Tag Archives | strengths

What if Your Ordinary Was Actually Extraordinary?

By on June 27, 2011 in Personal Growth, Success

We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. – Patti Digh

As I have mentioned before on this blog, I have been following along with the Trust30 writing challenge, although I think that they should have called it a “thinking challenge.” There are many who do not publically share their written answers, but are instead quietly pondering the prompts in the privacy of their own minds.

Patti’s piece really struck a chord with me. (Read the entire commentary here.) Too often we get caught up in comparisons and expectations. We are so quick to judge and condemn our work and ourselves.

And what are we using as the yardstick?

Other people’s accomplishments or perceived skills.

External expectations thrust upon us by a misguided or misinformed public.

Internal stories, arbitrary standards that don’t really fit who we are.

What if our “ordinary” is actually exceptional? What if what we view as our normal, everyday behavior, thoughts and skills are truly extraordinary to the world at large?

We will never know if we don’t put ourselves out there. If we don’t pursue that idea we have, if we don’t share our wisdom, if we don’t offer our talents to others we will never truly know what we are capable of.

I challenge you all…

Be your ordinary, not my ordinary or anyone else’s and see what happens!

 

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Have You Discovered Your Passion?

By on May 18, 2011 in Personal Growth, Success

Some people ask. “What if I haven’t found my true passion?”

It’s dangerous to think in terms of “passion” and “purpose” because they sound like such huge overwhelming ideas. If you think love needs to look like “Romeo and Juliet”, you’ll overlook a great relationship that grows slowly. If you think you haven’t found your passion yet, you’re probably expecting it to be overwhelming.

If you find yourself glued to Photoshop, playing around for hours, dive in deeper. Maybe that’s your new calling. If you keep thinking about putting on a conference or being a Hollywood screenwriter and you find the idea terrifies but intrigues you, it’s probably a worthy endeavor for you. You grow (and thrive!) by doing what excites you and what scares you every day, not by trying to find your passion.

Instead, just notice what excites you and what scares you on a small moment-to-moment level.

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What Makes You Different?

By on April 4, 2011 in Success

AdventurousAre you boring? Come on tell the truth…Are you plain Jane, run-of-the-mill boring? Do you wonder why nobody is talking about you or beating down your door?

What differentiates you from the rest of your industry? A little better or a little cheaper is just not extraordinary enough to get you noticed!

This year try something unexpected, something that amazes your customers or competitors, even if it’s ridiculous. It works for Zappos, it can work for you. It doesn’t have to be huge – sometimes simple innovations can be astonishing in their brilliance.

Be bold, be remarkable, be memorable, be authentic or unusual. Otherwise you will just fade into the woodwork of the millions of blogs and companies out there!

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Are You a Right Brain or Left Brain?

By on March 15, 2011 in Success
Stick figure with eyes and smile
Image via Wikipedia

I find the concept of right-brain/left-brain is fascinating. Does how our brains are wired really affect how we live, what we do, our personalities and the type of success we achieve? There’s a really good article on About.com about the basic differences between right and left brain people and a really fun quiz at Similarminds.com.

This is such a fun topic. Play around with this and figure out what type of brain you are! In the interest of full disclosure – I am almost totally left-brained, which is why I am super-organized and balance my checkbook every week; and also why I am hard pressed to draw a recognizable stick figure.

But the good news is;

  1. We can encourage the other side of our brain bu engaging in different types of activities.
  2. No matter what type of “brain” you have, you can learn to be more productive, organized, successful and fulfilled. It just looks differently.

Keep this in mind when developing strategies, choosing methods and such. Do not try to follow a very rigid and detailed plan if your mind values flexibility and fluidity. Take bits and pieces and find what works for you, not the guy down the hall.

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Golden Rules of Productivity

By on January 31, 2011 in Success

scrollWe are, most of us at least, creatures of habit and structure. We thrive when there are rules and guidelines to assist us through the veritable maze of life and work processes. Why should productivity be any different? Learning or developing any routine or program can be frustrating and confusing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, don’t let those feelings discourage you from your quest for higher personal and professional efficiency. You will not master every technique for organization or effectiveness; you should not even try. I can hear the type A’s protesting out there – mostly because I am one of them – but if you strive for perfection, you will inevitably come away disappointed.  Seek instead; measurable improvement over time and your pay-off will be less stress, greater success and more time to enjoy your life.

So, with that in mind, I have assembled a list of the most crucial rules that will ensure your success in becoming more productive over time. They are a combination of strategies gathered by researching and studying highly successful productive professionals, juggling mothers and also what I have personally found works for me.

