Minus 35 Celsius with a wind-chill.  Yikes!

 Here in beautiful Alberta, Canada we are experiencing one of the nastiest cold snaps in years.  And what seems to come along with the frigid air is people’s tendency to get down right cranky.  Most people are crabby, complaining and frustrated as if somehow the weather forecast was a personal attack.  The only thing that makes this kind of cold seem worse is people whining about it.

Last night, in spite of the bitterly cold weather, a large group of people gathered at the University of Alberta to hear Dr. Paul Farmer speak about community based global health care.  This talk was part of International Week - a series of events focusing on global citizenship.

Message of hope 

Dr. Farmer is one of the founding members of Partners in Health, an organization that partners with poor communities to combat disease and poverty.  Check out the really cool resource he used to illustrate some of the inequity that exists in the world.  He also shared the dramatic impact that people can have when they tackle global issues from a perspective of collaboration and possibility.  His message was one of hope even in the face of some of the most depressing situations. 

During his talk no one was thinking about wind-chill or car batteries.  No one was muttering about shoveling snow or frostbite.  Everyone was considering what their contribution might be locally or globally to address issues that belong to all of us no matter where we live.  Everyone was experiencing a global warming of the heart.

Out of your control 

When you become focused on things that are out of your control - things like the weather - you can easily become stuck.  Shifting your perspective to something that is more positive, more proactive, more empowering is a great way to come in out of the cold.

What are you focusing on?

Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

I have been putting off for a very long time something that needed to be finished.  The details aren’t really important - let’s just say that I kept procrastinating…over and over and over.

Not because I didn’t know how to do the task or even that I didn’t have the time.  I just seemed to choose everything else - or anything else - in its place.  You know what I mean - you probably have something too that comes with a little emotional baggage, or is necessary but not much fun - and you keep avoiding it.

What an energy drainer that is!

When you have something that needs to be done and you keep putting it off, it sits like a blood-sucking leach in the corner of your life.

The funny thing is, once I finally buckled down it really didn’t take all that long to do.  And there’s this amazing rush of energy that swoops into the space where the leach once slithered.

The curious thing is - I knew all that!  You do too. 

So I’m doing the dance of joy.  And I’m not even entertaining that little voice that says, “well if you’d only done that sooner…”  Nope, just enjoying the free space that’s been created.

What have you been putting off?

The problem with getting out of the box is that you have to know you’re in one first.

I was interviewed for an on-line article on “burnout at age 25” and never imagined that it would cause a little stir.  According to the journalist this article generated more responses than anything she had written before. 

What were people reacting to? 

The idea that following your passion and doing what you enjoy are actually options in today’s work world.  Burnout is really just a mismatch between what you expect to happen and what you are experiencing.  Seems like there are a lot of people out there who are hugely unhappy in their work, and feel trapped in their little cubicles.  They sound downright miserable.  They’re stuck on the idea that there’s no way out.

Stay or go - it doesn’t matter

The sad part is, whether they decide to stay at their jobs, or move on to something more fulfilling, what they don’t seem to realize is that happiness is simply a choice you make.  It’s not dependent on circumstances.  Period.

I meet people all the time who seemingly have it all - except they are not very happy.  And I also meet people who have more than their share of challenges - and yet they are contented and live with a spirit of gratitude.  When it comes right down to it, you get what you go looking for.  Happiness is always at your fingertips. Figuring out that you are always at choice - particularly about your attitude - is one of those magic little keys to life.

So if you’re stuck in a box - or a cubicle - thinking “that’s just the way it is”, let me reassure you there is another perspective.

How happy are you?

It’s not a new idea but Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are creating a new buzz about life goals in their recently released movie The Bucket List.

Time is pretty short 

No matter how long you might live, time is really pretty short so creating a list of life goals is one way to maximize your life experiences.  This strategy has been around for a long time - probably one of first people to draw attention to it was John Goddard who created a list of 127 life accomplishments when he was 15 years old.  Now in his 70’s, Goddard has, at last count, checked off 109 of his challenging goals.

Find the joy 

In The Bucket List, faced with terminal cancer, Freeman and Nicholson’s characters embark on their own joint list of things to do before they die.  It’s a great call to action to find the joy in your life while you still have time.

What are the things that you long to do? 

Skills you hope to learn? 

Places you wish to visit? 

Things you want to try?

Books you’d love to read?

