Feeling the effects of "Endless Growth"

Although the world is in a constant state of flux, we have approached a point in evolution where change is accelerating at ever faster rates. The question we need to ask ourselves is; are we adapting accordingly to this rapid fire change?

The reason I ask this question is because the increasing change around us is putting into question some deep-seated ideologies. Ideologies that were born out of the industrial revolution. But are these ideologies continuing to serve us or have they become obsolete?

The very systems, structures, beliefs and ways of living created out of the industrial age are beginning to be exposed through various forms of limitation. This is because these systems have been built on the premise of endless economic growth.

In other words, as long as we keep growing, then these systems will continue to flourish. But as we've recently seen, these systems (financial and environmental) have begun to buckle under the relentless pressures of economic growth. This is because we live in a finite context.

We're now starting to feel a sense of vulnerability towards this fundamentally flawed logic of compounded growth. The industrial age has exploited all forms of fossil fuels; namely oil, gas and coal. But now that much of the low hanging fruit (the easy to exploit sources of energy) has been depleted, it's becoming increasingly difficult, expensive and dangerous to mine these natural resources.

For example, most of the oil drilling has now shifted off-shore resulting in greater energy expenditure to get at these hard to get energy reserves. Also, the technology required to extract from these reserves needs to be more sophisticated. Peak oil and the demands of technological innovation will continue to hike the price of oil as it becomes increasingly scarce.

Another major concern is peak debt. Peak debt was glaringly exposed in the financial crisis of 2008. Debt had, up to that point, served economic growth by way of a credit bubble. The Keynesian model of economics had been proved true until people began to default on their credit payments.  This was after financing various forms of debt through mortgage-backed securities.

Financial institutions sought to make money through fancy derivative products that were sold to market through credit default swaps. This was a form of betting on and insuring against default on credit payments, which at the time was immensely lucrative. Such products escalated debt to the point where large financial institutions (AIG, Lehman Brothers to name a few) could no longer make their own payments, filed for bankruptcy and caused the whole financial system to come crashing down like a house on fire.

Since then, governments (particularly the Fed) have bailed out such corporations (deemed too big to fail) while pumping trillions of dollars into the financial system, through a series of quantitative easing measures, to try resuscitate a bleeding system. But when debt is at such a peak these measures fail to address the underlying issues of systemic collapse.

That's because at the heart of this issue lies economic growth. Since industrialization, every system has been built for this sole purpose - to keep the wheels of economic growth churning. But due to peak oil and peak debt we are beginning to see the flaws in this system. And it is now apparent that we can no longer continue to grow at the rates we have done previously.

This is a radical paradigm shift. One that I believe we need to fully let in before we begin to contemplate building and integrating new, more useful systems to take us into the future. Systems not defined by endless growth, and the limits thereof. The sooner we can do this the better. The longer we ignore these red flags, the more painful the transition will be.

Understand your Motive, Improve your Performance

The Iceberg model is a model used in cognitive behavioral therapy which describes how our performance is driven by our behaviors. These are driven by our feelings which in turn are driven by our thoughts.

In other words by observing your behavior you gain direct insight into your mindset. In the Iceberg model it is our behavior that is visible while our thoughts and feelings sit below the surface.

What we achieve at work is driven by how we think. Yet the tendency is for leaders to focus solely on the performance when they want to get better results. This is a limited framework that can only produce limited results.

For concrete change and long term results leaders need to shift their attention to what's driving their employees behavior. This will give them insight into their thought processes. 

A good place to start is with feelings as feelings sit just above what we think. If we understand what people are feeling then we can take this to a deeper level to what they think. 

But it's very difficult to improve performance if leaders just stay at the surface level of performance. Improved performance is longer lasting and further reaching when we understand what our motives for participation are - ie what drives our behavior?

Where there's Darkness, so must there be Light

Earlier in the year I did a post on doubt - it being the number one buzz killer. You can find that post here.

I have done a lot of reflecting on doubt and fear over the last few months, causing me to question my interpretation thereof. This was inspired by a conversation I had on fear and all it's forms with a couple of people I worked with in the coaching space. Here's a post related to that conversation. 

Although doubt and fear can take many forms, like fear of recurring past traumatic events or doubt about the future or doubt about ones own abilities, I am starting to realize that doubt and fear can be huge catalysts for meaningful change. 

But that's only if we're open to letting our fears and doubts in. Only then can we learn from them. If we resist fear and doubt then they invariably cause more pain and ongoing suffering. Our egos love to wollow in this poor-me, self-obsessed, narcissist merry-go-round. 

Over time I've learnt that merely observing this impulse breaks the shackles of victim-hood. Doubt has taught me that I don't have to have all the answers to take action aligned with my vision. 

Connecting with who you are (identity) and knowing where you want to go (vision) is crucial to overcoming fear and letting go of doubt. Sure, there are going to be set-backs along the way and this will cause doubt and fear to surface, but this is part of the journey. 

The more aware of who we are and what's going on around us, the easier it is to transcend all the pain of fear and doubt, to live fully in the present moment, and create the kind of life we want - now. I'm starting to see fear and doubt as opportunities for growth. Where there's darkness, so must there be light. 

Fusing Rationality with Intuition

When we think of rationality and intuition we tend to think of these as 2 separate concepts. Rationality is viewed as the opposite of intuition. On the contrary, I would argue that we can build our intuition through heightened forms of rationality.

Rationality requires that we think in a linear fashion. Rationality requires intense focus of whatever subject you're looking to master as well as delving into the subject deeply and playing with the deductive powers of reasoning.  Rationality requires a high degree of analytic skill and thinking. 

Rationality also allows for a type of reflection to evolve. The more we go into our work the greater our insights, and these insights stem in a large part from our rational thinking brain. 

This form of intense thinking and grasping of our work paves the way for heighten powers of intuition. Traditionally, we view intuition as something that arises out of the blue (a gut feel). But intuition is in fact something that manifests itself through intense focus. 

