Category: Uncategorized

PSA: Snow Does Not Belong on your Car

We had our first significant snowfall last week. I was disappointed to see the number of drivers on the road with their cars coated in inches of snow. We need to take more time to educate the general populace, as this is a rampant problem. Over and over again, I would see chunks of snow from these cars fly off toward the vehicles behind them. It is a hazardous situation. Snow does not belong on your car.

Several industry leaders have made it a point to spread the message. According to Continental Tires’ website, “Driving with snow on your car is dangerous and potentially a violation of the law.” Car and Driver cites several examples where drivers have gotten injured or died because snow from a car in front of them went hurtling toward their vehicle. Snow does not belong on your car.

Snow does not belong on your car. Don’t wait for the air resistance to force the snow onto an unsuspecting driver behind you. Be proactive and get the job done. Owning a broom or an ice scraper to clear snow should be as essential as affording a car, gas, and insurance. Of course, this is meaningless if you do not use the broom you own to remove the snow. 

If you get behind a car with snow, give the car more room than you usually would. You must have time to react to any snow that is sent hurtling toward you and your vehicle. When stuck behind a car or truck with unremoved snow, you want to pay more attention to your three mirrors to know where to get out of the hurtling snow’s path. If you get a chance, record the license plate and send in a complaint in the hopes someone can take the action needed to make the roads safer before it is too late.

Just Be Better (and get rid of the snow on your car)

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.

Resources

Continental Tires. 

Car & Driver 

Resolutions

I hope you are having a safe and happy holiday season.

This is the time I start hearing people talk about resolutions. The number of people discussing resolutions beginning on the New Year is exhausting. I do not waste my time engaging in these conversations. If someone wants to change right now, I will engage and support them. I have a workout partner who wants to be a black belt by the end of 2024. This person is not unhappy that they are “only” a brown belt, but they want to build on their mastery and understanding of Taekwondo.

I am not trying to be a ”Scrooge” to others who do not understand that postponing change is a predictor of falling short of one’s goals. I struggle with engaging with those who write resolutions based on their unhappiness. They develop goals mired in negativity. Establishing goals on a negative is another method to set yourself up for failure.

I hardly hear people speak about setting resolutions based on a good thing they want to improve. I want to listen to people develop their resolutions on growth, not unhappiness. Resolutions from a positive perspective are more likely to succeed. For example, “I want to lose another 10 pounds.” is based on negativity. It includes the word lose and implies that one is fat. It does not focus on anything they are doing well. Another way to state this goal is to say, “I want to be 10 pounds lighter so I can fit into my size 32 jeans.” This statement is based on two goals: 10 pounds lighter and 32” waste. This statement is a much better design. They want to build on the positive things they have accomplished and be more successful. You cannot base your future on positive results when you are mired in a negative present and hope to be successful.

If you are making a resolution, base it on positive things. Take what you are doing and look to make it better. Base the resolution on positive outcomes and refuse to use any negatives in the development process or the final statement. You are doing things well and want to improve on them, which is the best perspective.

Send me your goals. I would be happy to provide feedback.

Happy New Year, and Good Luck with your Goals!!

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

Sorry

The other day, our HVAC technician did not show up within the 4-hour window I had scheduled with his company. No company member called to let us know they would be late. This is odd because the technician works for an outstanding company and does excellent work. After the window had elapsed, I called the company and enquired about the missed appointment. The agent told me there was an accident, and they were backed up for the day. I asked why they did not call to let us know there was an issue and either change or reschedule the appointment. That’s when I got the overused and underdelivered “Sorry.”

I loathe this word. The word sorry is a gesture; it is not an action. It does not solve the problem. Everyone rushes to use the term when things are not perfect. I wish everyone rushed to fix the issues first. The overuse of the word has got to stop. If you own up to your mistake, thank you for owning it, but I want to know how you will solve it. Finally, most of the time, people tell me they are sorry but will do nothing to ensure it does not happen again.

After being told sorry by the agent, she said that the technician would be at my house in 20 minutes. It wasn’t until 45 minutes later that the technician told me he was 40 minutes away and would be by shortly. This timeline did not coincide with what the ever-sorrowful agent told me. (The agent’s fault, not the technician’s, who did great work and got everything in order.)

I do not like it when people do not follow up their words with their actions. Only make a promise or a statement if you will back it up. And most definitely, do not tell me you are sorry unless you genuinely take those steps to ensure it never happens again.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.

Your Body, Your Journal

I prefer experts who practice what they preach. When learning about health and nutrition with others, I sometimes encounter those who need to realize what they are talking about and what their body shows needs to be better aligned. They fail to recognize that one’s body is the best food journal. Feed your body correctly, keep your nutrition on point consistently, hydrate well, and your body will tell the world.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

Don’t Fall for It!

Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Best Sales of the Year, Holiday Sale Extravaganza, etc., are ploys for spending your money frivolously. Don’t fall for them. Here are a few rules you should follow during these “events” before you spend too much:

  • Only buy what you need. Sale events try to entice you to buy more than you need.
    • Don’t fall for it. Never buy something you have not previously considered because a “Sales Event” puts it on your radar.
  • You must plan for what you will spend and stick to it. If something costs more than the plan, do not buy it.
    • You should always know the cost upfront. Back away if there are hidden or unexpected fees; this means that you did not research or are buying from someone dishonest. In both cases, do not make the transaction.
    • Stay within your budget.
    • No matter what message the salesman gives you, making the purchase is not vital to your existence. 
    • The budget, not the item, is more critical to your well-being.
  • You should never spend full price on an item if you pay attention to the sale’s-cycle

Budgeting for gifts is a year-long process. It includes being aware of the gifts you want and need to purchase and saving the money required to make the purchases. If you do your due diligence and stick to your budget, the holiday season will not be a time of money worries and concerns.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hear people lamenting the holidays because of the weight they will gain. When someone approaches the holiday like that, they proclaim a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Instead, we need to hear someone who inspires us and says, “I am going to be strong. I will drink a lot of water and eat a later breakfast to ensure I do not overindulge at the holiday feast. I am going to exercise before the holiday gathering.d  I will make sure my dinner plate is ¼ protein, ¼ carbs, and ½ vegetables (Not the Casserole type!!). I will drink more water before dessert and enjoy the delicious treats in moderation. I will stick to veggies and lots of water during the pre-meal and post-meal grazing periods. Finally, I will avoid sitting on the couch as much as possible.”

This is a solid game plan. It allows you to enjoy the holiday and the great food associated with the holiday. It will enable you to focus on your long-term goals without sacrificing the spirit of the occasion. Without a solid game plan, you will lose sight of your goals and fall for the traps of the holiday.

What is your plan for the holidays?

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

Next Door

A few months ago, my wife told me I should sign up to use the Nextdoor app, which groups users by their neighborhood. She had used it to find a local company to service our refrigerator, and they did great. What an excellent idea for an app. Neighbors are helping neighbors. We could use it to find restaurants and events that we want to check out. There was even a space to sell items you no longer wanted in the house. This app seemed like a win-win.

A few weeks into using it, I could not wait to get rid of it. It was not the app; it was the users. The space had become a forum for passive-aggressive people who cannot give honest feedback to the individual and, therefore, must shame them in front of everyone who uses the site. One such post was from a user complaining about his neighbor. Instead of talking with the neighbor, this user shamed him in front of everyone. Not very useful. Others were using the app to complain to their children’s school teachers about taxes and everything else they could think of.  It quickly became a den of negativity. The app became the latest version of reality TV, where everyone complains about everyone else when they are not in the room.

Well, it was good while it lasted on my phone. I’ll leave the negative spaces to others. Hopefully, when I have a problem with someone, I’ll talk to them directly to try and solve the issue. It’s much more constructive than using an app and being passive-aggressive.

Just Be Better.

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

Too Busy

Do not whine to me about how busy you are.

To me, busy means…

You are employed.

You have a goal.

People rely on you.

I cannot tell you how often collaborators tell me how busy they are. I am confident that if you were not busy and in demand, I would not collaborate with you. We are all busy doing the things that we want to do.

Instead, I prefer potential partners to tell me that they do not want to collaborate on a project. It is ok to say no to an opportunity. Be honest, but don’t whine.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

Everyday!

Whether you realize it or not, every day is an interview. Everywhere you go, people are observing you and developing their opinions of you. People constantly evaluate you, and you never know when one of these “interviewers” will make a decision about you that can affect your future. 

An important skill necessary to pass the interview is good communication. Good communicators are those who can understandably articulate their ideas through their words and actions. They never expect others to guess what they are thinking. I want to be surrounded by people who communicate well, even if only to interact with them for a moment. This communication involves speaking, writing, facial expressions, posture, grooming, etc. Whether you realize it, you express your true self to others when you think no one is looking.

The impression you can leave on someone can last forever. The impression must be true to you and the “brand” you want others to see.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

Meeting Decorum (#1 in a Series)

In any meeting, I aim for the participants to receive the message, adopt the message, and improve results, regardless of whether I am the leader or I am the participant, in as short an amount of time as possible. Anything else wastes time, the one commodity none of us can get back.

This week, I was at a workshop about strategies for making meetings more effective. One of the key themes was the character of people in a meeting. When was the last time you were in a meeting when someone was wasting time, not just for their own? What happened? Were they refocused? Were they removed? It is essential to your meeting’s success to ensure that respectful, prepared, and focused individuals are the only ones allowed into a meeting. Anyone else should be asked to leave. The character of your colleagues in the meeting will drive the effectiveness of the meeting.

I need to do a better job improving meeting decorum, refocusing people when they are off task, and staying true to the purpose of the meeting. Anything else is a waste of time that will keep me and my team away from our goals, family, and the other important things we want to do to grow.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy