Habit 9: Lifelong Learning from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series It’s funny. I actually thought the start of this headline was my own phrase. Not that no one else ever said it but it still felt “new” to me and then I came across where I most likely heard it before. When you stop learning you start…

Habit 8: Frugal, Giving, & Humble from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Money makes the world go round. So they say. There is certainly some truth to that. But don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s all about having more, spending more, and definitely not about flaunting what you have. Financial success is just as much about being…

Habit 7: Connect from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series This is currently my most out-of-balance area in life. Being a self-confessed workaholic used to make “Body & Mind” in the most need of focus but I have since found a good routine and momentum to both exercise daily and take the needed breaks to refresh my mind. This…

Habit 6: Positive Attitude from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Do you approach each day with positivity and gratitude? There is no doubt that many of us are bombarded with negativity every day. It is important to rise above that negativity and approach your day with a positive attitude. Having a positive mental attitude and embracing your current…

Habit 5: Take Action from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series It sounds simple, right? Captain Obvious is back again! Of course, you have to take action to reach your goals. They aren’t going to magically materialize without some effort on your part. Luck will certainly play a role in your success. More than most would like to admit…

Habit 4: Take Care of Your Body from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Captain Obvious here! I almost feel silly writing this post. Of course, you need to take care of your body! You only get one. We have been told this in one way or another our entire lives, yet many of us (yours truly…

Habit 3: Block Time to Relax from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Time Blocking Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time to complete everything in the day? You may be tempted to try and squeeze more into your already packed schedule, but this can lead to burnout. A better approach to your “Time Blocking” is…

Habit 2: Be Organized from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Organization is the act of grouping items into categories and purposefully arranging them. Being organized helps individuals to be more productive, efficient, and improves well-being, as it provides an overall structure for tasks, goals, and systems. The benefits of being organized include increased productivity, reduced…

An Occasional Newsletter February Self-Care: Taking Advantage of the Return of Daylight This week marked a few annual milestones / holidays. The pagan celebration of  Imbolc . The Catholic holiday of  St. Brigid’s day  or  Candlemas . And the U.S. version of all of this as  Groundhog Day . In the end, they are all about the returning…

Habit 1: Rise Early from The “Habits for Well-Being” Series We’ve all heard the phrase, “the early bird gets the worm.” But why is that? Is there something in the morning air that gives early risers an advantage over their night owl counterparts? It turns out, there is. Studies have shown that rising early can…

An Occasional Newsletter Wow, it’s 2023! Aren’t we supposed to have flying cars and floating cities by now? 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season. I disconnected in a major way and chased the sunshine which was a pretty big challenge this past month. No matter how far south I went it seemed…

The “Habits for Well-Being” Series Happy New Year! As we embark on the fresh start that this time of year brings, it’s important to recognize that new beginnings are not limited to the calendar or seasonal changes. We can start a new path any time we choose – and this post is dedicated to helping…

Aside from the element of luck, which tends to be overlooked by many that are far too full of themselves, there is strong evidence that cultivating certain habits can, at a minimum, increase the opportunity for “luck” and subsequent well-being. First and foremost is the need to switch to the term “well-being” instead of “success.”…

…Unhappiness is a choice. I can be MAD, furious, irate, fuming, agitated, exasperated, livid, incensed… I can be SAD, sorrowful, downcast, despondent, heartbroken, melancholy, mournful, pessimistic (usually more cynical than pessimistic), out of sorts… But I will not be Unhappy. Unhappiness is a choice. Unhappy is listed as a synonym for sad. I beg to…

An Occasional Newsletter Greeting Joysetters, The reflection of the week was, of course, gratitude, given that it was Thanksgiving this week. Happy Belated Thanksgiving, by the way. I hope you and yours had a great day full of joy, connection, reflection, and, yes, gratitude. As I reflected on all that I was grateful for, I…

How changing your perspective can increase your possibilities. ONE MOMENT AGO… …certainty reached its pinnacle point. Unless and until time travel is possible, it cannot be changed. The event is absolute in certainty. However, its impact on your NOW and future is still open to change. Even if time travel were possible, most would agree that…

An Occasional Newsletter Greetings Joysetters, Continuing my lifelong search for optimal time management, I reflected on Opportunity Costs this week. Every choice we make creates costs from the choice we didn’t make. These costs can be in the way of money and experiences, but mainly the cost of time. As I write this (and honestly…

The emotion of the moment, the latest challenge, and the latest fire drill come with significant opportunity costs. The simplest definition of opportunity costs is the time, money, and opportunity we spend and the cost of what we have given up with a decision or choice. What is the next best alternative to our current…

As I draft this post on October 31st, 2022, hopefully posting it on the same, I have a calm about me that accepts that I may not complete it and it may get posted a few days later. We have long crossed the Autumn Equinox or Mabon. Each day, we lose a little more light…

An Occasional Newsletter Greetings Joysetters, I am drafting this edition of The Journey Forward four days after publishing the last in hopes of meeting my goal of every other week. I feel that I should simplify the layout a bit for a few reasons. First, So that I can meet that goal, and second because…

Yes, it is a trick question. How do you define Best? Here is the online definition. The adjective and noun versions sound like they were written by Bill & Ted in a most excellent way. 🙂 On one hand; You Are Always Doing Your Best You are doing your best with the energy you can…

Bad Poems and Bad Calligraphy Series Among the many things I wish I would have learned or had the talent to do – poetry and calligraphy are near the top. I am horrible at both, but you can’t get better without trying and frankly putting it out there. I find myself fiddling with both on…

A letter of apology and gratitude to all. I neither know nor think that I know.in Plato, Apology 21d I first wrote this over 9 years ago and then edited and posted it on Medium a year ago. In a world of rapid change, I would expect there to be a need for major edits….

An Occasional Newsletter Greetings Joysetters, As I draft this newsletter, I am already falling short of weekly as expected in the last edition. I am on track for this to end up going out three weeks after the last which is an improvement over the previous gap of nearly a month. I’ll take it! A…

I am probably saying each of these reposts “is one of my favorites” too much, but this one is very likely my absolute favorite and so relevant to my life (and FRUSTRATIONS) still today. NOT JUST FOR TEENAGERS Yes, they desperately need to listen, hear it, and DO IT, but Teens are not the only…

Continuing the migration of older content from my original blog to this one I came across this oldy but goody. As I think back to what drove me to write this one (2011 or 2012) I can remember the exact “manager” that had me frustrated with their constant self-promotion and their self-serving promotion of one…

An Occasional Newsletter Greetings Joysetters, Notice the change in the subtitle from “Weekly” to “Occasional.” It will be almost a month since the last broadcast of The Journey Forward when I broadcast. I have to own that I cannot commit to putting this out weekly. I have been kidding myself. The Drill Sergeant in me…

Continuing my migration of posts to this new site I came across one of my favorite posts on leadership. It resonated well with me having recently completed my team’s annual reviews. In the discussion with one of my more “back room” team members, it became apparent to me that I was slipping a bit on…

This was my first post on my original blog back in 2010. It’s bittersweet to share here again. Bitter in that here we are 12 years later, and I am launching a revised website and still trying to develop consistency in my writing journey. The day job and life’s challenges have continuously shifted my time…

I first wrote “Loose Ends” back in December of 2011. I then reposted it on Medium in March of 2019. Here we are again nearly 11 years since its creation needing to post it again mostly to remind me of how much those nagging loose ends can get in the way of our journey. It…