Only by understanding the parts are we able to connect to the whole. It's difficult to intuitively arrive at complete understanding of a challenge without first breaking it apart. If we separate rationality from intuition we can very easily fall into the trap of dualistic thinking. 

Dualistic thinking locks us into one perspective thereby making it very difficult for us to integrate the parts into a greater whole. Looking around at the products of the industrial age and the ascent of humanity, many of the structures and systems that we have in place have been built on this form of dualistic thinking. 

I think we need to go deeper into not only our thinking, but also into our states of consciousness. By this I mean what do we feel when we've enhanced our rationality. This paves the way for intuition to emerge and guide who we are and what we do.  

The Chinese call it the Tao, or the way. For this we can't get locked into duality. We have to instead find the path where rationality, through analysis, reflection and hard work, leads us to advanced powers of intuition. I like to see it as the merging of heart and mind.

Creativity and Adaptability are Inseparable

Creativity and adaptability are in inseparable.

Much like the process of evolution. Birds developed feathers from scales initially for warmth. Later these feathers were adapted for flight. They were made lighter yet stronger and longer for this process. 

In a time of increasing complexity we will be required to use creativity to adapt to shifting patterns of life and work, replacing old systems with more advanced, integrated holarchies. It's clear current systems need to be molded to better suit current and future contexts. 

This is true of the money system as well as many of the political and educational systems world-wide. Economic growth is decreasing at a rapid rate. This means we have to think of new more innovative ways to advance states of well being. 

For this we need a way of thinking and feeling that allows for creativity. Traditionally creativity has been viewed as a linear process. We think of an idea which we build and take to market. The success of the idea is often determined by the marketing strategy or the advertising campaign or the product; if these fail the whole idea fails. 

But creativity is much messier and more complex. We can't view the redesigning of systems in a linear fashion. We need to think more expansively, more fluidly if we are to transition from scarcity-based systems to abundance-based systems. 

This means endless reworking. Underpinned by a very particular state of consciousness. Our motive cannot be driven by fear or greed. We need to let go of what limits our potential to create the kind of systems that can take us towards an abundance-filled future. Where we all work together for the good of the whole.

In order to be adaptable we need a mindset that is very flexible, yet balanced too. Like yoga for the mind. A mindset that when faced with enormous challenges can bend into shape, go into the problem and work out a solution from within the confines of the challenge. But for this we need to be very present and aware, not only of our own state of consciousness, but what's going on around us too. 

Relaxed Focus

... is key to entering into a state of flow - a process of moving through challenges with purpose (for more on flow click here). Yet it's a paradox. Because when we're consumed in hard graft, the intensity of our focus increases. This naturally creates tension or what I call a psychological contraction.

If we're not aware of this state of consciousness, we close ourselves off from other insights that may permeate our consciousness from outside our focus. We cut ourselves off from the qualities of expansive thinking.

Developing unique and valuable skills holds such rich benefits. Because mastery allows us to enter into a relaxed state of consciousness. We become so good at what we do that we can literally move through any tension arising from any challenge in our field. 

Like using a machete to cut through rain forest undergrowth. After a certain amount of practice you know how to handle the machete in such a way that it slices branches at just the right angle. Being one with the machete is like a meditation, the rational thinking brain shuts down as the intuitive reptilian brain takes over. 

The same concept applies to developing mastery. The greater our focus the more intense our work. But this only serves as one part of the equation. We still have to learn to relax our tension while we focus on the task to arrive at a state of flow. 

Next time you're sitting on the grass focus in on one thing - an ant, a stone, a blade of grass, a leaf. Focus in on this one thing intensely for 30 seconds to a minute, taking in the fine detail. Then consciously bring in a peripheral awareness while you maintain your focus. 

Although you may be very tuned into the object of your focus, an alert awareness of what's going on around you filters into your consciousness. This is what I mean by relaxed focus. 

We can apply this to literally any skill we would like to master in our work environments. And the more we can apply relaxed focus, the faster we can progress in what we wish to be good at. 

Shifting from the What to the How

When a problem arises, very rarely do we focus on the how but instead we tend to focus on the what.

We often think it's either the product or the strategy that needs to change because our minds gravitate to one area to fix. But this rarely solves the problem. 

Primarily because the problem doesn't consist of merely one part. We struggle to see the problem as part of a greater whole. In order for us to do this we have to shift our thinking from the what to the how. 

Therefore, instead of honing in on the product or the marketing strategy, shift your awareness to other parts of the greater whole, like attitude or communication? If there's an environment of poor communication, then it's going to be nearly impossible to deliver a sound product. 

Shifting our awareness from the what to the how opens up new spacial realms previously unconsidered. This allows us to integrate more aspects into solving the problem because we can experiment with various possibilities. Then we arrive at a solution most suited to our scenario. 

By focusing on one area that we believe is core to the problem, we only narrow our creativity. Try to focus on how things relate and fit together in terms of the whole when solving problems and see if you get better results.

How to Become Relevant

To become relevant, we first need to develop a mindset of relevance. This means no longer being a victim of people or circumstance. It also means we are no longer constantly working at fixing one thing after another. The concept of there’s something wrong (and its tense state of consciousness), no longer drives our own irrational behavior.

The victim mentality has a large number of unassociated fragments which it is forever trying to piece together in a relative context. This is primarily due to its immature nature. It struggles to connect the dots.

Look at your computer operating system, and where's it come from? Starting off in DOS and progressing to Windows. Now Google makes Microsoft look obsolete -that's because it’s integrated systems onto one unique platform for seamless use.

The point is, when everything is scattered complexity increases. So when working to align our mindset we have to work at dissolving the disfunctionality in the alignment process so that we develop a mindset that flows endlessly towards relevance. At the same time we have to work at relaxing evolutionary tension.

