If you’re like me, then managing email is a challenge. Productivity expert David Allen recommends the following backbone for managing email: create one folder labeled “@action” and one labeled “@waitingfor.”

One of the core principles of the ancient martial art of Aikido is Nen, loosely translated as “one-point.” If the center of a warrior’s body is anchored to the ground through a solid fighting stance, it is very difficult to knock him over. 

“The conversation is the relationship.” You might define a relationship differently, but in her book, Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott proposes that the essence of our relationships are the conversations we have.

In his work, On Christian Doctrine, St. Augustine says that although God could sanctify each individual directly without any intermediate causes, he prefers to use human instruments to work out our salvation. If we end up in heaven, our priests, friends, and families are real causes of our being there. 

It’s a great mystery; who you become is inextricably linked to who you know. How your life unfolds is greatly influenced by the people you are connected with.

Clay is a neutral medium—a three dimensional blank canvas. The amount of clay a sculptor uses and where he places it determines the beauty of the sculpture he creates. 

“Pressure is a privilege.” This famous quote by Billie Jean King seemed to be the theme of Wimbledon this year. It came up so frequently that my husband even used it in his toast at our daughter’s wedding in July. The idea is this: when we feel pressure, it’s because what we are doing has meaning.

“Do you think other people are better than you?” This was the question executive coach Chris North asked a participant during a workshop for the Meta Performance Institute. The person being asked replied, “Yes.” Shocking all of us, Chris responded, “How arrogant of you.”

Dopamine levels influence our behavior, but it also works the other way around: our behavior influences our dopamine levels. We can spike dopamine before the task, during the task, or after the task. And one of these times has a dramatically better effect.

Recently, a good friend of mine shared that one of the best professional mentors he ever had was a former boss who would ask him two questions during their weekly meetings about projects: 

1. When will you complete that by? 

2. Could you do it sooner?

A group of people stood at a scenic lookout. They peered down through the trees at a long stretch of the Shenandoah river and one of them said, “This would be a fantastic place for crew practice. It’s great because you’d get a chance to really work on something without having to stop and turn around.” 

It is easy to imagine mastery as the end of the road. A master has arrived—he has become the best he could possibly be. MLB pitcher R.A. Dickey offers a different take on mastery. (You can hear the full interview on which this article is based here.) During the first peak in his career, R.A. Dickey succeeded as a closer throwing a fastball. But as he aged his speed began to decline. He could have quit, but instead he reinvented himself as a knuckleball pitcher. 

As we move through life, we develop ways of being, beliefs, and behaviors that serve us in the particular stage we’re in. As toddlers, we might learn that throwing a tantrum gets us what we want. In elementary school, we discover that what worked while we were toddlers is no longer effective in our new environment. And so we adapt and grow into new ways of flourishing. Or at least we hope that’s what happens.