Take a moment to reflect on some of the toughest days in your life. The moments where you wanted out, but that wasn’t an option.
In the darkest hour, sometimes the only way out is through. You’ve made it. Keep going
Month: November 2017
Successful generous people
Most of the successful people I know have a common trait. They are generous with their time and money. Like attracts like. I think the generosity comes first and the success follows. Yes, there will always be hoarders and takers, but I think they are the exception and not the rule.
Watch for yourself – you’ll pick up a pattern. Lucky, generous people share their things and expertise, welcome new friends into their community, offer to help at the right moments and value loyalty. They have an abundance mindset. In their minds, there is always enough for everyone.
Turn up
Sometimes in life, you gotta turn up. By turn up, I don’t mean sending thoughts and prayers, flowers or money. I mean physically turn up and be there. Sometimes it’s to celebrate or grieve, sometimes it’s pre-emptive, and sometimes it’s to volunteer. I saw a lot if this happening during the Sonoma fire relief and support. Nurses, doctors, firefighters, chefs, therapists all turned up and offered a hand to people who had lost everything. At one stage people were being turned away before there were too many people to help.
When in doubt – be there. Most of the time you’ll regret not going. But you’ll never regret being there.
There’s no shortcut to mastery
A black belt in martial arts is earned.
I don’t know if it’s a myth, or there’s truth to the evolution of the black belt…but I like the legend better. All masters begin their training with a white belt. The belt starts out white, but over time it gets dirtier, and stained with sweat and blood, and eventually it becomes stained black from years of training. In a lot of dojos, you don’t get to train until you’ve proved you are worthy of instruction. Sometimes that means volunteering in other areas and being invited to train after first demonstrating your commitment. It’s not “a pay to play” system. There’s no shortcut to mastery.
Mastering any art is the same. The answer is in the dirt. There’s no shortcut to mastery. Get in there and start practicing. Anyone can buy a black belt, but only some will earn it.
Breathing breaks
The breaks between yoga poses are as important as the poses themselves.
Surfing is like this too. The first paddle out takes a lot of energy. Especially if it’s a beach break, and timing between the sets is the difference between flailing in the inside section and a fun surf session. There’s a magical moment right after paddling out, when I sit up on my board and look out to sea. The breakers are behind me, and I’m breathing deeply. The adrenalin subsides and it’s quiet. All it takes is a few strokes for me to get over the incoming set waves. That pause gives me time to recharge, get my bearing and work out where I want to be when the next set rolls in.
It’s like the breaks between notes in a musical composition. The notes and the breaks makes the melody.
Energize your day
Kick the coffee. Drink herbal tea.🍵 It’ll regulate your moods.
Drop the booze at night. You’ll sleep deeper and wake up rested
Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
Exercise for at least 25min every day. Get a balance of anaerobic and aerobic exercise.
Phone a friend and catch up. Don’t text or post something. Phone the person. Connect with them, don’t just communicate with them.
Get lunch outside of the office. It’ll get you walking, and you’ll probably eat with someone else.
Drink lots of water.
Avoid sugar, especially during the afternoon slump. Same with coffee.
Eat oats in the morning. You’ll also lose weight. Avoid toast for breakfast, especially with sweet jams, etc. are not ideal for breakfast. Toast is an efficient food delivery system, so be careful what the cargo is. If you must have toast, then have it with some butter.
Spend time with positive people.
Smile 😊
Be kind and shrug off grudges and slights. Grudges suck up a ton energy.
Be thankful for one thing every day.
Be social. We are pack animals. A community is a powerful thing.
Giving is energizing. Be a giver.
Activation energy
Sometimes the best way to start writing the next chapter of a book is to sit down and write. That sounds obvious, but it’s scarier to do when nothing is waiting to pour out on the page. Sitting down, creating space and time is sometimes the only activation energy required to break through the writer’s block.
It’s the same with exercise or getting some long overdue work project completed. Upfront activation energy is sometimes all you need to break through. A run around the block turns into a couple of blocks. Composing a response to one email you’ve been ignoring frees up energy for other things that need your attention.
Communication vs. connecting
There’s no social media version for a face to face conversation with a friend. With everyone spread out across the globe these days the next best thing is a conversation over the phone. The best version of this is a video chat. Texting via Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Snapchat are essential communication tools – they help you communicate, but they don’t connect you with people on a deeper level.
Even though our smartphones have the word phone in them, we use them more for other things like email, social media, work and entertainment.
To stay in touch, you’ve got to make the time to be there in the moment. Video chat, phone and face to face is the best way to connect.
Inflight safety
Put on your oxygen mask before helping others. An essential air safety trip and a useful metaphor for everyday life.
In other words look after yourself first. If you are taking care of yourself, spiritually, mentally and physically, then you will be much better placed to listen and assist others.
The courage to make principle-based decisions
Practice making principle-based decisions. The practice will keep you consistent, reliable.
When you are asked a question – frame your response around your core principles and then answer the question within the framework of the principles.
Loyalty might be one of your principles. If you are asked to betray a friend, then your loyal principle will help you get to a principle-based answer.
Honesty might be one of your principles. If you are asked to lie about something, then your honesty principle will help you answer truthfully.
The principles that govern your behavior are just words if you aren’t courageous enough to stick to your principles when the pressure is on, or when you have something to lose. We are seeing this happen in the current political climate where politicians lack the courage to adhere to their principles. That’s why people applaud so much these days when we see a CEO or politician stands by her principles even when it’s not in her best interest. That takes courage. Without courage, you’ll end up compromising when it matters most.
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others. – Winston Churchill
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