Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be

by Marshall Goldsmith

simple is far from easy.

If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us. And the result turns us into someone we do not recognize.

when it comes to our behavior, we always have a choice.

Be grateful for what you have. No matter the disappointment or supposed tribulation, do not whine or complain, do not get angry, do not lash out at another person to express your entitlement.

Am I willing, at this time, to make the investment required to make a positive difference on this topic?

If there’s a person who drives you crazy, you don’t have to like, agree with, or respect him, just accept him for being who he is.

people disappoint us or disagree with us when it’s in their best interest to do so, not because they want to cause us pain. It’s the same with all the people who annoy or enrage us. They’re doing it because that’s who they are, not because of who we are.

“Our mission in life should be to make a positive difference, not to prove how smart or right we are.”

Integrity is an all-or-nothing virtue (like being half pregnant, there’s no such thing as semi-integrity). We need to display it in whatever obligations we’ve made.

Better than nothing is not even close to good enough—and good enough, after we make a promise, is never good enough.

if I change my behavior, I change the people around me.