Relevance comes from being very assured and confident (not in an arrogant way) in our own relevance. I've relaxed my need to fix things and I'm clear on what my talents are, I'm clear on what I want and what I'm good at. Relevance comes through years of developing relevance. And for this you have to enter into self-discovery.

Through this process of self-discovery we begin to align what we’re good at with what people need. And because we’re always striving forward to meet this need we will encounter tension. But relevance can hold evolutionary tension in the palm of one hand and be completely relaxed at the same time.

Relevance asks: how do I build relevance in a material world where traditional models of business focus on competition while trying to fix recurring problems. Traditional business models reinforce the idea of limit. The relevant mindset is not locked into reinforcing limit, but rather comes from a space of freedom with a line of logic connected to context.

The Inconstancy of Happiness

Have you ever noticed how fleeting or wavering the idea of happiness can be? One moment we're happy, then something happens and our happiness gets chucked out the window.

Traveling the path seeking happiness, our attention suddenly gets pulled this way then that and our perception of happiness shifts. It's like you're doing this long road trip and half way through the trip you discover on your map a much faster route that could have shaved off a quarter of your travel time.

Do we ever stop and take a minute to question our idea of happiness? Where do theses ideas come from? Are they preconceived? And how often do we set ourselves up for a kind of superficial failure when it comes to happiness?

I'm not suggesting that happiness, and the pursuit thereof, is something esoteric or obsolete, or whatever drives your idea of happiness to be insignificant. But how often are we left with that empty feeling when we what we thought would make us happy, actually has no such effect? Often we're left even more lacking than before.

For some people happiness may be owning a 50 meter yacht or a red Ferrari. For others happiness may consist of quality time spent with friends or family. While some may find happiness in creativity or art, others may find it in business.

But below these ideas of happiness do we ever notice and reflect upon the inconstancy of happiness? Happiness, like sadness, is just an emotion that ebbs and flows with the tide of life. Yet some of our ideas about happiness disconnect us from our well being and our purpose.

To what extent can we transcend built-in perceptions of what makes us happy to allow happiness to move freely through us? Instead of clinging to it, like a 3 year old boy clings to his toy car, never wanting to lend it to his buddy. It's transient, inconsistent, like any other emotion out there.

We all have basic needs that are building blocks to happiness. But aside from these, do we ever question preconceived ideas of what makes us happy? Where do these ideas come from? And do they serve us?

Using an Integral Operating System

When engaging with the creative process from an evolutionary perspective, we need to find out what works and what doesn't work. It's a process of trail and error.

How then do we arrive at something worth using? Besides the endless reworking of systems, dynamics and patterns of thinking and behaving, we need something more inclusive to take us into the future. 

Ken Wilber's Integral Operating System (IOS) springs to mind when thinking of how to fit all this creativity and restructuring together. This is because it's one of the most advanced systems out there. 

It can be applied to almost any field. From medicine to psychology, from coaching to business, to ecology and science. Let's take the business model as and example. This model gives us a comprehensive map of the marketplace, integrating both traditional markets and virtual markets. 

The model stresses 4 areas for leadership development in the field of business. It focuses on psychological understanding in the 'I' quadrant (upper left), organisational cultural management in the 'We' quadrant (lower left), individual behavior in the 'It' quadrant (upper right) and systems management (social & environmental) in the 'Its' quadrant (lower right).

This gives us a comprehensive all quadrant, all level framework for business leadership development. This model can be extremely useful when positioning oneself at the leading edge of business development. Mainly due to its integrative nature. 

When we engage with the creative process, and I would argue that we need more of this trail and error to formulate new systems across the board, we can then use such a model to integrate what works and discard what doesn't. It allows us to advance to higher levels of development within each quadrant. 

This will assist us in re-engineering systems for a more positive and holistic outlook. Not only does the external system get re-wired, but our behavior and thinking gets upgraded too. This is because the 2 are not separate, but inter-linked in an integral operating system. 

Emotions like

...boredom, panic, frustration and insecurity - all negative emotions that if not handled with an open frame of mind, can get in the way of personal growth.The best way to handle such emotions is not to resist them, but to transform them so they can be used effectively.

If such emotions can be felt for what they are and where they come from, we then have the opportunity to use their power for growth. If you find yourself being dragged down by such emotions, ask how you can re-engage with the difficulty by letting it in.

As you enter a cycle of wanting to get good at something the boredom will disappear because now you have a new challenge at hand that raises interest levels. As you begin a regular practice of getting to grips with this process, the panic will subside. Try relax into the challenge.

Frustration can actually be a good thing as it means that you're battling to come to terms with deeper levels of clarity and mastery. And insecurity will eventually be replaced by confidence as your competency (skills, knowledge, attitude) rises to meet the challenge.

When you're engaged with difficult work, it can be useful to check in with your state of consciousness by asking yourself; "Am I tense or relaxed? Am I resisting emotions, or am I letting them in and feeling them fully?"

4 Personal Growth Insights from the Film, Apocalypto

Although the film Apocalypto is gory in a primal way, there were some personal development aspects that I picked up on. This may seem like the most unlikely sort of film for personal growth messages but the main character, Jaguar Paw, shows the way. 

There's a part in the film where Jaguar Paw is running from his captors. He's just witnessed his brother being killed by the same men who now chase him through the jungle.

As a part of their sadistic game, the captors give him a head start. Much to their dismay and eventual bad fortune, this proves to be fatal. They should have killed him when they had the chance. 

Jaguar Paw knows the way of the jungle intimately. He's been hunting in the forest since he was a little boy. He was taught everything he knows by the great hunters that went before him, specifically by his father Flint Sky. 

As a hunter his knowledge of every detail of the forest and the ecosystem as a whole gives him that much more advantage for survival and success. He uses this vast knowledge to outthink and outfox his captors. His life depends on this intimate knowledge. 

Shifting his mindset from the hunted to the hunter, he makes blow darts tipped with poisonous frog venom, darting men in their necks from a hideout. He navigates the jungle expertly so his captors become disorientated, falling prey to snake bites and traps. 

