the nature of change

“It seems to be the human tendency to want to resist change, to want to create the illusion of security in an insecure universe, and to avoid at all costs facing into the awesome and unlimited nature of life itself.”  Andrew Cohen

Personal growth requires change.

Creating new habits requires change.

Getting more out of life requires change.

Moving through the seasons of life require change.

Change is required for life.   Every moment of your life some small change is taking place, growth is change.   Now if we were meant to change and grow why is it that so many people resist change?

Comfortable living has become an antidote for change and growth.   More and more people are turning to experiences that numb themselves to the very challenges of life that if engaged with produce growth and new potential.   Look at the movie industry, the entertainment industry and even  the gaming industry, all of these industries are moving people away from developing new skills to mindless or mind numbing activity.

How much time are you spending on developing your skills?

What areas of your life are you changing?

tranquility … where do you find it?

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”
James Allen

When was the last time you took a personal break, a break from all the noise, commotion and clutter that seems to attract itself to you?   When have you just taken time to turn off the noise, all the noise and just find yourself in a tranquil place.

Find five minutes each day for a peace break – no email – no TV – no entertainment – no reading – no doing – just relax and let your mind center on something peaceful.   Just for five minutes.   See what a difference it can make in your day.   This is “You” time, personal, private and thoughtful time.

Some ideas to reduce stress in your life can be found here.

what new thoughts could you have

Have you ever wondered how many people are not living their life to their full potential?   What would happen if people did live to their full potential?

Have you ever driven to work and not realized how you got there?   Imagine that happening to your life as well.    How many people do you know that are just taking life for a drive without any destination or goal in mind?    What happens if we go through life without a destination?

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it-every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”

 

John D. Rockefeller III

the best you can do

What if you could live in a world where there were no mistakes?   What would that look like for you?

What if, starting today you could start viewing the world from the perspective that everyone, every second of every day is doing the best that they can?   What would you think of that statement?

You might think based on the ills of the world that people, bad people could do better.   However in the milliseconds it takes to make a choice based on what a person is facing the choice they make might just be the best choice they have. 

When we look at mistakes we are stepping back into the past, a past that can not be changed all that exists is the present moment.   From thought to thought, from action to action, each moment is what it is.   There is no right or wrong in that moment, it just is what it is.  

That idea might be hard to grasp for many people, but when you wrestle with it and look at it from all angles, you’ll find that in a moment, a flash of a moment our actions are a result of who we are at that single moment.   Whatever it is, happens.   Now that doesn’t mean for things that are illegal or improper that there won’t be consequences that have to be paid, but in that split second of a moment a decision was made, a choice was made and that appeared to be the best choice given the information and conditions that existed at that time.

It might not mean that if someone else had to make that same choice that the decision would be different, it just means the decision that was made was the best for that brief moment in time.  

If you remove judgment from the equation and look at the event as just that an event, a new reality unfolds. 

What would be different in your life if you didn’t regard decisions that didn’t work as a mistake, but rather an opportunity to learn from?   There would be no need to beat up yourself about the issue, learn, go and grow.   Make the changes and when that same decision comes up again you can respond differently.

How would the ability to let go of judgment impact your life?

“As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. ”

Jack Canfield

taking action …

There comes a time when you know all that you need to know.   There comes a time when you are ready.   There comes a time when you have to make a choice to take action to live the life you desire.

Whatever is holding you back from taking action is holding you back from living the life you want to have.   Action, the state of doing, and producing a result.   For many action is contemplated but due a number of reasons the action is never taken.   What actions are you holding back from doing because you aren’t quite ready yet.

Here are some popular anti-action ideas:

1. I don’t know enough.

2. I can’t do it.

3. I need more time.

4. I need someone to show me first.

5. I am not sure it would matter.

6. It’s not the right time.

7. When I get __________ I’ll be able to do it.

8.  I don’t know how.

What is your reason for not taking action?

When will you know?

What goals do you have?    How important are those goals?   

Nathaniel Braden wrote, “To feel competent to live and worth of happiness, I need to experience a sense of control over my existence.  This requires that I be willing to take responsibility for my actions and the attainment  of my goals.   This means that I take responsibility for my life and my well-being.”

That would mean the time is now to take action.   What actions are you going to take?   What worthy goal do you have that is important enough to stop doing what you are doing now and start on a new path?

“Go for it now.  The future is promised to no one.”  Wayne Dyer

Let yourself be surprised

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”

 Denis Waitley

Your daily plans should span the potential of both the best and the worst of things that could happen.   Not to spend time worrying about what will happen but to have a plan in place so that the best and the worst is planned for.

Then what ever happens during the day you’ll have a plan for your day.

As Jim Rohn said, “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

say yes to …

Many people live cluttered lives, not that their physical environment is cluttered but that their emotional environment is cluttered.   So many people are struggling with too much in their day and too much of the stuff that they have in their life is clutter.   It might be email, or social networking sites, or activities that provide little value and take a lot of time. 

