Join thousands of people starting their week on a positive note. Every Sunday afternoon, I send out an upbeat idea to set you up for the week ahead.
Who doesn't like scrambled eggs?
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Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday I send you a thought to turbo charge Monday. Today is mother's day here in the UK. This year was slightly different in that my mum has been staying at my house. This morning I had a plan that my mum would get up, I'd give her the flowers and gifts from her kids and grandchildren, and then I'd make her brunch. If I was a mum, that's exactly how I'd want the day to start. Kind, right? Well, sort of. It's just that it wasn't kind on both sides. When my mum got up, I explained the plan to her. I could see from her face that she wasn't that impressed. "scrambled eggs... Avocado...kimchi... Sour dough toast..." As I was saying it, I could tell what my mum was thinking. She doesn't really like any of those things. She wanted her Muller Light yoghurt, Weetabix and raspberries, exactly like she's had every morning for years. My mum, like many people, is very much a creature of habit. So I quickly abandoned the brunch idea. I made her a cuppa, she got the breakfast she wanted and we had a nice conversation over tea. And that's the difference between a kind thought and a kind act. The difference between treating people the way you want to be treated, and treating people the way THEY want to be treated. True kindness is where your impact matches your intent. So a little reminder: Not everybody likes scrambled eggs. Some people like adventure and relish change, others don't. Some people like a quiet life, others like to be the centre of attention. Some like to chat face to face, others prefer a quiet email. The better we get to know people, and the more open we are to pivot and change course, and the better chance we have of turning our ideas of kindness into actions that feel kind. We're all human. And humans are weird. That's what keeps life interesting. It also means sometimes our impact won't match our intent, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Have a great week, Graham PS - if you haven't got your copy yet, my book KIND: The quiet power of kindness at work is available from all good bookshops and the bad one. . |
Rev Up for the Week with Graham Allcott
Join thousands of people starting their week on a positive note. Every Sunday afternoon, I send out an upbeat idea to set you up for the week ahead.
Hi Reader, Specificity improves almost everything. When we write down to-do list items, our brains are lazy. We write down single words that are akin to the nags in our heads - "report", or "garage", or "conference". What we really need to get momentum is to get clear. And what we need to get clear is always two specific things: the next phyical action we need to take (with verbs and extra words so that our brains can picture it happening); and the desired project outcome ("how will we know...
Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week. A simple thought to help you power through the next few days. This week, I was listening to a radio phone-in and the question was "what do you want from a new Pope?". My first reaction was "what a strange question. Nothing much that I can think of..." I'm not Catholic (or religious generally) and it just struck me as such an alien thing. "How absurd to be worrying about something like that!", I caught myself thinking. And then... I remembered that...
Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday, I give you an idea to kick-start Monday. Today I want to share a couple of thoughts about AI. As you may know, I've been experimenting with AI for a while now, and my free AI coach has definitely been a useful way to get 'under the hood' of AI a little bit, and figure out where this stuff may be heading. As ever, there are two factors at play: the first is how the tech develops, and the second is how we, as humans, habitually,...