Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE “The biggest risk to your future is not your competition. It’s the distractions you insist on keeping in your life rather than doing the things you know you should be doing… but aren’t. People delay doing what they don’t like for longer than it takes to do them.” Here a...
Category Archives: Self Awareness
7 Dirty Words-The Final Word: Moving Beyond the Seven Dirty Words to Flourish
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction: Congratulations, you’ve made it through the Seven Dirty Words series! Throughout this journey, we’ve explored how innocuous words like Should, Always, Never, Except, Must, Just, and Only subtly influence our thinking, and subsequently our behavior. These tiny rhetorical gremlins quietly restrict thinking, reinforce limiting beliefs, and keep us stuck....
7 Dirty Words Part 4: Stop Shrinking Yourself: Break Free from “Just” and “Only”
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “I’m just a nurse.”“I only helped a little.”“I just followed the plan.” At first glance, these phrases seem harmless, maybe even humble. But when we overuse “just” and “only,” they become powerful tools of self-diminishment. These two small words quietly undermine accomplishments, erode confidence, and distort reality by making meaningful contributions...
When a deep injury is done to us…
Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE Remember… sometimes the person you most need to forgive for inflicting that injury is yourself. Categories
7 Dirty Words Part 3: Disarming Your Inner Critic by Breaking Free from “Except” and “Must”
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “I did well, except for that one mistake.”“I must get this perfect, or I’ve failed.” Sound familiar? Although these statements might seem harmless, they have our next two of the seven dirty words. “Except” and “Must” are red flags for self-sabotage. In this post we’ll not only...
7 Dirty Words Part 2: The Trap of Absolutes: How “Always” and “Never” Limit Your Thinking
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Always” and “Never”: Opposites That Work the Same Way “They always leave me out.” “I’ll never be good enough.” At first glance, “always” and “never” might seem like opposites. One declares constancy, while the other implies impossibility. Yet, these words share a common function: they are absolutes...
Concept: What if I did the opposite?
Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE If everyone is defining a problem or solving it one way and the results are subpar, this is the time to ask… “What if I did the opposite?” Don’t follow a model that doesn’t work. If the recipe sucks, it doesn’t matter how good a cook you are. ~Tim Ferriss...
Stop Shoulding All Over Yourself: 7 Dirty Words Part 1
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Take control of the “Shoulds”: Aligning Expectations with Reality In our introductory installment of “The seven dirty words” we discussed a general approach to building mindfulness and becoming aware of using the words. Our mindfulness exercise focused on assessing your personal energy level and emotional state preceding the...
Something to consider the next time you see behavior you do not understand…
Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE Categories
Your problem is you are driven by a fear of insufficiency and you are hoping that the next thing will be THE answer…
Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE How do I know? Because… You have already achieved goals you said would make you happy. Read that again… YOU have already achieved goals YOU said would make YOU happy. So… How can you presume that your happiness sits on the other side of your next set of goals given...