Loving the Chaos

Most people put off till tomorrow that which they should have done yesterday.

Edgar Watson Howe

What are you putting off?

Habit is overcome by habit.

Thomas à Kempis

What  habit do you need to replace with a better one?

Everyone is all a buzz about Susan Boyle, the 47 year old singer who wowed the judges and audience at the Britain’s Got Talent competition.

Most certainly this woman has an amazing voice and an interesting story. For sure most people will get a warm fuzzy when they listen to her sing.

But that’s not what is really key in this latest YouTube sensation.

Susan Boyle is the poster girl for our critically bad habit of judging people and things long before we have any real knowledge of them.

Everyone took one look at this “kind of frumpy, middle aged, never been kissed” woman and made a snap judgement about what she could offer to a singing competition. And boy oh boy did she prove everyone wrong.

So here’s the lesson for us all:

How many times in your day do you make judgements about the people and situations around you, either silently to yourself or out loud for everyone to hear ?

How many times do you assume you have all the facts?

How many times do you comment on someone’s dress, behaviour, lifestyle or motivation?

We all like to think of ourselves as non-judgemental.

Here’s your challenge:

For the next day, turn up your radar and listen to both your internal chatter and out loud expressions about other people. How many times in the day are you voting on what’s good or bad, in or out of style, acceptable or not?

You’ll probably be pretty surprised at the number of judgements you make. We live in a culture that encourages us to “vote” on what everyone else is doing. Look at the popularity of competition style television.

Have a reality check about where you are on the judgement continuum.

Awareness is always the first step in change.

We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.

Goethe

What do you love?

Lately there seems to be a glimmer of hope in all the doom and gloom about the economy. While people might be feeling a little more optimistic, unemployment numbers are still on the rise.

Facing a potential job loss can make you feel like a victim. You spend time and energy worrying and your stress level rises.

There is another way.

Instead of playing the victim in these economic times, you can be proactive in your outlook and actions. Give these workplace ideas a try:

Let go of worry.  Some things are simply out of your control. It’s an unfortunate reality that good people doing good work might still lose their jobs. Instead of spending your time worrying, use that energy to control the things you can – your attitude and actions.

Give up the doom & gloom attitude. In every crisis there is at least one opportunity. We just tend to miss them because we are so focused on the negative. Use this time to practice gratitude for what you have, and keep your eyes peeled for the opportunities. Your attitude at work impacts on your perceived value to the company. Nobody wants to keep a negative nelly.

Become solution focused. Shift into a “how can we..” perspective. Companies are looking for out of the box thinking to help weather these challenging times. Offer potential solutions rather than complaints.

Be a team player. Use “we” rather than “I” thinking. This economic situtation is not just happening to you. Demonstrating a “we’re all in this together” philosophy helps to create optimism. Building relationships is key in your long term success in an organization.

Design a Plan B. Consider now what you would do if you were laid off. Planning before an emergency lets you think with a clearer head. Take a look at your finances and see where you might cut back. Brush off your resume. Keep your industry contacts fresh. Often simply having a plan B makes people feel more secure as it removes some of the uncertainty.

Get back to the basics. During uncertain times there is a great opportunity to take inventory of your life and make some changes. Do you spend your time and energy on the most important things? Are you doing work that you enjoy? Do you have a list of life goals and a roadmap of how to achieve them? Now’s a terrific time to do a little self assessment and re-align things that are off track.

The downturn in the economy is just the current situtation.

Circumstances are never what hold you back.

It’s the way you think about them that makes you unhappy or stuck.

Choose something more empowering than victim.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Lao-Tsu

In what ways do you need to slow down?