Michael D. Pollock

Inspiring Videos

The Habit Loop – Use This Simple Framework to Help Break Your Bad Habits

in Inspiring Videos, Addiction, Behavior Change - 0 Comments

If you’re anything like me, you have at least 1 or 2 bad habits that you’d like to change. In this short video, bestselling author Charles Duhigg shares what he calls “the habit loop.”

According to Duhigg, every habitual behavior involves three elements:

  • Cue – some sort of trigger that makes the behavior unfold automatically.
  • Routine – the behavior itself.
  • Reward – the benefit derived from engaging in the behavior.

As he describes so well in this video, if you want to break a bad habit, the trick is to learn to recognize the Cue, and replace the undesired behavior (Routine) with a more desirable behavior that delivers a similar Reward.

This is a simple – but powerful – framework for understanding habitual behavior and how to change it. For more, see The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg.

Are DUMB Goals Better Than SMART Goals?

in Inspiring Videos, Goals - 23 Comments

If you’ve ever read anything related to achievement, motivation or personal development, you’ve no doubt come across the idea of Goal Setting. More often than not, the conversation revolves around setting SMART goals. This is an acronym for goals that are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Time-Bound

Have you ever heard of DUMB goals? I hadn’t until I watched this video from Brendon Burchard, a public speaker and best-selling author of the recently released book, The Motivation Manifesto.  

Brené Brown’s Inspiring Message to Writers, Designers and Creatives Around the World

in Inspiring Videos, Inspiration, Writing - 0 Comments

If you ever struggle with the fear of putting yourself or your work out there in the world, you’d be well-served to invest 22 minutes watching this video. It’s a keynote address from Dr. Brené Brown speaking to creative professional at a 99U conference.

In this video, she offers several gems of wisdom for folks like us, including my favorite Theodore Roosevelt quote about critics, courage and perseverance. If you don’t have 22 minutes to spare, here’s her message in a nutshell:

“If you’re going to show up and be seen, there is only one guarantee, and that is, you will get your ass kicked … That’s the only certainty you have. If you’re going to go in the arena and spend any time in there whatsoever, especially if you’ve committed to creating in your life, you will get your ass kicked …

“Yea, it’s so scary to show up. It feels dangerous to be seen. It’s terrifying. But it’s not as scary, dangerous or terrifying as getting to the end of our lives and thinking, what if I would’ve shown up? What would’ve been different?”