Ideals in Motion

Surprises...

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected. ~ Julius Caesar

 

Surprising things happen in life – both pleasant surprises and unpleasant. Regardless of the quality of the surprise, every surprise is, by definition, unexpected and because it is unexpected it will have the tendency to throw me off balance. Unfortunately, many of us seem to spend much of our lives off balance without really knowing how to come back to a resourceful center point.

There is an aphorism in the martial art of Aikido that admonishes the practitioner not to sacrifice their balance for power. When I look at many executives today they are in a continual process of trying to power through the surprises that they encounter on a daily basis. As a consequence, their stress levels are through the roof, they are reactive, they tend (more than most) to have short fuses, and, if in this state long enough will soon run themselves and those around them into the wall of burnout.

Knowing how and where my energy flows when I’m knocked off balance is a key to being able to rapidly come back to a center that is my point of balance. When balanced I have access to more resources, I can more easily move in more directions, I can take an effective - not rigid - stand.

The objective is not attempting to be continuously balanced; it’s learning to quickly return to a balanced and centered state when knocked off. This is only possible if I have an intimate familiarity with where that balanced state exists in my holistic (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) body.

There is a wonderful quote from the Irish author James Joyce that is useful to consider when assessing your ability to re-center: “Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body.”

Where do you live?

Artistry Is The Expression Of Ideals...

This fascinating video captures a beautifully choreographed process of touching many with the simplest of mediums - sand.

Perception...Don't Understimate Its Power

When coaching my clients one of the things I pay particular attention to is their perception of what's going on around them. I long ago learned that this is singularly the most important domain on which to focus if they want to achieve the kinds of change that they strive for. Now, before you roll your eyes and think "duh", stop for a moment and check your understanding of just what perception is.

Here's a simple way to think of perception: How I describe something to myself determines how I feel about it; how I feel about it strongly influence how I behave towards it. Here's a recounting of a fascinating experiment that exemplifies this phenomenon: We do not see with our eyes. We see with our brains.

Perception is the description part of this process. What goes into your descriptions of the events in your world? For many, much of what comprises our description filters are not in our conscious awareness. Our descriptions are, for the most part, unexamined. The problem this causes is that we often spend an inordinate amount of energy focusing on changing behavior. As anyone who has tried to change the behavior of another can attest, this is a fool's errand. We would be far better served focusing on becoming more aware of our "description bias" and finding ways to change the elements of how we describe our world that no longer serve us.

When You Lose Your Vision The World Can't Find You...

David Whyte, poet and my neighbor on Whidbey Island, wrote those words in one of his poems (which I have not been able to find!). They capture what goes on dynamically when I lose connection to my dreams and my ideals.

The tragedy of losing my vision for my life is not just that I lose touch with that which gives life meaning. I also lose the ability for "life" to find me. I become isolated, unsure of my ability to make things happen; doubting my worth and questioning the very nature of my existence.

We all need a vision for our life. We need the direction that vision provides; one that culminates in an end point that is really a rally point for the resources I can tap into as I use myself up. And, isn't that the point? To be used up in the pursuit of something I value.

Achieving my vision isn't guaranteed and achieving it isn't really even the objective. Try this...what would you like to have happen in 1,000 years? What is a vision that will take 1000 years to achieve? One that is meaningful to you and that you would truly like to see come to fruition. You'll never realize it AND you can dedicate your life to achieving it. Set such a vision for yourself and I'll guarantee the world will come to check you out!

Creating Your Ideal Future...it's a happening!

H...eisenberg (the uncertainty principle - at the quantum level, in order to observe something its motion stops)

A...ttachment (is required in order to notice or observe something)

P...robability wave ("reality" is a lived out on a probability wave where all things are possible)

P...erceived (the meaning making inherent in attachment...it's the sum of my beliefs, experiences, moods and predispositions that make "it" meaningful enough to be "real")

E...xperience (the phenomenon of being immersed in a particular point on a probability wave)

N...ow (what "reality" is observed as being at the point on the probability wave that I have chosen to perceive)