I talked yesterday about being in a twirl when I went back to work after a week off. I realized there were a couple things which contributed to this twirl in the first place. One of them was the fact that I had no plan for work when I came back from vacation. Several years ago I learned a great trick for the first day back after vacation - plan it before you leave on vacation. This helps me avoid that "first day back confusion". Having an action plan for the day lets me jump right back into things without wasting a lot of time thinking about where I was and what comes next.
Try next time you're taking a vacation, or even plan Monday before you leave on Friday. It's a great way to stay on track and keep your momentum going.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Getting out of the mental twirl
I'm back at work today after a week off to go house hunting. We are in the beginnining stages of moving my family across the state and I ended up taking last week off unexpectedly. We had a great week and found a wonderful house just 2 miles from the beach. Everyone is excited about moving, in fact the kids started packing up their bedrooms this weekend without being asked! WooHoo!
Now it's Monday morning and I find myself back at work and frustrated. When I woke up this morning I was lying in bed thinking about my day and found myself in a twirl when I thought about work. I wasn't clear on what I wanted to do today, and I realized that most of my thoughts were steeped in frustration about what wasn't working.
When I saw the twirl I decided to stop it with my favorite tool - action. Instead of rolling around in those thoughts, or worse yet, descending further into frustration or anger, I took some simple action. I new I had to work on my websites today so I pulled out my computer and went on-line. It is facinating how things work. That simple step of going on-line took me to an inspirational website I like. This reminded me that I was going to apply to be on this site. That reminded me I was going to contact some other business owners about offering our book club to their clients. That reminded me..... You get the idea. Taking one simple step pulled me out of the twirl in my mind and got me back on a productive track.
Now it's Monday morning and I find myself back at work and frustrated. When I woke up this morning I was lying in bed thinking about my day and found myself in a twirl when I thought about work. I wasn't clear on what I wanted to do today, and I realized that most of my thoughts were steeped in frustration about what wasn't working.
When I saw the twirl I decided to stop it with my favorite tool - action. Instead of rolling around in those thoughts, or worse yet, descending further into frustration or anger, I took some simple action. I new I had to work on my websites today so I pulled out my computer and went on-line. It is facinating how things work. That simple step of going on-line took me to an inspirational website I like. This reminded me that I was going to apply to be on this site. That reminded me I was going to contact some other business owners about offering our book club to their clients. That reminded me..... You get the idea. Taking one simple step pulled me out of the twirl in my mind and got me back on a productive track.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Facing fear
Well, we did it. We made the decision and we're moving. It's funny because the idea of moving has never been an issue for me, or my husband. In fact, we lived in 4 homes and 2 countries in the first seven years of our marriage. 11 years and 2 kids later we are still in that 4th house and I think it's going to take a giant crow bar to get us out!
It's funny how settled we can get and how our comfort zones can trap us. We've wanted to move across state for years but have never been able to see how we could do it. Even now it's easy to throw up roadblocks and give all the reasons not to go. In fact, when the family sat down to discuss this what we discovered was all the reasons not to go boil down to one thing - fear. When I realized that fear was the roadblock I knew we had to go because I refuse to live my life from a place of fear. If fear is the only thing stopping me then it's time to look fear in the face and laugh.
As soon as I faced the fear and took some action it's funny how fast the fear disappeared. All it took was a few moments of courage and a little action and now we all see it as a great adventure.
It's funny how settled we can get and how our comfort zones can trap us. We've wanted to move across state for years but have never been able to see how we could do it. Even now it's easy to throw up roadblocks and give all the reasons not to go. In fact, when the family sat down to discuss this what we discovered was all the reasons not to go boil down to one thing - fear. When I realized that fear was the roadblock I knew we had to go because I refuse to live my life from a place of fear. If fear is the only thing stopping me then it's time to look fear in the face and laugh.
