“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.” — Maya Angelou
Viewing entries tagged
change
“We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” – Peter Drucker
“Only fools and dead men don’t change their minds. Fools won’t. Dead men can’t.” – John Henry Patterson
“Humans are social animals. There are probably dozens of ways we absorb energy, inspiration, skills, and character traits from those around us. Sometimes we learn by example. Sometimes success appears more approachable and ordinary, because we see normal people achieve it, and perhaps that encourages us to pursue schemes with higher payoffs. Sometimes the people around us give information we need or encouragement, or contacts, or even useful criticism. We can’t always know the mechanism by which others change our future actions, but it is pretty clear it happens, and it’s important. Years ago, I mocked an intern for thinking his choice of neighbors would influence his career. If he’s reading this, I’d like to offer my apology. I can easily see that were you live might influence the energy you put into your career. If you live near optimistic winners, whose qualities are sure to rub off to some extent. And I advise you to consider is fact a primary tool for programming your moist-robot self. The programming interface is your location. To change yourself, part of the solution might involve spending more time with the people who represent the change you seek.”
– Scott Adams in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
“Shouldn’t loss change a person, for the better, forever?”
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” – Stephen Hawking
“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” – John Green
Dogged pursuit of our goals is what sets winners apart from the also rans. Developing mental toughness isn’t just about being resilient. It’s not just about enduring. It’s also about training yourself to access your reserve tank when you think you just can’t go any further.
I attended a seminar hosted by 22squared which featured the author, entrepreneur, music lover, and ultra marathoner, Jesse Itzler. His high energy presentation talked about how you can develop your grit.
We all think we know our limits. Whether you’re pushing your body, mind, or spirit, there’s always that moment when you feel like tapping out. We think we know our limits, but in fact, we lie. To get past that point, Jesse explains a perspective-altering rule he learned from a Navy SEAL who came to live with for a month:
He would say that when your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40 percent done. And he had a motto: If it doesn’t suck, we don’t do it. And that was his way of every day forcing us to get uncomfortable to figure out what our baseline was and what our comfort level was and just turning it upside down. We all have that will. It’s just a matter of how we apply it not just to the once-a-year marathon, but to a variety of things in our daily lives.
Mental blocks take many forms:
- The rational arguments (“I don’t want to injure myself” or “no need to over do it”)
- The empathetic encouragement from a spouse, friend, or co-worker (“come here and rest” or “it’s okay not to finish”)
- It can take the form of entitlement (“I earned a little rest and relaxation”) or self-doubt (“I can’t do any more”)
- It is often accompanied by justifications that give up the control of what you think about your efforts to others (“My boss will understand how hard this is” or “Everyone knows that I did everything I could”)
- Sometimes we throw in the lame excuse in the mix (traffic, weather, you choose)
- And sometimes we throw in the unhelpful or incomplete comparison (“I have done more than everyone else”)
These mental blocks - when your brain taps you on your shoulder reminding you of your discomfort and pointing you towards the exit - can occur anytime your goal isn’t bigger than your obstacles or your love of comfort (literally your comfort, or your comfort zone, figuratively).
To achieve our best we have to tamp down our inner sloth of laziness, the inner gremlin of criticism, and the ever-helpful voice in our heads that wants you to wrap us in bubble wrap to protect us from the bruises of effort. Instead, surprise them all with our resolve. Remind them that you aren’t fragile. Turn that resolve into actions. Actions of how we spend our time, our money, and our energy to accomplish really amazing things reserved for those who put in the effort.
The next time you feel like giving up, slacking off, or tapping out, instead retire your bubble wrap and realize you’ve still got 60 percent left.
You can find Jesse’s New York Times best-selling book, Living with a Seal: 31 days training with the toughest man on the planet, at your favorite reseller. Mine is on order.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.
“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” – Woodrow Wilson
It was fun to be interviewed for the Honeywell Home and Building Technologies internal blog (sorry, no external access). I got asked about the company, my vision for the group, and about myself. Got a chance to brag on my family and share about some things we are doing to get to know our new city: Atlanta, Georgia.
Shel Silverstein was a childhood favorite of our family and some of his poems have taken on deeper meaning as I have gotten older. In light of the changes underway in my life and career, one of his poems has inspired one of my own - a parallel poem about losing and finding.
Losing Pieces by Shel Silverstein
Talked my head off.
Walked my tail off.
Cried my eyes out.
Walked my feet off.
Sang my heart out.
So you see,
There's really not much left of me.
Finding Me by Jennifer Davis
Found community in conversation.
Marshalled courage in work.
Discovered gratitude in tears.
Uncovered strength in the journey.
Expressed joy in the song.
So you see,
In losing pieces, I may find me.
Photo credit: Randy Y
This article originally appeared in LinkedIn Pulse.
All of us have experienced it. The dizziness and disorientation that comes from motion sickness. Either in the backseat of a station wagon, on a boat, or spinning around the yard, there is that familiar and strange sensation of your brain swirling around in your head. Something similar happens in times of change in our professional lives as well. Whether navigating new waters, riding along on a bumpy road, or having circumstances change suddenly, some motion sickness can be hard to avoid.
So, how do you survive change, avoid light-headedness, and emerge on the other side stronger, wiser, and more capable than you began? Here are three principles to apply.
1. Find your Focus
When I would go out boating as a kid with family friends and started to feel a little wheezy, they would encourage me to set my eyes on a fixed point like the horizon or the nearby shoreline. It helped provide perspective and settle my stomach. The same is true in our work life. In times when the business results or changing processes are like choppy seas, it is good to fix your eyes on the constants of your business: your commitment to customers, your loyalty to the mission, or your cool products. Not everything in the environment is changing and some of what is steady is extremely positive and can keep you grounded even if things are changing.