How much TV are you watching?   How much of your time is being used up on activities that are just sucking the life out of your body.   We live in a world where there are many time leeches each wanting a bite of us and eventually there is nothing left but frustration and disappointment.   Disappointment that things that really do matter aren’t getting done.  Disappointment in a life that just seems to be slipping away.   Is that where you are?   Are you being drained by time leeches?

What do you do?  You start saying “No” to the leeches so that you can focus on those things that add value to your life.   Maybe you need more time for exercise and other things just seem to get in the way, what is more important, your exercise or the time leeches?

Maybe you’re looking for a better job and you find that there is no time to prepare for that new career.   Maybe there is no time to go to school to learn the skills needed to enter into a new career possibility.

Where does your time go?   Take control of your life and write down those activities throughout the day that are taking a bite out of your time.   Which items or activities are really adding value to your life?   How much time are you spending doing the things that really matter to you?   Schedule the “have to’s” so that you can get all of them done in one session rather than looking at them day after day and putting them back in a drawer for another day.  Tackle the “have to’s” and get them done.    Then prioritize what is left, what really matter and put that at the top of your list.   Write down your goals and post them so you see them daily, let your goals remind you of what is important and focus on those.

What can you change to get more out of your day?

I AM

It’s about me. The “I am” blocks many people from achieving the results they desire most in life. When the focus of everything in life revolves the “I” in am then the life that the “I” wants doesn’t become available.

The “it’s about me” syndrome reveals itself in all kinds of conflict. Conflict at work can often be seen as being part of the “it’s about me” malady. Think about it for a minute, how many dysfunctional managers do you know of? In a recent report there is about one in four people who are suffering from mental illness and that means there are leaders in top organizations hiding behind a mask of dysfunction.

What does a person who is overly concerned with “It’s about ME” do when things get tough? They focus on their needs to such a degree that they become less effective or ineffective in managing their group or part of the organization.

What needs to change to increase organizational function?  Eliminate the fear. Get the dysfunction out by working with those individuals so that they can maintain their dignity and move out of dysfunction to high function.

What ideas do you have?

“About eighty to ninety per cent of the population must be rated about as high in ego-security as the most secure individuals in our society, who comprise perhaps five or ten per cent at most. “ Abraham Maslow

shift 3.0

Are we living in the midst of shift 3.0, the movement towards a culture of working as independent contractors?   It may seem so with the rise of contracting agencies like Arise.com and www.odesk.com.   The world of work is shifting rapidly and the new wave of work will be increasing in the virtual arena. 

Here are some ideas that Peter Drucker put forth, Drucker said, “The purpose of the work on making the future is not to decide what should be done tomorrow, but what should be done today to have a tomorrow.” One unique idea he advocated was creating a “parallel career” in areas such as teaching, writing, or working in nonprofit organizations. He also encouraged developing a second career, often by doing similar work in a significantly different setting—a lawyer, for instance, might move from a traditional law firm to a legal nonprofit dedicated to a personally meaningful cause. While still in your main job, start thinking about your own possibilities for a parallel or second career. Consider how to match your values, experience, and education, and what shifts you might need to make in your life to support such changes.”  (Copied from AMA site)

How many people do you know that are preparing for a sudden and dramatic shift away from what you do today?   What new career would you want to pursue if the one you are doing today suddenly changed or went away?   

Peter Drucker strongly suggests that the knowledge worker of the 21st century will have to manage  themself.   Drucker speaks to the emergent society as being one filled with mobile workers, workers who  manage themselves.   The idea of lifetime employment which served manufacturing forces and controlled the workers would survive in an ever faster paced world is an idea that is past its time.  While it may be nice to think of work as being secure, Marshall Goldsmith suggests that it is only matter of time before a dramatic change in employment will occur.   It is naive to believe that a career will last for a lifetime any longer.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it. ”
Peter Drucker

time frame

Time is an elusive character, when we need it we can’t have enough of it, and when we are waiting there is too much of it.

There are people whose lives are scheduled from start to finish.  Their lives are dominated by the clock.  Master the clock to master your life some would think.  

There are others who spend time freely, not living by a schedule but living by the moment.  

For most people time is classified by the future or the present and by schedule or by flow.    Think about the person who has a well scheduled day, everything is planned out for the day and that person clearly just focuses on the present.   They are the people who will focus on you in the moment and when the time is up they are on to the next event on their schedule.

Another person being very schedule driven focuses on what is to come, the future.  Their schedule extends out for a few months, highly structured and future focused, these people like to have things well planned out.

Then there are those who focus on today and just let it happen, they enjoy the moment free of the restraints of a schedule and take time to accomdate what will show up.   Their friends are the most important things in the moment.  

Then there are those who are future focused and not a strong planner, these people dream about what can be and enjoy living in the future with the belief that the right things will happen.   Life flows and is open, to create and imagine what will be.

What time domain fits your life style.  The planner focused on today.  The planner focused on the future.   The free thinker focused on today or the thinker focused on tomorrow.

How do you think about time?   How do you think it impacts others you work with or have a relationship with?