Archives for March 2007

Last month I spoke to an organization on the topic of stress and change.  I was surprised at the range of responses I received in the evaluations.  Many of the audience members embraced my message, while others commented the discussion was too high level and didn’t provide pragmatic solutions.  In other words, they believed I missed the mark.  After a weekend of discerning thought, I’ve come to realize they were all accurate representations. 

You see, our thoughts are colored by our past experiences, which shape our responses to circumstances and situations.  When we get comfortable with that, life becomes a lot less stressful.   We know what we know, yet we have to remind ourselves that what we don’t know is likely the solution to our current situation.  So the solutions to our problems and desires are right here – right now – but they are disguised from us.  They are right within our reach if we can change our patterns of thinking – which is easier said than done.  Why should you change what helped you acquire the skills that now serve you?  These ‘pathways to productivity’ both serve us and blind us to future productivity.  Before long we discover there are obstacles – stones on the path that seem to get in the way of where we are going.

What’s the solution?  Soak up life with eager anticipation and awareness.  Delight in everything that comes your way on your path, whether you see it as a gift or a curse – because in most cases it is both.  What seems like a gift today may hold you back in the future if you lean on it too much.  Our natural evolution as fully functioning human beings is to learn at every turn so that we can achieve our full potential.  When you take this approach you accept the highs and the lows as ripples in your natural path to becoming more productive and effective in whatever it is you value in this lifetime.  We are all ‘wired’ differently.  A step by step approach that bores the heck out of some of us that resist structure, may well be the magic formula that leads to breakthrough productity – naturally – for a co-worker that is looking for reliable path to follow. We are all right in our beliefs, especially when they naturally lead to positive results.  The key is to keep looking – make sure you are on the right path – and if you are, don’t worry about a few stones that get in the way.  Toss them aside and keep moving forward!