Besides his intimate knowledge of the forest, Jaguar Paw's strength lies in his speed and agility. He runs stealthily through the dense jungle coming face to face with a black Jaguar. Startled, but not transfixed, he bounds back towards his enemy, leading the Jaguar into their path. 

He outruns his final captor to the shore line, into the hands of the colonialists whose ships have just been beached there. Then he turns and runs back to his wife and 2 babies who he hid in a massive hole in the ground at the time his village was attacked. 

What 4 things did Jaguar Paw use to get back to the safety of his family? 

Skills - the hunting skills he developed under the tutelage of his mentors.  

Knowledge - intimate knowledge of his context, being the jungle and they way it works. 

Consciousness - he never panicked. Sure, he ran, but that was part of his unique talent. He stayed calm and focused under life or death circumstances. 

Belief - never once did he doubt his ability to escape trouble. Mainly due to the alignment of skills, knowledge and consciousness. 

Do you use any of these 4 concepts to overcome challenges in life or business? 

The Curriculum Vitae - built on & defined by limit

In this post I am going to look at the traditional Curriculum Vitae (CV). I would argue that there needs to be a shift away from the CV. Why? Because it reinforces working systems and structures that are built on limit. 

How so? Well the idea is to go to university once you leave school to study something, something more than likely impressed upon you by your parents or society. Once you have received your degree you're then told to put your CV together to apply for jobs in your field of study. 

Here's what's limited about this ideology. You might be applying for a job that you really have no interest in but perhaps it's something you need to start earning a wage. So the CV serves as something that represents you, even though it may not be anything like who you really are. 

The traditional way of finding a job is to send your CV to a recruitment agency who then places you accordingly. Or, you do the leg work yourself and sift through online postings and send your CV to the postings that most match your qualifications and experience. 

This too is limited because it's like taking a shot in the dark or casting your fishing line into the ocean to see which companies 'bite.'

I would suggest that the future of the CV be made obsolete, or at least only introduced to the potential work partner (I dislike employee) once you have met with them a couple of times. 

What the CV does is also limit ones own potential. There's no intense focus that goes into the makeup of a CV - you simply write it up and get it out there. This is why the idea of mastery is now something that is almost extinct. 

If you want to be a master at something you have to identify something that you enjoy doing and match your skills accordingly. Then you have to spend hours honing your skills as an apprentice, learning from the masters that have gone before you. And then when you're really good at that skill you can branch off on your own or pair-up with an organisation who needs your unique talent. 

But the idea of the CV disregards this entirely. There's no concept of researching companies who you would like to work with or finding masters who you would like to learn from. 

If you want to be really good at something why should a CV be a barrier to achieving your dreams? A more expansive mindset would focus on having conversations with like-minded people who we can work with to achieve our goals. It's all about cooperation. 

A CV implies you're nothing more than a number. No personality, no passion, no unique interests or hidden talents and definitely no concept of wanting to master something. Rather than send your CV,  spend time finding out who you would like to work with. Then have conversations with those people. Show them your enthusiasm and excitement to want to learn what they know. 

Solving complex problems...

requires that we develop a very relaxed yet alert state of mind.

In other words if your mind is bouncing around with a number of different thoughts consuming your attention, then your ability to solve problems of a more complex nature will be greatly reduced. 

It has been proved that the martial arts practitioner who spends time on mindset and awareness training will be able to react much faster then the practitioner who spends no time on this form of training. 

Why is this you may ask? Well let's take a look at the research. Tests done on persons brains during meditation shows that there's an increase in alpha waves running through the brain. Alpha waves are enhanced when a person shifts their attention to an alert, untroubled mode. 

Feeling very relaxed yet alert we can then place our full attention on to the complexity of a problem. Meaning we are more likely to move through our challenges with a greater sense of ease. 

If however, your attention is easily swayed when faced with complex problems, then your propensity to psychologically contract in the face of such complexity will increase. 

This is why many people struggle with pressurised situations because they're unable to handle pressure in a relaxed yet alert state of consciousness. So when the pressure notches up a few levels they tend to feel the heat, and either they try to resist, push back against or avert such complexity. 

If you do the necessary awareness and mindfulness training though, then the relative ease with which you can handle pressure is significantly increased. Through awareness training, your ability to focus is increased by being able to place your attention where you want, when you want. This will give you a one-pointedness focus and clarity to better cope with complex challenges.

There is a second aspect to handling increased levels of complexity and this involves skills. I would say you need both skills training and awareness training in order to outgrow complexity. 

Communicating Your Needs

Do you ever attribute responsibility for your feelings to another person? For example, do you ever say; "you make me feel...." Or, "I feel because you....?" If you ever communicate in this manner, know you are communicating in mixed messages. This is a form of violent communication.

At the root of feelings are needs. Behind every feeling there lies a certain need. Negative states like anger, depression, guilt or shame means we're not connected to our needs. Instead, we're thinking in terms of some moralistic judgement - either about somebody else (anger) or about ourselves (depression, guilt, shame).

The key to efficient communication is connecting your feelings with your needs because needs give us the most power WITH other people. This connection increases willing giving as opposed to power OVER other people through reward or punishment which reinforces scarcity or discontent.

And the most efficient way to do this is to bring people's attention to our needs that aren't being met. When there's no criticism or demand in place, then it is very natural to enjoy giving. But if you hear criticism or demands then the natural tendency is to defend or attack.

So can you identify your needs that aren't being met - is it a need for peace, respect, acknowledgement, love, support, understanding, empathy..? And beyond this, are you crystal clear what you want when you express your need for...? Saying what you don't want doesn't make clear what you do want.

Have you ever heard someone say; "We're going to get people not to..." Or, "we're going to make them stop...?" Such statements make violence seem attractive. Rather be clear on what specific action you want the person to take to meet your needs?

