Vibrant, Vital and Valued
I recently picked up The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd. It has been an fascinating read that builds nicely on the theme of the last India Journal: We’re Not In Kansas Anymore and explores our attitudes about time.
Dr. Zimbardo is well-known for the infamous Stamford Prison experiment in the early 70s, which investigated the power that social situations have in influencing behavior of ordinary people. Of the experiment, Zimbardo says:
…even though the student-prisoners knew they would be part of this experiment for only a limited time, they didn’t behave that way. They behaved as if they were trapped. Although the prisoners cold have escaped their dismal daily grind by sharing with other prisoners their past identities and future hopes for when the experiment would be over, they rarely did so. …these mock prisoners had quickly imprisoned themselves in despair by focusing on very recent negative experiences of only days in a mock prison.
Dr. Boyd joined Dr. Zimbardo in ‘94 and together the duo has expanded our understanding of time perspective and its power to influence how we navigate our lives. In a part of the book that discusses Making Time Matter, they write: (more…)
To Boost Your Energy, Start Noticing
My clients are the most energizing part of my work. They are people who want to shift or improve some part of their professional or personal lives, and know they have the power to create the change, even when the path may not be clear.
If you are want to create a change of your own, a great place to start looking for clues is energy – where we allocate it, what gives us a boost and what drains us. (more…)
Toward a Dream Realized
Watching Barack Obama accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, I was stunned by how proud I felt to see people of every race, gender and creed taking part in the process – speaking, debating, protesting, nominating, conceding, championing, building, educating…and making history
Regardless of your politics, today is a day to celebrate. We have turned a new corner as a nation, and it will have deep and lasting implications.
Today, our country, a symbol of freedom and equality to many beyond its borders, breaks through a new boundary – taking that symbol to new heights.
Today is a day of historic import, commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr’s landmark speech describing his dream of justice and racial equality. It is a momentous day, as Barack Obama became the first African-American nominated by a major political party for the Presidency of the United States of America. It is a meaningful day, as we renew the self-evident truth that all men are created equal.
Today, we are offered a reminder of our responsibility to wake ourselves up, to dream beyond what others think possible, to be courageous, to break down walls, to build up others, to scale new heights, to never accept “impossible”, to face the odds, to remember our strength, to seize the day. And we are offered a challenge of mutual responsibility to build communities and lives worthy of the opportunity before us.
Or to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
Consciously Crafting Your Career
When you are young, your ideas of about what you wanted to be were based on an image – perhaps from a book or television. Maybe going to see the Nutcracker planted the seed of being a ballerina or a watching The Lone Ranger led to visions of being a cowboy. Perhaps The Cosby’s inspired ideas of becoming a doctor like Cliff or a lawyer like Claire. While these ideas weren’t necessarily based on personal strengths, you weren’t yet making career decisions. You could enjoy such flights of fancy, as they had little impact.
Growing older, you began to receive input from a greater number of sources including family, community, peers, teachers and counselors. Your career began to unfold based on the images of success designed based on these external, familial and societal factors. As the years progress, you may have found yourself getting restless, feeling less challenged, perhaps even bored. Maybe you attained success and were shocked to find it didn’t feel or look like what you had imagined, or you began to wonder, “what’s next?”
Management guru, Peter Drucker offered the idea that it is up to the individual to be the CEO of his or her career. Drucker suggested that,
It’s up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years. To do those things well, you’ll need to cultivate a deep understanding of yourself—not only what your strengths and weaknesses are but also how you learn, how you work with others, what your values are, and where you can make the greatest contribution. Because only when you operate from strengths can you achieve true excellence.
Taking the time to engage in this exploration will help you to be prepared for opportunities, and to consciously shape a career that reflects your personal definition of success.
You can start by determining: (more…)
Lessons from Fidel Castro: How to Plan Your Resignation
Reading about Fidel Castro’s resignation, I thought it might be a good time to discuss how to resign from your current position. While you may not be ending your tenure as the longest ruling communist dictator, a well thought out plan will serve you well.
Before you march into HR with your letter of resignation, consider what you need to leave successfully and construct a negotiation plan.
There is more on the table that you haven’t yet examined, including transition pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, references, company car purchases, fitness membership conversions, phone and computer transfer and a vast array of intangible benefits.
