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Personal Mantras: Got one?
Merlin Mann | Jun 6 2005
Personal Mantras - 43FoldersWiki I’ve been digging the personal mantras that people have been adding to the wiki. It’s interesting to see the different approaches and interests people have been taking; for some it’s an affirmation, for others it’s a motto or creed, and for many it appears to be a persistent reminder about the right thing to do. My mantra—if you can call it that—is “Smaller, smaller.” It’s a principle more practical than spiritual, I suppose. I say it to myself several times a day to try and always remember that small things are easier to do than big things, and that most big things are really just a pile of small things if you break them up right. In real-world terms, “Smaller, smaller” means:
There’s been very few times that “Smaller, smaller” has done me wrong. No matter how ambitious a project, idea, or problem is, there’s usually a way to break into very small pieces. Anyhow, that’s mine. Got a personal mantra or motto of your own? Why’d you choose the one you did? (And, no, “I believe I’ll have another beer” probably doesn’t count.) 98 Comments
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 I used to work in...Submitted by Griff (not verified) on June 6, 2005 - 9:10am.
I used to work in a organization that was dominated by "crisis management." This state was so extreme, that seemed as if a crisis was created just to give focus on a daily basis. At this time my mantra was "doing nothing is always an alternative" in response to the crisis du jour. This actually served me well but required some discipline to ensure that I wasn't deciding to do nothing just to reduce my workload. I would use the saved time to actually focus on meaningful work which as a project leader meant planning, coordinating, and getting hands-on with implementations. Another way to look at this is that not every action deserves a reaction. I had another mantra that was catchier, "violence is always an option." My staff and colleagues liked saying it but it was never exercised, at least not to my knowledge. In retrospect, it seems like a passive-aggressive response to a poor management culture. It worked at the line-level but did little to truly change the situation or address the root causes. » POSTED IN:
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