A request is not a demand driven by a fear of reward, punishment, duty, guilt or obligation. Demands are a form of coercion you'll end up paying for. A good way of noticing if you've made a request or a demand is to remain open to the feedback loop from other people. Another relevant question to ask is; how do you treat people when you don't get what you want?

The trick is to never hear what the other person thinks of you. Rather hear what they feel and what their unmet need is. Then you can work together to have each-others needs met and grow your relationship through authentic communication.

What's Your Purpose?

Have you ever asked yourself the question: "What am I here to do or say? What is my purpose?"

This is a question that has been with me for a very long time as I'm intrigued by what it means to live with a sense of purpose. Perhaps this is part of living with purpose - it's always difficult and grappling.

But there's something about staying in the question that is so interesting and exciting. For our path may diverge and then diverge yet again, meaning we always need to return to the question - "what am I here to do or say?"

Developing purpose I think is not supposed to be plain sailing. I have read countless articles on how to discover your purpose. But after having read all these articles, although I found some relevant stuff, I felt like there was always something missing. Something in the realm of purpose felt incomplete. Instead of fighting this I learnt to stay with the 'not knowing.'

After all the searching and contemplating and staying in the question, a new ideology emerged. And this is what the coaching process has taught me. Being coached and coaching other people I have learnt that the end point is not the key. So often we are grasping onto, clinging to or craving a certain outcome that will result in having arrived at our purpose. I have come to realize that this idea is at its core, a very limited perception.

This false assumption is merely part of a system of thinking that has been developed through years and years of conditioning - find your purpose and all will be well! This is just part of a mindset that perceives limit, and in its perception of limit, it perceives purpose as something to 'get' too.

These are the mindset assumptions, ideologies, values and belief systems that I believe we need to question if we are to develop higher levels of purpose. By doing this we are essentially saying; "Hey, I'm willing to open myself up to development and I'm not going to be confined to or limited by one set of perceptions. I'll not be a victim of a particular logic that reinforces limit and governs my thoughts, behavior and results (personal or professional) accordingly."

And herein lies a crux moment. Because in order for us to open ourselves up to this new way of thinking, we have to question our own identity. I have therefore, aligned purpose very closely with identity - knowing how we think, knowing what drives our behavior (motive), and questioning various behavioral patterns.

Clearer identity will result in a clearer sense of purpose. In accordance with identity I have outlined a few other areas that need to be considered when developing higher levels of purpose. Here they are.

• Purpose works from a space of freedom. It is non-restrictive. As soon as you place a limit on purpose you confine yourself to the realm of the ordinary. And purpose is definitely not ordinary - it is the highest form of intelligence, personal development, spiritual growth and human capability.
• Purpose is expansive. In order to develop higher purpose you need to adopt an expansive mindset. For greater insight into the expansive mindset click here.
• Purpose requires intimate knowledge and development of skills, talents and passions. When we advance in all 3 areas we automatically begin to tap into higher levels of purpose. The more time we spend on honing our skills and talents towards what we enjoy doing and using this to make a difference in the world, the greater our purpose will be.
• Purpose stems from a belief system. This system is built on something greater than self. Yet paradoxically it comes from a deep inner motivation, something not so much driven by external circumstances - and clinging to the outcome of those circumstances. Rather, purpose is intrinsically aligned with overcoming challenges and complexity from within a higher self. What challenges you and gives you that sense of fulfillment for moving through the challenge? Therein you will develop your purpose. 

So just to recap, purpose is not something to discover out of thin air. It's more something to grapple with, to feel uncomfortable about. Purpose evolves out of a belief system that goes beyond the confines of limit to a much higher path of personal growth and development. In order for us to emerge at these higher levels of purpose we need to engage with identity and all its complexity. And stay in the question!

Words like...

adamant, arbitrary, argumentative, arrogant and autocratic, all pertain to the pejorative 'I' - the victim, the poor me complex or the ego.

People in these states take little, or no responsibility for their thoughts, feelings or behavior. Instead, a person displaying these attitudes will enjoy shifting the blame. Often on to external circumstances. They may speak the words, "It's not my fault," to absolve themselves of responsibility.

When we transform these fear-driven states, we begin to take responsibility for our attitudes and behavior and we can start to use words like; aware, awakened, humble, relevant, cooperative. Words more akin to an expansive mindset.

A Zen Aspirant...

will focus on continuous and lifelong practice in the direction of becoming a fully awakened and aware humane being.  Zen places special emphasis on practicing moment to moment awareness in daily life throughout everyday of the week. 

2 years ago I went on a meditation retreat where I meditated for 10 hours a day for 10 days. I was taught to be present to the nature of reality as it is, without trying to control whatever arises from moment to moment. Aches and pains, physical sensations, thoughts all arise and then pass away. Such is the impermanence of being. 

While I believe this type of intense training was necessary for my own personal growth, I don't believe that we all have to undergo such intense training to integrate more and more awareness into our daily lives. 

This is where we can learn from Zen; Zen emphasises the training of attention and bare awareness, while infusing this into everyday life. 

As soon as you notice yourself getting irritated or agitated, empty your mind by allowing whatever is consuming your thoughts to arise and then pass away, like a cloud drifting across the vast expanse of sky.

Take a leaf from the book of the Zen aspirant by noticing the feeling and being present to that and the nature of reality as it is in that moment. And continue to practice this throughout your day, throughout your week. What happens? 

Working Within The Constraints.......

is not something we're used to because it creates a lot of discomfort. Constraints are traditionally seen as the problem. Constraints are deemed restrictive and confining - like you're wearing a jacket a couple sizes too small for you.

This is because we're pushing back against the constraints to try and control them. This ends up depleting the amount of space we have to work in. This also constrains our creativity. We end up trying to overcome the constraints as a solution to the problem.

However, this way the constraints are still there, except now we are working around them. Kinda like tip toeing around shattered glass to make sure that no shards get lodged into your bare feet. Our natural growth, development and progression is halted, reigned in and made smaller by our having to work around the constraint.

