Stretch: do less? For many people, stretch means doing more and trying new things yet if you’re a super curious, highly-energetic, type A person like me, stretch would be the opposite: to listen more, slow down, and do less/ well… I decided to start with below: Daily to-do list: start with 3 (vs. 5 often …
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Learning
When Y suggested ‘Show, don’t tell’ for writing, I googled to learn more, see ‘Writing’ post for more details. I was fascinated to see the examples and impacts (to myself), meanwhile, worried how could I ‘match up’: others wrote so well, how much re-write I need, how long the editing would take (for sure beyond …
Writing
I asked Y, a friend to help review my blog, UncoverSpecial turning to a book. She gave me 3 suggestions/ ideas. (1) Distinguish situation and story: though my blog is not a novel yet each post shall has both elements: what’s the situation and why is it ‘special’ (story); (2) Show, don’t tell: show (engage) …
Love and Logic
Chinese pronounces eight as ‘Ba’, similar to Eight so Eight Eight (August 8) is Father’s Day. I called home to wish dad a Happy Father’s Day! Normally dad handed the phone to mom quickly, today we chatted. He spent most of time talking about a recent car repair and a fuel system cleaner. I know …
Be Fair
Have you had these experiences…You went along with friends’ choice though you didn’t feel like so and later regretted? or you kept your mouth shout in the meeting though you disagreed? People want to be liked yet ‘over-bending’ ourselves make us feel anxious, fake, or weak…What shall we do? I observe well-respected colleagues…they know what …
Empathy
I called the dentist office on late Friday afternoon as I started to feel pain in the back of tooth (gum?) but the office was closed. Fortunately, the situation didn’t worsen over the weekend. I called first thing this morning, Monday, and the front desk staff fit me into the schedule right away. 2 hours …
Mask of Love
I opened the box of masks that mom and dad sent. The box was first wrapped by paper then covered by tape. The box itself was also covered by tape. Inside, a neatly taped plastic bag contained 10 envelops of three disposable masks each. Mom and dad went to pharmacy every few days to buy …
It’s Working
At the end of April, my boss shared with me a colleague’s comments that my email is too long and difficult to understand due to a blend of styles/ info. I decided to work on it… I read articles and class notes about email writing tips and asked my roommate who is a strong email …
Rebel Talent
I read Rebel Talent book by Professor Francesca Gino at Harvard. She described different rebel talents that bring joy and meaning in life. For example, Massimo Bottura is the owner and chef of Osteria Francescana, a Michelin 3 star restaurant yet he hasn’t been to culinary school (dropped off law school). He has 2 sous-chefs …
Listen More, Talk Less
When I came to US to attend business school, I was shocked that students raised their hands ‘before’ professor even finished the question. How could people ‘think’ that fast? At first, I thought it’s my English (to understand) or classmates were ‘smarter’ than me. As time went on, I realized that it’s a strategy (as …