Relationships you need to build or mend?

Some people hang on to the idea that they’ll have a long life - that there’s lots of time to do want you want to do.  Sometimes life has other plans.

Some people think they can’t do what it is they really want - too many barriers, the biggest one of which is their own limiting beliefs.

Go watch the movie - and then begin jotting down those things you don’t want to miss in this life time.

What’s on your bucket list?

Yes it’s that time of the year. 

I asked some of my favourite people what their resolutions were for 2008 and here’s what they had to say:

Michele McDougall, CityTV BT host & all round fab chick

As a rule, I do not make resolutions.  I think it’s because I can foresee the guilt that I will be feeling when I don’t follow them.  But I want to have something to be proud of at the end of 2008.  I don’t have a goal to lose pounds,..but I do want to eat better than I did in 2007.  For some reason, I would put off a nutritional lunch because I don’t want to take 10 minutes to dollop cottage cheese on a plate and re-heat noodles.  Oh NO! -The hardship of it all!!!  It was s-o-o much easier to slide a toonie in our chip machine.  But no more!!! 

David Darst, coach extraordinaire

Less resolution with more evolution.

Sue Kenney, modern day pilgrim and author of My Camino

My resolution for 2008 is to be accountable to being creative in my life. I will manifest my intentions as a contribution to the happiness of the universe and I will continue to live the virtues of being a simple pilgrim everyday.

Marc & Craig Kielburger, visionaries and authors of From Me to We

Our resolution is to continue to have shameless idealism. We are a society which does not celebrate idealism and we even tend to downplay the idealistic thoughts to of children, telling them what is “reasonable” or “realistic”. It has always been idealism which has changed the world. We hope 2008 will be the year of the shameless idealist.

What is your focus for 2008?

The odds of successfully maintaining your new year’s resolutions are pretty abysmal - about 75% of people abandon their attempts at change.  So how do you raise your odds for success?

Plan for success.

Most people either have no plan at all or they spend all of their time planning and never get around to taking action.  You know, buying the self-help book but never reading it, shopping for great workout gear but never getting to the gym or stocking up on great organizer bins but never throwing anything out.

Having a plan that considers the strategies you’ll use, how you’ll manage evitable setbacks, and who will support and encourage you, is a critical step in successfully creating change.

Design a realistic goal.

If you are a decade long coach potato it’s not realistic that you will run a marathon in the next few months.  Many people create goals that are way out of their reach.  Then they become discouraged by their slow progress and old habits become comforting.

Setting a goal that is challenging but doable lets you experience success - and success breeds more success.  The marathon will always be there next year.

Create a success circle.

You can’t do it alone.  Most people think that they can tough it out on their own and somehow asking for help makes you seem weak.  Hogwash.

People who are successful at creating change know that surrounding themselves with others who can educate, support, encourage, brainstorm and hold them accountable is a key in achieving their goals.  Asking for help is a sign of commitment.

Have clarity.

Vague goals are tough to achieve because you never really know what you need to do to be successful.  Things like organize my life, improve my relationships, get healthy sound great but could mean a hundred different things.

Set goals that are clear to you and others.  If you’re stuck writing it down with clarity, ask yourself, “What will I be doing differently when I achieve this goal?”

Decide.

People who waffle around are not ready to be successful.  If you are still having the debate with yourself about whether you should or shouldn’t, will or won’t, you are likely still in the contemplation stage of change.  Action does not occur if you are still thinking about it. 

It is the moment when you actually decide that change begins.  When you finally put your feet on the floor and get out of bed to go to the gym, then your goal becomes possible.  Anything becomes possible once you decide.

Think about it this way:

You can be one of the 25% of people who are successful.

Last week in Times Square people had the opportunity to put what they no longer needed into a giant shredder.  What a great way to start the new year!

We have a tendency to hold onto to stuff long after it is useful….clothes that no longer fit, thingamajigs in the kitchen drawer, books we never read, all sorts of stuff that we might maybe possibly need some day.

Even worse we hold on to relationships that aren’t really working, old grievances, hurts and betrayals, bad habits and limiting beliefs.

The problem with old stuff

The problem with keeping things you have out lived is they take up the space that new things might occupy.  We only have so much time and energy.  If you give yours to people, ideas, habits and clutter that don’t enrich your life, you are limiting the time and energy you have for the things that do.

What are you hanging on to that no longer serves you?