I would say that a better way to deal with a constraint would be to acknowledge its presence. Only by acknowledging the presence of the constraint can we begin to understand its nature. If we have the relevant knowledge of the constraints, we can begin to work from within them. And this is where the most unique and creative solutions to our problems come from.

Constraints shouldn't then be seen as something separate from the problem - something to be dodged like Ben Stiller dodging balls on Dodgeball. Instead of resisting the constraints and trying to push-back against them to get rid of them or control them, see if you can first acknowledge them, understand them, feel into them and embrace them.

Allow your ideas to grow organically out of the constraints that are preventing your business or life from moving forward in the direction you want. This will end up giving your life and work more definition, more meaning and much more fulfillment.

Ernie Schenck, the creative director and writer described working from within the constraint best when he said, "the biggest secret of productive creative people is that they embrace obstacles, they don’t run from them. In their minds every setback is an opportunity, every limitation is a chance. Where others see a wall, they see a doorway."

How to Handle Difficult Situations

What happens when we handle a situation with disdain? When we're left with that lingering bitter aftertaste in our mouths? Something happens that fundamentally questions our values, our world-view, our motive for participation or our perception (of self or external environments).

Perhaps we've spent hours working on a project only for someone to come along and question its validity... Or, maybe we clash with a work colleague, friend, spouse or partner on a certain issue.

The point is, something happens which shifts our perception of the way things 'should be.' This mind altering shift generates an uncomfortable feeling inside of us as who we are, our message, and where we're coming from is called into question.

Dealing with such a situation is never easy. It's profoundly difficult to take on the other person's perspective when ours has just been questioned by the same person. This is why we end up resisting or pushing back against their point-of-view. We feel that we need to protect or preserve who we are through resistance.

The problem in dealing with a situation in this manner is that the 'incident' ends up causing us more pain and discomfort in the long run. Looking back on the time when our perspective was questioned, we begin to realize that the way we responded influenced our very own state of consciousness. No we weren't relaxed and no, we didn't respond in a calm, focused way.

And this is precisely the cause of either a lack of motive, means or maturity. Because we're unable to take on the other person's perspective, our attitude to and response (behavioral and communicative) to the situation only deepens our pain. We experience the situation through emotions like anger, stress or frustration. Words like, "You don't understand me," ring forth from our lips.

Only by very intentionally relaxing into the psychological contraction can we begin to understand where the other person is coming from (regardless of whether we agree with them or not). And only then can we respond with heightened focus, intention, skill and intelligence. Next time you're faced with a difficult situation, see if you can relax into the present moment. How does this influence your relationship to the person or situation?

Mastering States of Consciousness

Besides some already established Eastern traditions, we place little significance on mastering states of consciousness. By states of consciousness I mean our ability to stay present to, and not influenced by negative states driven by fear, such as stress or anger?

We spend far more time developing strategies and tactics to get us to where we want to go. The time, effort and the stress created out of developing these strategies and tactics ends up negatively impacting not only our well being, but also our productivity. 

I'm not suggesting we don't need relevant strategies and tactics to help us along the way. I am however suggesting that the strategies and tactics we use would align much better and flow a lot easier if we learnt to master states of consciousness too. 

The future will increasingly demand that we develop rare and valuable skills for new systems more useful to us and our environments. Developing rare and valuable skills can be profoundly demanding and uncomfortable. Mastering states of consciousness, like fear and all it's negative emotions, holds more weight now than ever before. 

8 Paths to Future Success

Here are 8 paths, that I believe, will be integral to future success.

1. Work: Have you aligned your interests as best you can with your skills? Are you allowing work to govern you, or are you steering the work-ship? How best do you spend your time at work? How best do you apply your gifts at work? How much force or energy are you putting into your work? Are you able to overcome obstacles and achieve your objective at work? All relevant questions about work.
2. Passion: Cal Newport (Study Hacks) has done some interesting research on passion. His work shows that passion is not something to be 'found' in the traditional sense. Passion is more something to be cultivated through hours and hours of honing a unique and valuable skill. It's not that important to know our passion. It's more important to make a choice, just decide to do something, to become so good at something that it becomes your passion. Steve Jobs was never passionate about computers to start with, he was into Eastern philosophy. But he saw a gap, went with it, and made computers his passion, and boy was he successful. You can find Cal Newport's talk on passion here.
3. Motivation: motivation is intrinsically linked to psychology. Know the inner workings of your mind, and know your motivation. Motivation is the desire to achieve a goal. We all have a need to grow and achieve, this is part of human nature. The question is how do we channel this desire into motivation to take the steps towards our goal? Research shows that you need to be specific is this regard. Don't just say to yourself, "I'll do my best." Setting the achievement bar high will result in far better results than simply trying to "do your best."
4. Focus: I have recently developed a separate post on how develop higher levels of focus to achieve your goals. You can find this here.
5. Creativity: I think one of the best ways to explore getting more creative is through a process of trail and error. Most of us want to be more creative, but we let fear get the better of us. That inner voice of the victim sounds loud and clear; "oh you'll never be any good at that!" Or, "just think of how bad you'll sound, look, feel if you try sing, dance, act, or write!" The victim mindset dissolves any form of responsibility for creativity, leaving us more miserable than before. Be aware of this and take action despite of any insecurities so creative juices may be allowed to flow.
6. Inspire: I think the degree to which we can inspire ourselves is the same degree to which we can inspire those around us to take action aligned with our vision. If we're not interested, excited or eager to participate, cooperate or co-create, then others will pick-up on our energy, negatively impacting the results we want. I think so much of being inspired and inspiring has to do with taking responsibility for our thoughts and actions. Because if we take responsibility for the creative process then there's no room for negativity. The more fired-up we are about what we have to offer, the more fired-up those around us will be.
7. Teamwork: We're moving into a time of greater connection and cooperation. We need more of this in our work environments as systems and ways to make money get more complex. We are not machines that work with narrow focus in a cubicle piling through work all day. Even introverts thrive on teamwork where their unique gifts can be utilized for the good of the whole. Effective teamwork involves having conversations using authentic communication. This means asking people how they feel, understanding their needs and working together to have each-others needs met. Simple. Yet we like to complicate the way we connect and communicate.
8. Vision: and to finish off a big one. Vision! Vision is an integral part of designing and creating the future. Vision is uniquely part of purpose. This means understanding identity, context (systems) as well as feeling into the future to see how we move forward. Sure, when something's not working we have to go back to the drawing board to tweak a bit here or there. But the core of our vision, I would say, is a delicate balance of heart and mind.

