Tag Archives: happiness

Dogs Sit in the Front Row of Life

I had to look twice!  It was early evening on a beautiful warm night in Greece.  And here are two doggie pals sitting together on the tin roof of a house along the main street of Amadaoli, Crete. Would they slide off?  Nope.

They were perfectly content to watch the action down below on the street and when something really exciting happened (like their Greek Orthodox priest owner coming home) they would dash down to the first floor barking wildly to greet him.  After taking care of that task, they would scurry back up to the roof to take their front row seat again and resume watching the tourists, party-goers and Global Volunteers (that’s us) returning home from our day of work.  It was the best seat in the house – they didn’t miss anything and were right in the middle of the action.  Why don’t we all do that?

It’s Simply a Habit – Hiding in the Back Row

Every evening they were there . . . and I had to think they certainly had the right idea.  They were positioning themselves to be right in on the action.  Sitting in the front seat of life not hiding in the back row.  How often do we figuratively sit in the back and avoid being front and center.  We find lots of reasons to do that . . . it’s our personality; the situation isn’t right; it’s too risky, etc.  But it’s actually simply habit.  We simply go to that comfort zone and default to pushing the “No, I don’t think so” button over and over again.

But what does that get us?  Not very far and probably a bit bored.  Yes, it’s comfortable and there are no surprises.  And that’s the problem . . . it’s very, very comfortable and there are no changes, challenges or opportunities to stretch our wings.

How’s It Working For You? 

Sitting in the back row of life may have worked just fine for you over these last few years.  But is it working now?  Is it getting you to where you want to be next?  For many of us, that answer would probably be no.  So I encourage you to move up a row or two – stretch that comfort zone until you’re sitting in the front seat of life like the doggie pals sitting on the roof.  And I bet they are still there too!

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Overcome “Recession Fatigue”

Here’s the best strategy I’ve found to push through that “Recession Fatigue”. It is simply shifting your energy to those areas that you do have some control over and concentrating on being successful in those areas over the next few months.

Here’s a way to do that . . .

First. Take a piece of paper and draw out the five Olympic Circles. You will remember that there are five intersecting circles – three on the top and two on the bottom. Next, take a moment to think of the five areas of your current life that you value spending your time and energy on. Often these are areas that in the past you regretted not having the time to spend doing.

Areas such as: your own health (exercise, eating well etc.); learning by taking a class; picking up a new hobby or volunteer commitment; having more time with your children; mini-vacations with old friends or maybe more quality involvement with your elderly parents.

Pick what’s important to you in this chapter of your life. Now, label each circle with one of those areas.

Second. Identify priority short-term benchmarks in each of these areas. Be concrete – is there a weight goal? A sports fitness goal? A passion you want to nurture? Do you want to be more available to your parents, your own kids or your friends? Keep the short-term benchmarks easy to remember and to track.

Third. Now identify when you will know that you have hit those benchmarks – when you’ve made your first short-term goal on exercising; learning; volunteering or extra time with your own kids and parents. What will success look like? And don’t forget to celebrate when you’ve reached those successes each and every time!

It’s great (and critical) to feel productive, appreciated and successful in these additional areas of your life. So even if this recession is beating you up on the job more than you expected, you can take control of other areas, and enjoy a wonderful boost of self-confidence from these other equally important areas of your life.

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Take the Day Off! It’s Good for Business

Now this is different . . . a day in the middle of the week with nothing pressing.  A half-day meeting got cancelled at the last minute; the Internet at the office isn’t working; no client sessions are scheduled; it’s 92 degrees in Reno, NV and it’s the last week before my college-age daughter returns to school on the east coast.  So an idea floats up as I’m driving home from work . . . how about just taking the day off tomorrow and heading up to our beautiful Lake Tahoe.  So the next morning an ice cooler is packed, beach towels and suntan lotion are thrown in and we’re ready for “Road Trip!”.

