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7 a.m. on a Monday morning. Stopped at a red light, the young woman in the car is frantically gobbling down breakfast. She races off as the light turns green, stress written in the taut lines of her face. What kind of day will she experience?
Morning “malpractice”. When we start off the day already stressed, running and multi-tasking, until we’re exhausted and its time for lights out. It’s so easy to slip into a morning “malpractice.”
I’m guilty. I let my normal morning practice of starting the day in a special way just slip away. My workload had exploded so I began my morning “malpractice” of jumping right out of bed at 4am and working until 10pm. Then it started all over. No fun, no friends, no exercise, bad eating. No morning practice. Finally, my body said, “no more,” and slowed me down with a nasty virus.
I pinpointed my downslide to the morning “malpractice.” My ability to stay centered, make balanced decisions, and be highly productive and positive decreased by the day and lead to a distressed body. Lesson learned. I’m back on track. What about you?
We can all find simple things that make us feel good and help us set the intent for a positive and uplifting day. For me, it is lighting a beautiful candle for honor, ringing a special bell, reading a short inspiration/motivation, and a few stretches that make my body smile. Short and easy, but the pay-off is big.
What one thing can you do to start your day in a special way?
Please share your comments and suggestions.
I froze in my tracks. I had been enjoying a perfect Chicago day. The sun was sparkling on the water, the perfect foil for Chicago’s renowned architectural skyline. Bearing down on me was a mass of intensely, hurried people. There was nowhere to go. I was jostled, shoved aside, and nearly trampled. The rush hour had begun, and I was on the reverse commute.
It was as if I didn’t exist. I was just an obstacle in the way of getting to work and appointments. I smiled, no response. Tension was etched on almost every persons face. They were already at work in their minds, anticipating and creating stress even before they were in the work environment, unaware of the sunshine.
They were oblivious to everyone and everything. Could they be walking next to a potential client, business partner, or someone with whom they could enjoy a laugh? They will never know; so oblivious to the world around them. They are the “walking dead.”
“Walking dead” are everywhere. They are not present in the moment. Instead, they are mentally on to the next task, the next event, focused on frustration, anger, and have too many things to do. You can find them in traffic, at the supermarket, and even in your living room. Do you know one?
What is the benefit of being disconnected? What is the price of stress? Starting now, pay attention to the world around you. You may notice a stunning sunrise, initiate a new deal, meet an interesting person, or enjoy some unexpected laughter. Your life will be the richer for it.
Fearful or Fearless? Which would you choose? We may not realize it, but we make that decision almost every day. As much as fearless is the choice so many of us would like to make, it is the fearful decision that we so frequently employ. The price for that decision is high; often denying us of happiness that each of us so richly deserves.
What are those fearful decisions? We may want to start our own business, change careers, or relocate to a new city; but fear prevents us from taking the first step towards achieving those goals. It may be the lifelong wish to play the piano, or be an artist, write a book, learn a new language, ride a motorcycle or ski that we are afraid to fulfill.
Perhaps it is attending an art opening, party or Hip Hop event alone. For some changing hairstyles, clothing styles, or sampling new foods can be fearful experiences. The list is endless and as diverse as we are. The reasons we are afraid are just as diverse. The one commonality, those desires rarely go away.
Living a life of fearlessness empowers us to live a life with no regrets. By facing our fears, we begin to challenge and expand our boundaries and comfort zones and increase personal confidence about our abilities. This makes it easier and easier to live the life of purpose, passion and pleasure that we desire.
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky says it succinctly, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Today, make a fearless decision. Take one small step toward that goal or dream. You won’t regret it.
Delighted to share that this post was picked up for content on Yahoo! Voices website:
The back row, it’s where I always sit. It’s a great way to be invisible, and the best seat for observing the drama of human behavior. At a recent workshop, on day one, my team was assigned my favored spot…back row. On day two, not so lucky, we were seated in the front.
Front row seating makes me slightly uncomfortable. I am no longer invisible, which makes me feel very exposed. Best behavior is required, focusing on the speaker, listening intently to their presentation. No doodling and day dreaming, no checking for emails. The pressure is on.
But to my surprise, I was engaged and energized. I felt like I was a part of the action, not just observing it. I was inspired, even motivated. By the end of the day, I was a convert. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing!
As I drove in for day 3 of the conference, the words of Bruce Schneider, PhD, the founder of my coaching alma mater IPEC popped into my head. “How you come to anything in life, is how you come to everything.”
I had a sudden flash of insight. I was Front Wanda, in the Back Row. What a metaphor for my life! For years I always defaulted to back row seating, a decision that served the insecure me so well. Now I was a confident woman, making major life changes without a safety net, certainly that classifies as Front Row behavior! This was impacting my life in many ways. It was time to rethink my seat selection, as well as other default settings.
I shared this with a close friend, a successful businesswoman, who surprisingly said “I always run to the door and hold it open for everyone else to enter, and then I walk in last.”
When I analyzed it; I realized that most of our defaults begin with “I always…… They served us at one point in our life. Then they became default settings, like brushing our teeth, we never think about them again. They become an invisible, automatic pattern in our life.
It’s time to re-examine those default settings. They impact the way we approach everything in life, and may no longer serve us. What do you “always do”? What are your defaults? Is it time to reset them?
Delighted to share that this post was picked up for content on Yahoo! Voices website:
http://voices.yahoo.com/whats-default-come-anything-life-11990788.html?cat=72
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