I hope you find these paths and travelling them, rewarding for future success.

Developing Focus

Working with high focus is important to achieve the results we desire. Focus requires a high degree of intention. We can prepare and prepare, but we cannot prepare for everything. We're not in control of everything.

So when something shifts our focus and we're diverted off track, how can we still make sure we end with the result we were looking for in the first place? I would say we need 3 things to make sure we get back on track and focus to get the job done.

1. High Intention: what is your purpose? What are you looking to achieve? What are you looking to create and how can you use intention to make this happen? Focus is driven by intention, it's the fuel for focus, for honing in on your goal. Do you have a clear intention in place, or do you not know why you are on the path to achieve your goal?
2. A unique and valuable skill: we all know it takes time to develop unique and valuable skills; all part of mastery. To what extent have you developed your skill and how does this make you unique and valuable to other people. What can you offer that others can't? Are you so good at something that other people simply can't ignore you?
3. A state of consciousness: here's one of the master keys to focus. If you're caught in negative states like fear, anger, stress or anxiety then your focus will be diminished. Your state of consciousness needs to be very relaxed, open, aware and present for a high level of focus to emerge. A good way of checking in is to ask yourself what's driving your behavior? What's your motive for participation? 

All these 3 aspects will assist you in developing clearer, stronger and more powerful focus. And the greater your focus, the greater your ability to achieve the outcome you're looking for.

Dealing with Existential Fear

Today's post is in response to a comment I received on yesterday's post on fear. I think it would be relevant for me to explore the topic of existential fear in today's post as this is what came up in the comment. How do we stop creating existential fear to begin with so we don't get caught up in negative states like worry, stress and anxiety?

I think this is such an interesting question and particularly relevant to our current context. Why? Because there's a lot of uncertainty at this time and many of our leaders either in large corporate organisations or government continue to disregard many of the issues at hand. 

But this is where I think we need to become clear. Through awareness, education and knowledge of what's going on from a systemic point of view we can be better prepared to handle existential fear. But if we move into the future blind, with no real understanding of systems and how they affect us, then we will forever be victims of existential fear. 

So let's take a step back. What do we need to increase our knowledge and understanding of our current context to help eliminate any form of existential fear? Well we need to understand that we have entered a period of declining or even negative growth. We live on a finite planet and the resources that we've been consuming can no longer sustain the level of growth that we've experienced in the past. 

Exponential growth, that's a doubling period every 7 years, cannot be sustained. This form of growth has deeply impacted our environment as well as systems, be they financial or political. We have also hit peak oil, that means that oil is unlikely to drop below the $100 a barrel mark ever again. Oil prices will continue to rise as ways to extract oil from the earth get increasingly complex. 

There's 2 other important factors I would like to mention: being able to sustain astronomic levels of debt and climate change. Debt has crippled economies throughout the world due to the global financial crisis of 2008. And the increase in temperature, although not yet remarkable, has been set in motion. Super storm Sandy will pale in comparison to future climatic catastrophes if something's not done about climate change. 

It's not my intention to be a scaremonger. On the contrary, I think knowledge of what's going on will mean that, although the future is unknown and unpredictable and may cause discomfort, a knowledge of the facts will make existential fear a lot less gripping. 

Secondly, I would argue there's a great opportunity here to get involved in the forming of a new earth, with new systems, systems more aligned with our human nature. Nature not driven by greed or fear, but a nature grounded in community and connection and whole hearted participation. We each have unique gifts to offer, why not begin to use those gifts to create a more healthy and peaceful world? 

And finally, there has to be a strong intention in our actions and thoughts. We have to be driven by a strong sense of purpose. And this comes from understanding who we are and what we have to offer to the social or enviromental movement. How can we use our gifts and craft our skills to create something meaningful that will make a difference? 

When we're grounded in our purpose then the existential fear doesn't matter a great deal. Sure, the fear may be there and we have to be present to it and not resist it, but our sense of interest and excitement about creating the future we want to see, can carry us through the fear with relative ease. 

Perhaps much of not getting caught up in existential fear requires that we talk about it. Have conversations about our feelings and our needs in times of increasing uncertainty and change. Maybe it's time we opened up to our existential fears instead of burrying them under victim states of fear that cause so much pain and suffering...? However uncomfortable this may be. 

Fear & Negative States

All negative states - anger, frustration, anxiety, depression, greed, sadness.... the list goes on, have at their core an underlying assumption of fear.

What is this fear and where does it come from? Fear is generated out of a psychological contraction which sends a message via a chemical reaction in our brain to our physiological make-up. The message is; there's something wrong here. Our instinct or the 'fight/flight' response kicks in.

Back in the day when we were hunter gathers, we needed this basic instinct to protect ourselves from danger. However nowadays, we use this fear to drive negative states such as the feelings described above. Basically there are 3 forms of fear.

1. Pathological Fear: this is caused by history, past events or past trauma. This effects us in that when anything from a past trauma is simulated in our current context, the fear that we experienced then can be triggered in the same way now.
2. Current or Circumstantial Fear: this is fear that arises in the moment. Our current context results in a contraction which drives negative states.
3. Existential Fear: this is caused by the unknown or concern or worry about what's going to happen in the future. This causes fear to arise which can give way to emotions like anxiety, stress or overwhelm.