Before approaching management about leaving, think about your role, the direction the company is heading and design an exit strategy. Compile a list of separation benefits that should be on the table based on company policy, your tenure, position, and in return for easing potential problems. The following list may help you prepare your strategy. (more…)
What Do I Want To Do
What do I want to do with my life? The mere question gives rise to tremendous excitement, anxiety, inspiration, confusion, elation and depression!
The excitement, inspiration and elation come from the idea of what is possible and the opportunity to have exactly what we want. And the anxiety, confusion and depression come from the fear of making the wrong choice from the dizzying array of options before us.
How is it possible to NOT know what we WANT!
In reality, it isn’t all that unusual to not know what we want to do with our lives. We can review our skills, our experiences, where we have expertise or an established identity – however, knowing what we want is not about simply figuring out what we can do or what is possible.
In fact, determining what we want has little to do with what we have done, rather it is something that engages our passions and our minds. And, it is something that can change we get older!
Where to start? (more…)
Finding Your Dream Job
When I describe my career and my life I typically explain that there have been many twists and turns but few real bumps. I’ve learned along the way to look at my career, my life and my success from a different perspective.
Some of my most important lessons have been:
- Look for work that fits you. Think about the interesection of what you enjoy and what you do best. By starting from what you want, you will be less tempted to tell yourself you could fit into a job that entails a lot of technical individual work when you really want a creative collaborative job.
- Don’t worry about the ladder. Letting go of the status and your ‘title’ identity that goes along with it gives you freedom to explore what you enjoy rather than what provides a socially accepted vision of success. Your personal priorities and values can guide where you allocate your time, money and energy.
- Select your own perks. Rethink sacrafice and reframe benefits. Not having an office on Central Park isn’t a sacrafice when I can skip those 8 am staff meetings. It isn’t a sacrafice to give up business class flights when I am choosing the destination and duration of my trip. I may not be staying at the Ritz-Carlton, but I am not stuck in a conference room all day either. Is that great title worth 1-1/2 hour commute and 10 pm evenings at the office?
- Take the scenic route. Enjoy the road you are on…follow your own path, even if others think it is crazy. Don’t let your career drive your life – let your passion take the wheel.
Declare Your Independence!
While many of us are interested in making a change, the challenge of experimenting with vocation seems daunting. We often find ourselves mired in our circumstances.
There are a number of reasons we maintain our choosen course, and most of them have to do with fear. We may tell ourselves we can’t change because we have…
- Been trained, educated or licensed in a specific field
- Invested time and money in the profession/company
- Achieved success within the field
- Established contacts/connections
- Been out of the game to long
- Too many obligations
It is easy to doubt that we can transition to a new vocation, start a business or even find a new way of working in our current position. Our fears can box us in and we become further entrenched in the status quo – even if we are conflicted about the situation.
What’s Next?
I hear it all the time…”I don’t know what I want to do next.” It is the refrain of successful businesspeople ready for the next challenge, women return to work after raising children, new retirees, the recently unemployed, professionals ready for a career change, and those facing a wide range of personal or professional transitions.
I love hearing those words…it’s when I know that the before me person is on the edge of something wonderful. Recognizing that you are ready for the ‘next‘ is the very first step in creating your own personal revolution. Even if you don’t know what your ‘next‘ is — you can still start the groundwork.
For many of us, deciding a major in college, selecting a vocation, even chosing an industry is a process for which we are sorely unprepared. The process is so daunting the first time around that we hesitate to engage in it again. How do we decide what it is we want to do next? Even with the best of intentions, we most often find ourselves recreating the same set of circumstances in a new place rather than trying on something outside of our comfort zone. It isn’t always a conscious thing, but more of an active inertia.
Deciding what’s next for you can be an adventure! You can try on different hats, express sides of yourself that have long been buried and explore anything you’ve ever dreamed. So think big – What do you love doing? What would you like to try? What do people always say you are good at? Do you have a hobby you are passionate about? Go ahead, give it a try – step out in some new shoes!
For inspiration check out Paolo Nutini “New Shoes” on iTunes.
Memory Muscle: Part II
As the story in Memory Muscle Part I relates, there are traits we each have that are natural, innate strengths. Often, as we grow up we lose touch with some of these traits, acquiring others that help us to fit in or adhere to a role. Over time, our individual voices become buried deeper and deeper, until we almost forget they ever existed.
The Memory Muscle Exercise is designed to help you hear your individual voice, reconnect with your natural strength, and recognize your innate talents. (more…)
