When you lose yourself in an interest that you love, you find yourself. Your talents come to the fore, your imagination creates a riot of colour, your self esteem soars and your heart, soul and mind sing in harmony. Believe in your true self and forever be proud of who you are.
Potterings Blog
Pottering around life's issues, a little digging here, some fertilizer there, pruning to stimulate new growth and generally cultivating people's potential to blossom. Your comments are always welcomed.
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We spend our lives trying to avoid our most certain future event - our eventual death. At some stage in our lives we each experience a "mortality jolt" - a sudden recognition that we aren't going to get out of this world alive. When you get that jolt, you can choose to drop your bundle, or decide you still have much to do to achieve your natural reasons for living. These include:
- you are a part of (not above) nature, created to grow, mature and blossom
- you were born with natural talents and passions - assets that enable you to achieve something uniquely magnificent
- no other person in human history has had, or will have, your mix of talents, passions and potential. It implies a`responsibility to use those abilities to do something new and different towards the world's progress
- you form part of a natural ecosystem of like-minded people in which you play an integral and essential role if that ecosystem is going to flourish.
Life is an absorbing journey of magnificent uncertainty, exploration, highs, lows and self-discovery. A mortality jolt simply reminds you who you are, where you are on the journey and where you want to be, while you can.
Taking the optimistic view on an issue is often regarded as naive or not being in possession of all the facts. Such a belief suggests the opposite of optimism is realism.
The fact is that it's impossible to base true progress on negative, pessimistic thinking. Genuine sustained progress can only thrive on an outlook of optimism, positive thinking, resilience and determination.
The fact that we are riding on a massive wave of negative, pessimistic thinking is therefore gradually strangling real social and economic progress - worldwide. It's essential to start developing a belief that optimism in fact means realism, that it is something far deeper than the shallow, keep smiling, "she'll be right mate" (Aussie slang - everything will be ok) casual form of optimism.
Optimism Australia, under the guidance of Adelaide Business Interventionist Ken Wood, is building a program of positive action. It doesn't have a fanciful aim of changing the world. More realistically. it focuses on specific areas of business and community development that exemplify where the community can start to 'turn the ship of negative thinking around'.
If you are in or near Adelaide on 2 October, you are encouraged to attend the next
Optimism Australia seminar, "Building a Resilient Community", Wednesday 2nd October, 5.30 - 7.30 pm, in the Star Room, Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
I am delighted that Ken has invited me to be one of three speakers at the seminar.
Here's the link for full details of the seminar, including bookings.
Swedish research indicates choir singing is good for the heart, slows the pulse and eases mental stress. I knew that all along but its good to have it formally recognized. An interesting aspect is that it seems to synchronize the heart beats of the singers so everyone gets the same benefits. Some interesting key phrases in their report, including
- shared emotions, intuitive co-operation, joint action, collective consciousness, sensitive ability to co-operate, help people connect and open up to each other.
What more do you want out of an interest than all of that?! And think what it does to improve the rest of your day - at work, home and play.
It's the play bit that I want to focus on. I suggest all of the above applies in full or part not only to choir singing but to almost any other form of group passionate interest you care to name - playing a team sport (for fun), playing music, art classes, indeed any activity that the members of a group freely undertake for the sheer joy of it.
Work provides that for you? I hope it does but there is a key element that work rarely offers - total control over one's participation, absolute free choice about taking part, for no other reason than sheer enjoyment, to whatever skill level that satisfies you and numerous other "state of flow" emotional benefits.
Did you guess I sing in a choir? Two actually. And as much as I love my work, I abslolutely prize my involvement in both choirs. Whatever your group leisure/recreation passion, its nice to have it confirmed its doing your heart good.
Ten years from now…and later
- what will give you your continuing joy of living life to the full?
- what passionate interests will be getting you out of bed each day?
- what energy-draining parts of your life will you have stopped or eased back?
- what will be the core features of 'living life on your terms'?
Fascinating questions. Is ten years too far ahead? Not if you are over 50. These questions become very important, perhaps even ones you fear because they could affect your work. But they must be addressed and the sooner you do so, the more satisfying and healthy your life will be ten years from now...and later.