Of course, the daughter is a bit less enthusiastic about rising at the crack of dawn and keeps asking “But what are we going to do?”.  As I hustle her into the car, I explain that on a true road trip you don’t know what you’re going to do until you’re doing it.  And that’s exactly what we did . . . cinnamon crepes in Tahoe City and then a look at the map to say let’s do something we’ve never done before.  So around the lake we go.  And we wind up hiking to the Vikingsholm – a magnificent  Norwegian castle on Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe.  Then on to an early dinner on the deck of my favorite lakeside restaurant and rolling back down the mountain to Reno by sunset.  A wonderful way to finish off our “delicious” day.

Delicious Days Are Good For Business

A “delicious day” is a day just for you – to rest and renew – that is slipped in between normal busy work days.  As Americans, we tend not to give ourselves permission to take those days especially when economic times are tough.  We push harder making each business day a bit longer and hopefully more productive.  But actually when we take the time to slow down and relax the endless chatter in our heads we are really far more creative, flexible and productive.  It’s the best thing we can do for our own businesses, our customers and our employers.

Alternate Work with Rest

One of my favorite books Full Engagement describes fascinating research that shows how high performing athletes (and workers like us) do far better with alternating periods of intense activity/training with downtime.  I’ve used this research many times in workshops and people are always intrigued.  It makes sense.  As humans, we simply are not made to physically and mentally perform at 110% every day all day.  We simply can’t do it and be at our best.  But if we take a lesson from professional athletes and alternate highly focused work times with real relaxation we can actually bring much more value, skills and talents to our work.  Think about it and then take that day off!

 

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Leave the Laptop Home!

It’s that wild moment before I dash out the door with family in tow for a long-awaited family vacation.  We’re used to that last minute dash from our years of living in Norway and traveling all over for both work and fun.  But it’s always a bit crazy trying to remember if you packed the toothbrushes, extra shorts, grabbed up the money and remembered all the bits & pieces of work that needed to be tied up.  And this time . . . the laptop stays behind.

Giving Yourself Some Space

Sometimes I take the laptop and the technology with me on travel but more and more now I choose to leave it all behind.  From experience I know that as soon as I log-in my mind clicks back to a “to-do” list and I’m back in the work mind-set. 

But I need space to rewind . . . I love owning my own business and the joy I get from both coaching and training.  But when I give myself permission to take a break I know that I’ll come back refreshed and wonderfully energized for work.  So for now the laptop will sit here on the home desk getting a well-deserved break as well.  See you all in a week!

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Zumba! At Least I’m There

Okay, somehow I got talked into taking a Zumba dance class by my college-age very athletic niece and daughter.  So I’m a reluctant participant although there are lots of people there including several young guys who weren’t doing much better than me.  But I’m willing to give it a try although I warned the girls to not laugh at me ’cause at least I’m there.

I actually work out all the time and have for years (longer than those girls have been alive!).  I do weights, machines and strength classes so I’m pretty good at following the leader.  But this class is a step up – there are no directions from the instructor just lots of moving, bumping and grinding.  It’s the ultimate “Simon Says” game with no “says”.  But the music is great and the crowd is enthusiastic

Doing Something Different

So as I’m bobbing and weaving to the music, I’m thinking that this is good – it’s good to stretch the comfort zone and try something different.  I prefer knowing what to do when but with a little practice I probably can get a few of these steps learned.  I remind myself that encouraging ourselves to stretch and grow is critical for handling the bigger changes in our lives. We need regular practice in adapting to what’s new and perhaps a bit uncomfortable.  Ouch, just stepped on my own toe.

We Don’t Have to Be Perfect

I don’t have to have this Zumba stuff down perfectly.  I’m there with my girls and that’s good enough.  And I’m a big believer in the old saying “Showing up is 80% of success”.  We don’t have to be perfect – and we can’t be even close to perfect when we try something different.  And that’s okay.  So when these girls are collapsing on the floor with laughter, I kindly remind them that “Yes, you too will be my age someday” and  “at least I’m here”!

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