2019 ISSUE #3
I’VE KNOWN COMMUNICATION
EXPERTS with dysfunctional
relationships, professional speakers
who decline events because they are
horrified to go on stage, and time
management gurus who are late to
meetings. I’ve met renowned thought-
leaders who fabricate some of their
work to get published, and personal
change advisors who are terrified of
change.
Why is it so hard to live our values?
Why is it we can consume so much new
information and knowledge and yet
do nothing new in our daily life? We
watch TED talks about how the mere
presence of a smartphone on the table
between us detracts from the quality of
our conversation. Over 80% of us know
this, and yet we do it anyway.
We read studies on the importance of
grit and perseverance, and yet we are
quitting our jobs and hopping to new
opportunities at record levels because
we feel we aren’t making an “impact”
quickly enough to satisfy our ego.
We are constantly reminded that
multitasking is a myth and only leads
to decreased work quality, slower
learning, and decreased attention spans,
and yet we have numerous email and
message alerts active on our computers
and devices.
We know we can accelerate our
learning when we try new things at
work, and yet we go along with idiotic
ideas, hide our opinions, and mask our
true identities, because we are scared of
being fired, or are desperate to fit in.
We know that the quality of our sleep
is directly related to the quality of
our health and well-being, and yet we
take our smartphones to bed, and even
check them in the middle of the night.
And we know that the first five minutes
when we walk in the front door can set
the tone for the entire evening, and yet
11
VALUES
often our first reaction is dismay at the
mountain of dirty dishes in the sink.
That dismay is a mood killer.
SHAWN HUNTER
Excellence requires work, impact
takes time, leadership presence
requires being present, and meaningful
relationships need kind conversations.
Make it easier on yourself. The
expression “activation energy” was
coined 150 years ago by a chemist. The
term refers to the minimum amount
of energy required to stimulate an
interaction between available reactants.
In other words, we should minimize
the amount of energy it takes to get us
in motion and remove all the hurdles to
taking action that we can. If we want to
start jogging more, we should lay our
gear and our shoes by the bed before
we go to sleep. If we want to become
better public speakers, we need to block
off a doable amount of time — perhaps
thirty minutes each day — to actively
write and rehearse our material. And
if we truly want opinions and new
ideas at our meetings, we should make
our meetings psychologically safe for
honesty.
When we make it easy to begin
something, we lower the amount of
energy it takes to get started. And
if it takes less energy to get started,
we are more likely to do it. The slow,
intentional approach to learning
something new, overcoming fear, and
leading with confidence requires guided
mastery toward self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is not self-esteem. Self-
esteem is how good you feel about
yourself. Self-efficacy is the strength
of your belief in your own ability to
complete the tasks you set out for
yourself and reach your goals.
Make it easy on yourself. Start small.
Shawn Hunter is
Founder & President of
MindScaling
Entrepreneur, author,
idea developer. Shawn
has collaborated with
hundreds of business
authors, executives, and
researchers to create
learning solutions.
Shawn’s first company,
Targeted Learning, was
acquired by Skillsoft in
February 2007. He is
the author of Out•Think
and Small Acts of
Leadership
Mindscaling.com
ShawnHunter.com