Productivity Golden Rules

  1. One Change at a time – you get the best results when you truly focus on one change at a time.
  2. Know Your Why – What is the purpose behind your goals or work?
  3. Clarify your objectives.
  4. Plan your day, every day.
  5. Energy management – Know your peak productivity cycle.
  6. Set boundaries – Protect your time and space.
  7. Play to Your Strengths – Delegate or automate the rest.
  8. Don’t overthink, don’t procrastinate, and just do it.
  9. Invest in yourself – Learn, grow, improve your skills.
  10. Focus, Focus, Focus!

For a more in depth discussion on these productivity rules, read their individual posts, where we describe them in further detail.

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Journey of the Peaceful Warrior

By on December 2, 2010 in Life Balance, Personal Growth

calm

Peaceful Warrior

Lessons Learned: Month 5

The sanity and comfort that we seek in our tumultuous times is found in the small gestures and the simple acts that are easily within our reach.

We joke sometimes, the other military wives and I about the dichotomy of our toughness and vulnerability that uniquely make up the existence of “home-front warriors.” I ponder this odd journey I find myself on and wonder what it means. The answer has not entirely revealed itself to me yet, but this I do know; that the tangled web of moments, decisions and experiences that unfold are culminating in the transformation of the woman, the peaceful warrior that I have blossomed into.

As month 5 draws to a close it’s time to reflect on what I have lost and gained.

What have I lost?

5 pounds – This can be fortuitous or worrisome depending on your point of view.

Any sense of control – I have come to accept that the military controls my husband, for the time being at least. God, fate or the universe (substitute whatever you choose to believe) control our world, our lives and our future. No one can control the thoughts and actions of others. Even my children are mostly beyond my control. Sigh. Influence yes, control no. The only thing I truly control is my perception and reactions.

Any smugness or impression of supremacy based on talents or accomplishments – I have learned how precarious my semblance of order, organization and competence are. Knowledge and discipline can only go so far regardless of how efficient your system is. Life intervenes and even the most skilled individual can be blown off course by crisis, turbulence, utter exhaustion and sheer overwhelm.

Fear of appearing weak – The last vestiges of worrying about how I am perceived by others has dissipated. I cannot exist totally independent from others and why would I want to? I ask for help freely, I admit my fears and worries openly and I accept support gratefully.

What have I gained?

A sense of trust – I trust my husband not to put himself in unnecessary danger, to tell me if there is a need for me to be concerned and to give his family the position of top priority whenever possible. I trust my husband’s fellow soldiers to do their best to keep him safe. I also trust in my ability to handle whatever life throws my way.

Unqualified acceptance – That does not mean that I give up my prerogative to complain or try to alter the course of events, but that I accept what is reality in whatever form that takes right now. I accept my lack of control. I accept that there will be hardship and moments of devastation. I accept that it is not all about me and sometimes there is just nothing that can be done.

A core of strength and peace – I have slowly come to experience a sense of peace, a certain kind of knowing that all will be well in the end. It’s a revelation of just how far the limits of my strength and capacity can stretch and an inner calm that flows along with that knowledge.

I am not a pacifist, not in your wildest dreams, but no longer will I obsess over worry and control that elude me. I have grown to embrace the title and meaning of “peaceful warrior.” The personification of that in practical terms means that I save my worry for true and real concerns right now, instead of future possibilities. It means that I save my strength for matters over which I can have some influence and affect some change. It means that I conserve and expend my energy in synergy with the flow of life and with respect for the needs of my body and mind. It means that I am calm and focused, compassionate and forgiving and equally fierce and powerful when necessary.

It feels akin to taking the first step on a new path of unknown destination with no idea what landscape I will see along the way. What I do know is that I intend to keep my eyes, mind and heart open to everything life has yet to offer me.

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Manage Your Energy

By on August 5, 2010 in Personal Growth

Learning how to manage your energy goes along with the post I wrote a few days ago explaining the importance of knowing yourself and what works for you. Another part of that strategy is also knowing and managing your energy cycle, levels and preferences. Then the next step is figuring out how to use that knowledge to your advantage to help you work smarter, be more effective and have more free time.

Personal energy considerations:

  • Are you a morning person or a night owl?
  • Do you get a lunch time or mid-afternoon energy slump?
  • What is your optimal length of focus or work period? For some people it’s 30 minutes spurts with short breaks in between, for others it’s 60 or 90 minutes and for a rare few it’s 3 or 4 hours.
  • How often do you need to eat to maintain your concentration and energy? For health purposes you should eat every 3-4 hours, but perhaps a snack every 2 works better for you.
  • Does the type of food you eat matter? Perhaps pasta isn’t a good lunch if it makes you want to take a nap!

