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Today Matters
If you're reading these words then congratulations: you've made it through the first two weeks of the new decade.
Some of you may be steadfast on the personal evolutionary path, taking giant leaps for yourself, assiduously checking boxes perhaps in the variety of avoiding cigarettes, eating more salads, going to poetry readings, and hitting the gym daily along the way.
Not that misery loves company, but looking back on my own first two weeks of this brave new decade, just about every thing that could have gone wrong has. Flight canceled. Laptop died. Pet sick. Vendors flaking. Oh, and then I ended up getting sick, too. Admittedly, it's not always easy to realize 2010 perfection. Resolutions and evolutions, whether they have figured prominently in your mental mantra or have been relegated to the dusty nooks and crannies of your mind - this post is your wake up call. If the tragedy in Haiti can be our reminder, we've no time to lose, my friends.
Laying in bed sick, working via telephone, I've missed every best-laid-plan of action I had made to realize my brave new decade. Although no one other than myself is comparing my New Year's objectives to actual actions taken, there's a been a huge gap between my idea about what I would have been doing over these past two weeks and what I have actually done. If you also see a gap between ideal and reality, take heart. Before you let any remorse about that gap convince you to give up your highest aspirations, this is an invitation to look at them anew, focusing upon bottom line values to organize your actions around, because your actions today really DO matter. In my experience, masterful actions matter even more so when executed in the midst of reality's curve balls rather than saving them for when things go as planned.
While many definitions of the word "resolve" refer to steadfastness or standing one's ground, take inspiration from one of the earliest origins of the word resolve, as being a "process of reducing things into simpler forms." By reducing your goals into the simplest kind of statement (one a five year-old could understand), you establish a generative framework for your resolutions, one that supports transforming your values into actions, no matter what kind of day you're having.
Here's what I mean:
1. What is your physical bottom line? Whatever your physical goals may be - lose weight, do more cardio, etc. - what is driving that goal and how do you honor that value no matter how crazy your day is? For example, my physical bottom line is that my body is a form of energy, and the food I eat is a form of energy, and even the types of movement and activity I do are an energetic experience. So when I look at my day and plan for movement or meals, I'm thinking of how I can get the BEST, CLEANEST, MOST PURE foods into my body, and I'm checking in with my body to assess what sort of movement it needs (treadmill for cardio? dancing in my living room? a power walk at lunch? doing the lunge/pushup circuit in the park?) and what my schedule will allow. When the curve ball comes, I remember this core value (body as energy, food as energy, movement as energy), and make sure to honor this value given available choices - whether it means choices as humble as the salad bar at Wendy's or slipping on flats and doing the stairs for 10 minutes between conference calls.
2. What is your professional bottom line? I've been ambitious since Day 1. My parents say that potty training was tough for me because I'd get so ENTHRALLED doing whatever I was doing I'd simply forget...sigh. In professional goal setting, rather than being seduced by ambition and rating success according to how much money, how glamorous the engagements, or how high-profile my clients, my professional bottom line is this: authentic value. Is the value the client is looking for authentic to what I can give? Is the compensation authentically in line with the effort? Am I speaking and advising from my authentic perspective/experience? Ask youself what your core value is in terms of what you bring to your work everyday. For me, the phrase "authentic value" keeps me honest, keeps me speaking up rather than shutting up when I have something to say, keeps me true to my value, and involving myself where I have true value to lend. What's your professional bottom line?
3. What is your bottom line relative to personal growth? Taking an inventory of life, it's clear to that whenever you invest in new skills/experiences, life evolves at warp speed. My bottom line is that I've got to be learning to be growing. Growth might be picking up a magazine on a topic you've never thought about. It might be asking the cheese guy at the gourmet shop to teach you about cheeses. It might be seeing what free classes are on offer at the public library, or checking out that martial arts center's newcomer/new year special. The point is that because I've identified what matters to me in terms of personal growth, it's easier for me to find ways to act upon it. Sure, you might not have the money to act on every class or seminar you've daydreamed about, but if you can identify learning opportunities throughout your day AND ACT ON THEM, each night when you go to bed you can rest knowing you have in some small way EVOLVED.
Real Life Case Study: Right now, as I write this, I've got an hour before I go to a friend's house for dinner. Physical bottom line: I'm going to do sun salutations for 25 minutes to work up a sweat/cardio and then get ready to go. It might not be the hour on the treadmill I had hoped for, but writing this post satisfied my professional bottom line. In terms of personal growth - I'll be surrounded by new people at this dinner. My commitment to professional growth will be to learn as much about each person there as possible. Rather than looking for what I have in common with each, I'll look for whatever is new, different or surprising about each.
So look at the day/year/decade ahead of you. Ask yourself to identify your bottom line - physical, professional and in terms of personal growth. Whatever you establish for yourself should be short and simple - the kind of phrase a 5 year old could understand. If the truth is simple, our own truth must be just as simple. Use these three simplifying questions to clarify how being true looks NOTHING like beating yourself up over whether you made it to the gym or not.
As always, let me know what you think!
Be well,
Tevis
Get the WebMD Emotional Wellness Newsletter - helpful tips in your inbox.
Want more? Tevis is leading a workshop called Success Is An Inside Job at Kripalu Yoga Center January 29-31.
Some of you may be steadfast on the personal evolutionary path, taking giant leaps for yourself, assiduously checking boxes perhaps in the variety of avoiding cigarettes, eating more salads, going to poetry readings, and hitting the gym daily along the way.
