Month: April 2021

Interesting last couple of days. I shared with you last week that I had a MasterClass presentation Wednesday morning. In addition to everything going on, I spent lots of time preparing for it. It went well, by the way,  thanks for asking.

A funny thing happened after that goal was met. I noticed that I sort of shut down. It wasn’t on purpose. My mind and body took a break. Without me. I had things to do, but apparently, oh well. I slowly managed to get few key things done. I knew that soon I’d be back to whatever my normal is.

I even forgot what day it was. I now know it’s Sunday. I’ve caught up with the calendar.

Here’s a reminder for you to observe that you may be pushing pretty hard. A lot of us push pretty hard. You, who are reading this… Am I talking to you?

Pushing yourself hard might have benefits, especially if -and as long as- you are aware of what you are pushing towards, and more importantly why.

One of the hardest things for me to learn to do is … stop. My mind and body will eventually stop me like it just did, when I’m totally done, The kind of totally done where watching YouTube videos is about all I’m capable of.  I saw a study about this and it is a physiological event. Tough though, when you’re a pilot and your brain goes to sleep even while you’re flying the plane.

I think it’s important to factor in some down time in life. How can we do that? How do you keep some kind of balance, and stay charged, so that break doesn’t happen without you?  I’d love to hear some of your ideas.

We take better care of our cars then we do of ourselves. Our bodies are amazing machines and they deserve some TLC. So, go ahead and slow down. For instance, sit down and eat. Get a massage. Have a visit with a friend. Watch a movie. And after taking that break, you might even get more done, now that you’ve recharged.

Go for it. You are worth it.

Just sayin’

I’m playing with the idea of mastery orientation, or mastery mindset vs performance mindset.  I think a lot of people spend most of their time focused on getting to the goal.  You know, make that sale, hit the home run, nail that presentation, create the masterpiece, etc.  We do live in a performance-focused society where achievement and accomplishments are measures of success. And going for the gold isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s try looking at this from a different angle.

What if we were to work on focusing on what we are doing, and becoming masters, instead of focusing on the end result? Where might that take us? Of course, we start with an idea of what we want to accomplish, but let’s practice being fully present in this moment and do the best we can in this moment.  Now detach yourself from the end result. It’s possible that what you end up with could be better than your original vision. Is true. I’ve experienced it myself.

What’s that? Detaching from the result, even though there is a goal in mind is an interesting concept. I can see where confusion may be creeping in. Work towards your intention, but detach from the outcome?   How’s that work?

Think of a time when you were involved in a project, maybe it was an art project, something in the yard, and you were completely engaged in the moment letting your muse guide your next step. A few months back I had maybe a little more than a half idea of a plan to create space in the garage, and what that might look like. I got started, and as one thing led to another, with me just staying in the flow, trusting the process and being open to that next step not being exactly what I originally had in mind, the end result turned out much better, with more efficient use of space, and was much easier to implement than my original vision. 

How does this apply to regular life? How might this apply to your business, for instance, when everything is measured by the outcome? We can’t always control the outcome. We can only control what we do towards that outcome.  So, focus only on what you are doing, only what you can control. Be open to a new thought, a new idea. Be ready for what may appear. Practice your craft. I like to say take more grounders, do your scales, work on that jump shot. Become a master of you, and when the time comes, you will nail the performance. 

By the way, the performance is the end. You did it. Win or lose, It’s done. Over. Mastery? There’s always more, more to learn, more to grow, it’s open-ended, and in that process, there’s more success, more satisfaction, more peace, and a fuller expression of your true self. Besides, with the mastery orientation, there is always something to learn, always growth, therefore, you never really lose!

Do you want to win this game, or do you want to win the whole match?
Become a master!
Practice the Mastery Mindset!
You will win!
Often!

Just sayin’

The other day was one of those days where being inside just wasn’t going to happen. So, I took myself on an impromptu walk. Wasn’t planning to go too far, especially when I saw that the other end of the trail was way over there, and up a couple of really steep hills. 

 I reminded myself that I just wanted to be out in this beautiful day and take a little stroll. I wasn’t really in the mood for that much of a hike, but something came over me. I kept walking. 

 I saw those climbs off in the distance, and I thought, too steep. I’ll just go to the bottom of that one and turn around. When I got there, it wasn’t that imposing. So, up that next hill I went. This happened about 3 or 4 times, the ‘I’m not going up that hill’ moment, was replaced with ‘it doesn’t really look that hard and, besides, I now have a goal’. See, I know what’s on the other side.’ 

 What’s on the other side is a view I had been wanting to see for quite some time. While walking, I kept being accosted by memories of times in the past when I allowed myself to be ok with close enough. I kept thinking, why am I going to continue to sell myself short? I am not that person anymore. I got this. I went for it. I made it. I’m glad. I did not let anything get in my way. 

 I realize how many blocks we allow ourselves to carry around. Even the really small ones that don’t feel like blocks stop us from experiencing our best lives. We might pass it off as just being lazy… and it’s easy to say, well, It’s not that important. It’s no big deal one way or the other… But that’s how bad habits start. And the way we do anything is the way we do everything. 

I’m reminded again to be aware, to pay attention to the way I talk to myself, does it support me, my values, my visions, and will I be happy with me as I look back on this incident. I ended up a little sore, actually, a lot more than just a little sore, but I’m really glad I finished that walk. 

 If you envision it, you can make it happen. Know why? Because you are. What are you? You are whatever you want to be in the moment! And, you are even more than you think!

Push yourself just a bit. It’s absolutely in you. 

 That spectacular, breathtaking view is right around the next corner.

Just sayin’ 

When I say trust the process, what comes to mind? The basic idea looks like this.  When we plant seeds, and when I say seeds, I mean ideas, plans, disicplines, whatever it is we put into place that leads toward your dream, your goals, trusting the process is letting go and allowing that ‘seed’ to sprout. Much easier of course when talking literally about the plant world, but with some inner work, very effective in life. 

For instance, an oak tree is hard-wired into the acorn. It has no other option but to become. 

It’s kind of like blind faith. It’s about believing, or knowing that everything works out. 

Nature provides us with many examples. One of the best ones I know is the metamorphosis of a butterfly. I read the story of someone who wanted to help the poor struggling butterfly emerge from the cocoon. They gently cut away the chrysalis. After getting the butterfly out, it couldn’t fly as it was weighed down by the excess meconium. That’s what that goop is called. 

The process of the struggle, of working its way out of the cocoon squeezes off the right amount of meconium and the rest goes into the exoskeleton to create and support the wing infrastructure. This hardens and enables the butterfly to fly. 

I was talking to a friend the other day and he said that when he lets go and trusts the process, everything goes well. And therein lies the rub …. Letting go. Whaaat? We like to have control over our projects and carry them through to completion. 

How much do you trust yourself? If you think about it, I’m betting you’ve earned a fair amount of trust in yourself up to this point in your life, because you’ve handled everything that’s come across your path. 

 Here’s a journal prompt… Write about an event that worked out even tho it didn’t look like it was going to. And even tho you didn’t have control over it, and it … just… worked out, did it turn out to be for the best? 

As we embrace this concept, good things happen to us, we become calmer, more patient, we have confidence in ourselves and the world around us. We pay more attention, which enhances our awareness, and facilitates our growth. 

We are a work in progress. Trust the process. 

It is always on our side. 

Just sayin’