As soon as I faced the fear and took some action it's funny how fast the fear disappeared. All it took was a few moments of courage and a little action and now we all see it as a great adventure.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tweaking plans
I've been watching my husband with fascination. He is a runner and he is preparing for a big race, 50 miles over trails and through rivers. Yes, that's right 50 miles and I did say "through" rivers not over rivers. He's a little crazy but I love him anyway.
He's run this race before so he knows exactly what he's getting into. The catch is he decided to run it only 6 weeks before the race. This is something you would spend months training for, not weeks. Being a running coach he set up a training plan for himself and this is what's I am fascinated to watch.
He keeps tweaking the plan.
Yup, lots of tweaking going on. So the question is: Is that good or bad? Answer: It's brilliant! He set his goal, outlined a plan and he's making adjustments to the plan as he goes along. He isn't changing his goal, just the techniques for reaching it. And he isn't making his decisions based on a painful moment, he doesn't quit a training run after 12 miles or after 2o miles because it hurts. If he can't run he walks because he knows the ultimate goal is time on his feet. In between runs he looks at what he accomplished and what's coming up in the training schedule - then he tweaks the workouts based on his ultimate goal. Sometimes he trades a long run for some speed work on the track. Sometimes he ditches a long run because he ran long yesterday and has another important long run coming up. Everything is designed to help him reach the finish line on race day. Nothing else matters in the interim; no ego, no rigid structure, just doing what it takes day-by-day to reach the goal.
The race is September 6th. The kids and I are crewing for him (meeting him along the way with dry shoes, water and food) so I'll see what happens and I'll know the truth with all the gory details so I can share it with you.
He's run this race before so he knows exactly what he's getting into. The catch is he decided to run it only 6 weeks before the race. This is something you would spend months training for, not weeks. Being a running coach he set up a training plan for himself and this is what's I am fascinated to watch.
He keeps tweaking the plan.
Yup, lots of tweaking going on. So the question is: Is that good or bad? Answer: It's brilliant! He set his goal, outlined a plan and he's making adjustments to the plan as he goes along. He isn't changing his goal, just the techniques for reaching it. And he isn't making his decisions based on a painful moment, he doesn't quit a training run after 12 miles or after 2o miles because it hurts. If he can't run he walks because he knows the ultimate goal is time on his feet. In between runs he looks at what he accomplished and what's coming up in the training schedule - then he tweaks the workouts based on his ultimate goal. Sometimes he trades a long run for some speed work on the track. Sometimes he ditches a long run because he ran long yesterday and has another important long run coming up. Everything is designed to help him reach the finish line on race day. Nothing else matters in the interim; no ego, no rigid structure, just doing what it takes day-by-day to reach the goal.
The race is September 6th. The kids and I are crewing for him (meeting him along the way with dry shoes, water and food) so I'll see what happens and I'll know the truth with all the gory details so I can share it with you.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Fishbowls
You are living in a fish bowl. Did you know that? I'm sure sometimes you feel like everyone is watching you, but that isn't what I'm talking about. Your fishbowl is the size of your world. It's how many people you help, work with, interact with as you live your life. The more people involved in your life the bigger your bowl. So how big is your bowl? Are you happy with that, or are you looking to improve your life?
Do you know what happens when a fish is put in a bigger fishbowl? It grows. The fish grows according to the space they are living in. The bigger the bowl the bigger the fish. So if the answer to the questions at the end of the first paragraph is no, and yes, then how can you improve your life? By finding a way to improve other lives. It's simple, helping others helps you. The more "others" you help the bigger your bowl and the more room there is for you to grow. Who can you help today?
Do you know what happens when a fish is put in a bigger fishbowl? It grows. The fish grows according to the space they are living in. The bigger the bowl the bigger the fish. So if the answer to the questions at the end of the first paragraph is no, and yes, then how can you improve your life? By finding a way to improve other lives. It's simple, helping others helps you. The more "others" you help the bigger your bowl and the more room there is for you to grow. Who can you help today?
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