Where are you currently putting your energies - energy in and energy out? What would you like to stop, ease, or develop? Such changes won't happen overnight. Recognition and decision is a good starting point.
“Work is killing off the great Australian weekend and starving kids of family time”, (Adelaide Advertiser August 3).The article quotes research done by The Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW:
- Weekend work has nearly trebled over the past 20 years
- Half of all business owners, 42% of contractors and 30 per cent of employees now spend their weekend in the workplace, to the detriment of family life.
- One in four workers are on call or on standby, “as technology contaminates leisure with messages and emails from the boss.”
Interesting how people still have a negative image of leisure, as a period of time in which people "slack off and waste good working time". This image was created in the Industrial Revolution when they painted leisure as evil (“idle hands are the work of the devil"). The IR took us from home productivity to factory productivity. The factory became the centre of life’s value and importance.
Leisure today isn’t a period of time. It’s an experience of the mind, the opportunity to creatively express your talents, passions and potential, for the enjoyment of doing so.
It's amazing the difficulty I have in getting people to give time to themselves and their own needs - especially their own emotional needs. Our society has become so hung up on the belief that life is about meeting the expectations of others. We have been carefully taught for generations by the work ethic that it is wrong to give time to self, that giving of self to others is the honourable way to go.
Are you too busy to take care of your health? Most of us are guilty of that as we hurry from one urgent responsibility to the next. For many it's a badge of honour to tell people you are so busy. But I haven't heard anyone express praise that so-and-so died because of their love of being busy.
Busy-ness is in fact at the crux of virtually all lifestyle issues today - stress, work life harmony, health, unexpected major life changes and especially when it comes to life after fulltime work - even if you opt to keep working.
High self esteem, strong self belief, talent development, creativity, energy, enthusiasm and engagement. All key words in business jargon to get the best out of people. All vital in the battle to attract and keep the best people, sustain high productivity, keep staff costs down and manage stress.
These are also key words in describing the benefits of passionate leisure experiences. Even more importantly, the benefits ripple through everything in life - at work and in personal life.
So why do we still regard work and leisure as separate, unrelated, even competing elements of life (see "The Kick in the Guts We Needed" Blog) ? Why not join forces?
Tell your people (nicely!) to "get a life" outside of work. Encourage them to enjoy at least one passionate leisure interest, because you want the benefits to ripple through to the job.
The very message itself will impress your staff.
They will be even more impressed if you offer them the opportunity to re-discover which interests give them those benefits, by experiencing my Lifestyle Review process. Go here for more details,
Some further reading:
Two centuries ago the work ethic relegated fun and leisure to a status of meaningless, idle frivolity. Fun got into bad company, spending its time hanging around slackers, time-wasters, malingerers and other undesirables. Managers felt fun wasn’t just unemployable, they saw it as a direct competitor to work.
Sound familiar? You may well know some managers and workaholics who still see fun and leisure that way. Until recent times, when discussing projects with a potential client, I tended not to mention the ‘l’ word until well into the discussion.
The massive changes, pressures and stresses of 21st century living have put paid to all that. Leisure is now back in business. It’s providing natural solutions to some of the biggest problems facing business today – stress management, sustaining high staff productivity, self-esteem and resilience, and stimulating creativity and innovation, to name just a few.
All this is nothing new in the course of history. Leisure has always had a core role to play in the natural order of personal growth, talent development and the realization of personal potential. The mad way we live today has provided the kick in the guts we needed to remind us that fun and leisure offer much more than simply having a good time.
Letting people know about good recipes seems to be all the go on TV, at least in Australia. As Australia's People Gardener, I have created an excellent recipe for ensuring strong personal growth and development.
For strong personal growth, take all or any of your natural born talents and fertilize them with your passionate interests. Then mix often with positive like-minded people.
The more often you follow this recipe, the better your future life is going to be. Try it and see how good it tastes. Share the recipe with your family, friends and work colleagues.
Probably the key reason you subscribe to my ezine or follow me on Twitter (@enjoybeingyou) is because you value above all else your pride in doing things your way. You enjoy being you! It has become the key to everything that makes life worthwhile for you.