Not that misery loves company, but looking back on my own first two weeks of this brave new decade, just about every thing that could have gone wrong has. Flight canceled. Laptop died. Pet sick. Vendors flaking. Oh, and then I ended up getting sick, too. Admittedly, it's not always easy to realize 2010 perfection. Resolutions and evolutions, whether they have figured prominently in your mental mantra or have been relegated to the dusty nooks and crannies of your mind - this post is your wake up call. If the tragedy in Haiti can be our reminder, we've no time to lose, my friends.
Laying in bed sick, working via telephone, I've missed every best-laid-plan of action I had made to realize my brave new decade. Although no one other than myself is comparing my New Year's objectives to actual actions taken, there's a been a huge gap between my idea about what I would have been doing over these past two weeks and what I have actually done. If you also see a gap between ideal and reality, take heart. Before you let any remorse about that gap convince you to give up your highest aspirations, this is an invitation to look at them anew, focusing upon bottom line values to organize your actions around, because your actions today really DO matter. In my experience, masterful actions matter even more so when executed in the midst of reality's curve balls rather than saving them for when things go as planned.
While many definitions of the word "resolve" refer to steadfastness or standing one's ground, take inspiration from one of the earliest origins of the word resolve, as being a "process of reducing things into simpler forms." By reducing your goals into the simplest kind of statement (one a five year-old could understand), you establish a generative framework for your resolutions, one that supports transforming your values into actions, no matter what kind of day you're having.
Here's what I mean:
1. What is your physical bottom line? Whatever your physical goals may be - lose weight, do more cardio, etc. - what is driving that goal and how do you honor that value no matter how crazy your day is? For example, my physical bottom line is that my body is a form of energy, and the food I eat is a form of energy, and even the types of movement and activity I do are an energetic experience. So when I look at my day and plan for movement or meals, I'm thinking of how I can get the BEST, CLEANEST, MOST PURE foods into my body, and I'm checking in with my body to assess what sort of movement it needs (treadmill for cardio? dancing in my living room? a power walk at lunch? doing the lunge/pushup circuit in the park?) and what my schedule will allow. When the curve ball comes, I remember this core value (body as energy, food as energy, movement as energy), and make sure to honor this value given available choices - whether it means choices as humble as the salad bar at Wendy's or slipping on flats and doing the stairs for 10 minutes between conference calls.
2. What is your professional bottom line? I've been ambitious since Day 1. My parents say that potty training was tough for me because I'd get so ENTHRALLED doing whatever I was doing I'd simply forget...sigh. In professional goal setting, rather than being seduced by ambition and rating success according to how much money, how glamorous the engagements, or how high-profile my clients, my professional bottom line is this: authentic value. Is the value the client is looking for authentic to what I can give? Is the compensation authentically in line with the effort? Am I speaking and advising from my authentic perspective/experience? Ask youself what your core value is in terms of what you bring to your work everyday. For me, the phrase "authentic value" keeps me honest, keeps me speaking up rather than shutting up when I have something to say, keeps me true to my value, and involving myself where I have true value to lend. What's your professional bottom line?
3. What is your bottom line relative to personal growth? Taking an inventory of life, it's clear to that whenever you invest in new skills/experiences, life evolves at warp speed. My bottom line is that I've got to be learning to be growing. Growth might be picking up a magazine on a topic you've never thought about. It might be asking the cheese guy at the gourmet shop to teach you about cheeses. It might be seeing what free classes are on offer at the public library, or checking out that martial arts center's newcomer/new year special. The point is that because I've identified what matters to me in terms of personal growth, it's easier for me to find ways to act upon it. Sure, you might not have the money to act on every class or seminar you've daydreamed about, but if you can identify learning opportunities throughout your day AND ACT ON THEM, each night when you go to bed you can rest knowing you have in some small way EVOLVED.
Real Life Case Study: Right now, as I write this, I've got an hour before I go to a friend's house for dinner. Physical bottom line: I'm going to do sun salutations for 25 minutes to work up a sweat/cardio and then get ready to go. It might not be the hour on the treadmill I had hoped for, but writing this post satisfied my professional bottom line. In terms of personal growth - I'll be surrounded by new people at this dinner. My commitment to professional growth will be to learn as much about each person there as possible. Rather than looking for what I have in common with each, I'll look for whatever is new, different or surprising about each.
So look at the day/year/decade ahead of you. Ask yourself to identify your bottom line - physical, professional and in terms of personal growth. Whatever you establish for yourself should be short and simple - the kind of phrase a 5 year old could understand. If the truth is simple, our own truth must be just as simple. Use these three simplifying questions to clarify how being true looks NOTHING like beating yourself up over whether you made it to the gym or not.
As always, let me know what you think!
Be well,
Tevis
Get the WebMD Emotional Wellness Newsletter - helpful tips in your inbox.
Want more? Tevis is leading a workshop called Success Is An Inside Job at Kripalu Yoga Center January 29-31.
Labels: awareness, energy, goals, identity, satisfaction
A couple years ago the most desired brand in high fashion recognized they had a serious problem: their employees were bitchy to people they didn't think would spend a lot of money. After I was asked to get involved in solving the problem, I tested these findings. My business partner (a former Microsoft employee) and I wandered into their boutique in Beverly Hills in our yoga gear. Lo and behold, the septuagenarian security guard is the only person who bothered to acknowledge us for the entire 20 minutes we endured being in the store. Not a good feeling.