You may not know the answers to these questions and you are not alone. The best method to use to get a better “map” if you will of your energy cycle is to track your workday activities with energy notes for a week. You should already have some type of calendar that you use for work and/or home. Simply make brief notes as you go through your week about the type of task you are doing and how you are feeling each hour. When you look back at the end of the week, you will see a pattern that you can use to help you schedule tasks, meetings, breaks and other activities during the times that are more appropriate for you.

For example, I have discovered that I am a morning person and that my brain gets fuzzy late at night. However, when I first wake up it takes me a while to calm my mind and focus; it’s usually like a whirling vortex of ideas and task. This is not a good time for me to write a blog post or do project work. It is a great time for me to scan social media, read RSS feeds, answer quick emails (things that only need a few minutes focus) or alternatively to exercise which helps to calm my mind. My energy and focus “curve” slowly climbs throughout the morning and peaks late morning. So 10AM-12PM is great project/writing time. This is why I frequently get caught up in a project and do not want to stop to eat lunch. I will keep working until 1 or 2 some days and then I am starving. So, the lesson for me here is not only when to schedule high focus activities, but also to make sure I take a mid-morning break and have a good snack in case lunch is later. I am almost useless many days late afternoon, so I best get everything done before 3PM or else it has to wait until mid-evening. I do get another spurt of energy between 6-8PM, which I like to use for those household chores, being active with the kids or occasionally writing or other business tasks that I may not have time for during the traditional work day (i.e. finances, marketing, technology issues.) The other things I discovered are that I work better in 90 minute blocks of time (30 minutes is too disruptive for me) and that I need to eat every 2 – 3 hours.

To read more on the other Golden Rules of Productivity, click here.

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knowledge

Invest in yourself

By on May 4, 2010 in Success

knowledgeInvest in Yourself is one of the most important Golden Rules of Productivity.

Investing in yourself will yield the highest returns of any investment you have ever made. If you want to stay competitive or be at your most effective you need to keep learning and growing on a regular basis. In today’s world with the constantly changing technology, concepts and guidelines if you aren’t improving your knowledge and skills, you will be out-of-date in mere months. You have to stay current if you want to be the best – and I am assuming that you do or you would not be reading this blog.

What does investing in yourself look like? It does not mean that you need to be perpetually enrolled in higher education, though that is an option if it appeals you. Learning and growing can take many forms. It may be as simple as having subscriptions to trade publications – either in print or online – to stay up on new trends. The caveat there is that you must actually read them! You may attend conferences, workshops or other forms of training, take online webinars or read current books in your area of expertise. You may work towards an advanced degree or certification. Any knowledge or skills that you can acquire can help you grow.

This is not just limited to your business skills either. If you want to take a writing course at the local college or learn photography that’s fine. Maybe you want to hone your musical skills or become a gourmet cook. All of these skills help you to stretch and grow as a person and can be easily transferable no matter what you do in your “business” life. Your mind stays sharp, your comprehension of current trends and conversations increases, your confidence rises and your proficiency in areas such as analysis and problem-solving also improve. Knowledge and growth will help you become a more valuable commodity in any area.

To read more about the other Golden Rules of Productivity click here.

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go put your strengths to work

Play to Your Strengths

By on January 14, 2010 in Success

go put your strengths to workI first learned the concept of working on your strengths from Marcus Buckingham, author of “Go Put Your Strengths To Work.” In a nutshell, he contends that spending our time trying to improve upon our weaknesses is actually, well a waste of time. I am not saying don’t try to better yourself, but instead focus on the things that you do well. That is where you will see the greatest improvement anyway.

That is the beauty of working on a team, or delegating out some of your tasks. If you know that you are very creative, but not very organized, then fine work with that. Don’t keep beating your head against the wall. Hire someone to take care of the details or get you organized so that you can keep developing concepts, innovations or marketing your product.  Conversely, if you are a detail, planning and money person, then team up with a creative genius!

This works both at home and at work. For example, I dislike making phone calls and my husband is spelling and grammatically challenged, so we have worked out a system. He makes the phone calls and I write the emails and correspondence. I pay the bills, but he does the painting (I am spatially challenged and cannot color in the lines!)

Think about everything that you do in conjunction with your business (or at home) and see what you can delegate, trade or hire out. You will be so much more productive and much less frustrated.

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