I have just watched a You Tube presentation of one of one of the most inspiring pieces of music I have heard in praise of that trait. A wonderful presentation by Andre Rieu of "My Way".
Stop wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Use headphones, ear pieces, or a good set of speakers. Click on the link below and absorb this most empowering rendition. Be sure you listen right through to its conclusion.
I kid you not - I believe it is worth sending out this special message to you and anyone you know who loves dealing with life in their own unique way.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/e-y581HdWfY?rel=0
Keep on doing it your way in 2013.
Wherever your passions in life are found - at work, home and at play - there you will fiind the real you, your true self, your reason for living. No matter what else you must do in your life, allow yourself the joy of living your passion and loving the invisible you, the person you really are.
Happy New Year!
The pressures of daily life have in many ways imprisoned us into leading a life based on meeting the demands and expectations of others. We yearn to escape, at least temporarily.
I've just returned from a holiday aboard the Dawn Princess, traveling around New Zealand. Yes its a tough life but somebody has to do it. The cruise slogan - "Escape Completely" - was very apt. It was a great way to escape from the daily pressures and responsibilities of life.
It got me thinking. People in need of escaping don't want so much to escape from but escape to. Escape to an experience in which they can breathe naturally and do what comes naturally, enabling their natural potential to blossom.
Click here to read more on this..
In every area of life in my business I am finding a huge constant. People are crying out to be treated as human beings. Especially, but not only, in the workplace. And you know what? I see it as much in the lives of leaders and employers as I do in followers and employees.
Systems rather than people seem to be running the world. Emotions are foreign to systems. Emotions only exist, if you are fortunate, in the hearts and minds of people using - and too often abusing - those systems.
It's time to put the human back into humanity.
We are born to be who we are, expressing our unique talents, passions, potential, emotions and desires. Human-ness includes basic respect, mutual understanding and enough reasonable opportunities to see and express what people can do and give and be.
Perhaps I am a small voice fighting an unfeeling system? I see enough to know that is not the case. But it's a battle we have to have.
The Marmot studies into stress and health levels within the UK Civil Service came up with some unexpected findings. They thought senior executives would be the most stressed because of their high pressure work and major decision responsibilities. In fact lower level staff were found to be the more stressed, largely because they have much less control and discretion in their job.
There seems little doubt there's a strong link between the increasing levels of stress and the many changes over which we have so little control. It also strengthens the link between mental health and enjoying your favourite leisure/recreation interest - a life-enriching experience over which you have total control.
People want to listen when you speak about solutions to problems that can keep you awake at night. They sure listened to my keynote presentation to over 300 delegates to the Parks and Leisure Australia National Conference in Newcastle NSW, from which I have recently returned. I had so many people come up to me throughout the rest of the conference - and even at the airport as I was leaving - congratulating and thanking me. Some shared with me passionate personal stories about themselves and their lifestyles.
The topic was the changing perception of leisure in these frenetic times. My core message was that 'leisure is back in the business of solving global problems so serious that they keep people awake at night'. The audience reactions confirmed that leisure truly is back in the business of solving what is in fact a global energy crisis - people are burning more emotional energy than they are creating. The symptoms of burnout are everywhere.
But I won't reproduce the presentation here. You can click here to see my notes and slides.
I found the whole experience to be humbling, yet empowering. I would love to be able to recreate the experience at your next conference, seminar, staff development event or other business or community event. It doesn't have to be 300+ people. Any size group is fine with me.
RUOK? Are you ok mate? It's a simple but potentially hugely powerful question we can all ask a colleague, relative or friend. And September 13th is once again being recognized as National RUOK? day. Find out more on their site at www.ruokday.com.au
And don't just ask it on September 13th. Ask RUOK? at any time on any day of the year you notice somebody you know acting out of character. We are all reluctant to tell others when we are down but we all know the lift it can give when someone takes the time to stop, to show some concern and ask "are you ok?"
It won't hurt to ask...and you might even be triggering a positive turnaround in someone's life.
It's the simplest, most powerful form of stress management I could ever suggest.
