn about one of the best, message me.
We are thankful that our essential workers are doing what they are doing for us, regardless of what may – or may not — be in it for them. All we can do is thank them, be nice to them – regardless of the encounter – and respect them.
They help us get the necessities of life, and some of them do not have the pandemic protections they should have. Many, like meat packers, HAVE to work shoulder-to-shoulder, and are at great risk of spreading disease.
Our lives depend on their labor. Happy Labor Day.
Peter