2. Hydrate Your Interests
One of the common causes of dizziness is dehydration. To avoid dizziness, they recommend drinking enough water, eating regularly and sleeping soundly. In other words, you can’t neglect your health and expect your body to perform at its peak. Most of us have multiple interests in and beyond work. In times of change it is important to nourish your curiosities. At work, look for ways to learn new skills or expand your contributions. And in your personal life, don’t neglect the things that feed you like hobbies, time with friends, family, or time in reflection or in nature.
3. Practice Your Flexibility
Have you ever wondered how ice skaters can perform those tight and fast spins on the ice without getting dizzy? Unlike dancers, who can fix their eyes on a single location trick their brain into thinking it is still even though their bodies are moving, ice skaters are moving too fast for that. When the spin stops, why don’t they feel overwhelmingly dizzy and fall to the ground? The answer is a little anti-climactic: they get used to it. Starting small and slow, they build their tolerance. They might still get dizzy, but not enough that the audience would know. You, too, can practice your flexibility and open-mindedness and train yourself not to get disoriented in times of change. It requires some self-awareness, perhaps some self-reflection and opportunities to practice. So, if you find yourself facing change after change, be thankful that you are getting the opportunity to practice.
The most common cause of dizziness is unintended motion. It’s something out of your control and causes your body to move when you haven’t moved it. In times of change, the first thing to go is our own sense of control and that can be disconcerting. But it need not be debilitating. Like the effects of vertigo, most times they are harmless and temporary. We just need to find our feet and proceed forward and the dizziness will pass.
Guest article by Elita Torres with Lead Grow Develop.
As a leader, one of our most important responsibilities is keeping our workforce engaged. Typically, that may mean adopting your leadership style to match the needs of your team. However, with the millennial generation joining the workforce, it is not enough for leaders to have to adapt their management style. Employers may need to look at their engagement policies as well.
Millennials or “Generation Y” are defined by many as those individuals born between 1982 and 2004. According to the Pew Research Center, there are now 75.4 million Millennials, surpassing the 74.9 million "Baby Boomers," those born between 1946 and 1965, as the largest segment of the U.S. population.
If Companies are to keep engagement a priority, they need to understand what drives Millennial’s motivation. Is there a need to change one’s style to adapt to this different generation? With so much focus on Gen Y, it pays to take notice.
A recent Deloitte Millennial survey uncovered some interesting facts about this generation:
- During the next year, if given the choice, one in four Millennials would quit his or her current employer to join a new organization or to do something different.
- Millennials judge the performance of a business on what it does and how it treats people.
- When asked, “What are the most important values a business should follow if it is to have long-term success?” They responded that businesses should put employees first, and they should have a solid foundation of trust and integrity.
- Seven in ten (70 percent) Millennials believe their personal values are shared by the organizations they work for. This rises to 80 percent among the most senior Millennials and 82 percent for those intending to stay for at least another five years. This is a strong indication that Millennials choose employers whose values reflect their own.
What values are important to Gen Y? Working for a company that:
- Provides a good income to employees
- Is the best possible place to work
- Focuses on improving the skills of the workforce
- Provides services and goods that make a positive difference to people’s lives
- Generating and supporting jobs
It sounds similar to previous generations. After all, which generation doesn’t want to get paid well or work for a company where they can improve their skills? The main difference is Millennials are not willing to wait for a company to get it right. Their level of loyalty is lower than previous generations. Remember the first statistic from the Deloitte survey? 70% would quit their job to do something different.
Leaders and companies can no longer afford not to put employee engagement first.
Here are 7 Mistakes to Avoid in Leading Millennials in the Workplace
1. Not Being Clear on Career Opportunities
Surveys show that millennial workers rate training and development as an employee benefit three times higher than they rate cash bonuses. It starts with a set onboarding plan and continues with a development plan that focuses on elevating their employees’ skills. Find ways to challenge them through stretch projects.
2. Establishing Your Authority through Power
If as a leader, you attempt to display your authority through your position or power, you will not achieve consistent success. In order to motivate millennials, establish authority through relationship and respect. Leaders need to forget top down management and now focus on side to side management.
3. Micro-Managing
“The new-era employee assumes they can and should contribute to conversation and decisions that affect where they work,” says Lisa Orrell of San Francisco Bay Area-based consultancy, The Orrell Group and author of Millennials Incorporated. Meetings should be open, collaborative sessions in which everyone is encouraged to share ideas.
Explain what needs to be done and what the end result should look like, but trust them to get there on their own.
4. Under Emphasizing the importance of Company Culture
Establishing a solid company culture has always been important but never more so than now. If they believe that their values are being shared by the company they work for, their loyalty increases. Make sure your company vision is clear and is reflected in your business decisions. When identifying and building your company culture, focus on the team and not the company.
5. Not Investing in Technology
If you have outdated technology, you will quickly frustrate your employees. Millennials are comfortable with all the latest tech and expect it from the place they work for. They have become reliant on technology for just about everything.
6. Not sharing
Transparency and open dialogue is key. If you don’t take time to connect with your employees, you will lose their interest fast. Don’t assume you know what gets them motivated and have that dialogue with them.
7. Not Reconsidering the schedule
It may not be an option in every work environment, but if you can make work hours flexible, you will be meeting an important benefit. Replace the regular 9-5 work routine and try to work around a schedule that is a win-win for both employee and company.
The good news is that you can get to know what your Millennial workforce needs by just asking. They expect transparency, but are transparent themselves. Just ask.
Our guest blogger is Elita Torres is a Regional Sales Director and Blogs at Lead Grow Develop. She writes post on Leadership and Personal Development as well as a #5MinMotivation series. Elita can be found @ElitaTorres1 on Twitter and on Facebook at@LeadGrowDevelop.