Fear has been described as an acronym – F.E.A.R. False Expectations Appearing Real. Many working people feel fear when it comes to considering life beyond the age of 60-65.
Been there, done that. Let me assure you I am enjoying life beyond age 65. You can find it every bit as fulfilling as any earlier stage of life. You have so many options – paid or unpaid. It’s much like any other major lifestyle re-think you’ve done before, like when you got married, started a family, quit top sport, or reached any of the big ’0’s.
There’s one big difference. You become entitled to choose living life on your own terms. If that includes paid work, choose your own working terms. Whatever you decide, you owe it to yourself, and to those you love, to enjoy allowing your natural talents, passions and unique potential to continue blossoming. It has the potential to become the best time of your life.
One final tip. You wouldn't leave your financial planning until you needed the money. Start thinking now what 'planning life on your terms' means for you.
Still got fears?
Freedom - perhaps the greatest, most positive and potentially the most morale-boosting word in the world today. To those without it, freedom is a dream they cherish and long for. To those who have it, the greatest danger is to take it for granted.
Perhaps your most basic freedom is the freedom to choose what you enjoy. When it comes to choosing your work, there are many factors to be taken over and above simple enjoyment.
When it comes to leisure pursuits, you are in total control of the choice, the actions, the reasons, the extent to which you want to develop your abilities, who to do it with or to do it alone, whether it be physical or mental, active or passive, the place, the time, and more.
Reflect for a moment on the interest you passionately enjoy for its own sake. How does it make you feel? What does it do for your self-esteem and self-confidence? How much does it de-stress you and sustain your resilience to cope with everything else in your life?
It's a freedom we too easily take for granted, even leaving until after 'all the more important things are done'. And don't forget that others in your life, including your staff, also have the freedom to choose and enjoy their own leisure interests.
The Weekend Australian of July 21/22 reports these findings from a survey undertaken by specialist recruitment firm Robert Walters:
- 31% of job candidates see the salary package as the most important aspect of a job offer,
- 31% put the cultural fit first ("the way we do things here"),
- 26% see career progression as most important,
- 9% the company brand or reputation and
- 3% how the recruitment process was managed.
In the course of doing lifestyle review sessions for clients, I have been struck by the number and diversity of emotional reasons why people work, factors far deeper than simply the money and what it can buy. The fascinating part is that such emotional factors don't just drive their work choices, they drive their lifestyle choices - irrespective of whether or not they are in the workforce.
Some of the reasons expressed by clients include:- A sense of belonging
- Acknowledgement by others of myabilities
- Being part of something bigger than me
- Challenges
- Commitment to a purpose
- Decision making / Autonomy
- Dignity
- Impact on others
- Learning and professional development
- Maintaining connection / interaction with like-minded other people
- Making a contribution to others
- Opportunity to be creative
- Personal space
- Professional and social friendships
- Social recognition / status in business and in society
- Structures my life
- Thrill of the chase
- Valuing my personal abilities and skills
- Meeting a valued need
- it keeps me and my mind busy and focused
- it gets me out of bed with a sense of purpose for the day
- Self esteem, self belief, self confidence
- Performance feedback
- Being supportive beyond my own needs
- Never want to feel useless
Which of the above factors relate to you? No doubt you can add others of your own. Just remember they have major importance not only in choosing a job but in every decision that energizes your enjoyment of life.
Cultivating the brand of “Australia’s People Gardener” gets some diverse reactions. Some people love it. Others suggest it doesn’t present a good business image, the implication being that business is about playing hard-headed mind games in the battle for the dollar. No place for emotional sentiment.
I find that’s a perception people have of other people, not themselves. Success, not just in business but in life, is about passion, inspiration, determination, anguish, guts and every other emotion you can name. The head plays a role but the heart makes the big decisions. The people who really succeed in business do it first and foremost because they are passionate. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail but their heart is at the centre of everything they do.
Gardeners use their heads when cultivating vigorous plant growth but it’s their heart and passion for gardening that’s driving their efforts. Calling myself a people gardener is just a further evolution of me getting to know and express my true self better. What better example can I give of the nature of my business – my passion for helping people blossom through better knowing and expressing their true selves.
How do I do that? Click here to find out.