Do you know those things you're supposed to do, things that are good for you that you avoid? For many children, it's eating vegetables or studying math. For me, it is making contact with people. Left to my own devices, I would mostly avoid people and try to focus inward, that's my default.
Why do we choose bad habits over good ones? Why do we eat gummy bears when there are string beans in the house? Why do we watch reality TV when you can read any piece of classical literature on demand, for free? I'm not preaching, I'm more guilty of this than you are, almost guaranteed. How does each decision shape who we are over a lifetime or over a month? And is the decision shaping us, or are we already pretty much etched in stone and imposing ourselves on each decision?
I don't know the answers. I know that our actions are how others come to know us. By watching the individual and summary choices we make, those around us–or friends, our families, our colleagues, our neighbors–get to know who they perceive us to be. When we avoid the things that are good for us, the conflict is probably not visible or apparent to those outside of our skulls. Some choices are only for us.
Listening back to this conversation, I can hear the benefit of enriching conversation in real time. Mark Pollard, CEO of Mighty Jungle and author of Strategy is Your Words, joins me for his second appearance on The Strategy Inside Everything. I think you'll hear how much thought he put into every decision around the book, which is immediately clear when you see it. The detail of the cover alone would have paralyzed me for months, never mind the hundreds of pages within. I think you'll hear how much thought he puts into his word choice, and how much he's trying to understand who he is and who you might be. I think you'll hear two friends reconnecting after too long.
You can get the transcript here.
Strategy is your words with Mark Pollard.