The thing we don't realize is that the brain perceives all these sources of fear as exactly the same. Whether its caused by past events or current circumstances is irrelevant. The brain only recognizes the fear, the idea of something wrong and this causes the chemical reaction (fight or flight) to kick in. In this instance it's the negative state that drives our behavior often causing us to make bad decisions, or behave in an immature way or not get the results we were looking for.

So how to transform fear? One way would be to deal with the pathological nature of fear - the past trauma. One would need to, with the help of a psychologist, recreate the events of the trauma. The feelings that came up at the time of the event could then be acknowledged, felt and, over time, transcended. This process takes long though.

A much quicker way is to transform fear in the moment. But for this you need to undertake the necessary training. You have to learn to be very present to fear. You have to learn to feel fear fully in the moment in order to transcend fear. There has to be a higher level of self motivation or intentionality to transform resistance to the uncomfortable nature of fear in the moment. 

To develop self-mastery, you have to take full responsibility for the nature of fear. The greater your intention, the faster you will progress. What you resist persists. Accept the fear, surrender to it, to transcend the fear and all its associated negative states. Then you will be able to act with calmness, clarity and purpose.

A Divided Company vs a Connected Company

A divided company is made up of a hierarchy. Since the industrial revolution companies have been viewed in terms of a division of labor. People are compartmentalized in 'boxes' from top (few people) to bottom (many people) in a pyramid scheme. There's also a hierarchy of tasks and goals.

This type of system is common especially among large organisations where the work environment is viewed as stable and the job description is well defined. Here's the problem with this system. 

There's been a shift in the global economy. The percentage of manufacturing (stable processes) has shrunk while the percentage of services (changing, dynamic, and variable) has increased. 

I called my service provider yesterday with a unique problem. I listened to a series of voice prompts. Press 1, press 4 etc. I had to wait 20 minutes to speak to a person but that person was unable to solve my problem so I got transferred to someone else. 

This is a classic case of a divided company. You end up bouncing around from person to person, until eventually you have to speak to someone at director or VP level, to get your problem solved. 

The broken, ineffective nature of how the divided company goes about trying to solve your problem is because invariably the problem spans a number of different functions. 

How is this different in a connected company? A connected company works more like a holarchy. What does this mean? It means that each part of the company is connected in working for the good of the whole. 

If we look at the same scenario of phoning into a company with a problem, firstly you would get a real person answering the phone. That person is authorized to solve your problem. What if they can't? 

Instead of transferring you, they tap into a network of people who have the knowledge to solve your problem. They stick with you while they gain the necessary help to solve your problem. Your problem is their problem which is part of the greater whole. 

Rather than being organised as a hierarchy, a connected company operates as a network of individuals and teams responsible for serving the customer's needs. Although each person may operate as an individual business unit, they nevertheless represent the entire company, owning the whole of the problem. 

There will still need to be part of the company that operates the traditional way (hierarchical/divided) to get through standard business tasks or processes.

But the service part of the company (based on variables) that requires human judgement and creativity/ innovation is better served by connected holarchies to solve unique problems in the workplace. 

How to Find Your Flow

The above graphic was developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as a part of his work on flow.

It shows that we enter a state of flow when there's matching levels of challenge and skill. We're relaxed, interested and focused all at the same time. There's just the right amount of tension to challenge ourselves with - not too much (overwhelm) and not too little (boredom).

For flow to exist there must be a balance between the challenge at hand and the skills of the person engaged in the challenge. If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur. The challenge must test the skills of the performer, but the performer's skills must be developed enough for him to move through the challenge with meaning and purpose.

When we're in a state of flow we're said to be in the groove or in the zone. It's almost as if time stands still. There's also no concept of the egoistic self. One is fully immersed in the activity, and there's a seamless movement between thought and action.

I would argue that the more we refine our unique skills, the greater our capacity to enter more deliberately into states of flow. The more we work at shaping our crafts, the more enjoyment we gain out of engaging in challenges that put our skills to test. This gives us the opportunity to enter into increasing flow.

Flow can then be built into who we are as human beings, adding to our happiness and well being.

Horizontalidad (flat structure)

Horizontalidad or 'flat structure' was a term coined in Argentina in the late 1990's. At the time, Argentina was going through a particularly difficult economic period, a crisis, where industry fell to 16% of GDP from 30% in 1975. Wages also fell by 20% between this period.

It was only until the middle class were effected by the crisis as well as subsequent bank closures, that the Argentian people formed a 'flat structure' in the way they did things.

They realized they could no longer rely on government to meet their fundamental needs so they gathered in neighborhoods to support each-other. Eventually these gatherings turned into local assemblies that participated in protests, created a barter economy, community gardens with food sharing, collective kitchens and other vehicles combating the problems of the time.

Workers took over factories too and ran them themselves while providing service to local communities. The reason I write about this movement that occurred in Argentina in the late 1990's is because I believe we can learn a lot from it.

It shows that the full participation of ordinary people through direct democracy and other participatory vehicles, can create a system that can cater to their direct needs.

I think much of the future economy will depend on the formulation of such a system. With the economic growth cycle in decline, we will need to figure out new ways of meeting our needs, and we can do this by forming local communities of scale.

Much of these local communities will need to be formed at grass roots level - where all new systems begin. Only once they've taken on a semblance of effectiveness at these lower levels can we begin to integrate them into higher and further reaching levels of society, such as government.

But I think the key could lie in using a flat structure when building new economies. This way we can integrate what works and refine what doesn't work. A flat structure allows for this playfulness in that the idea of right or wrong doesn't have such dire consequences. The focus gravitates more towards what is more or less useful according to our context and our needs in that context.

The Future of Work..?

What will the future of work look like?

The traditional model of work goes something like this: get grades to get into university. Study and learn what they give you to get your degree. Find a job aligned with your degree and then work your way up the ladder in that company for say 10 years.

The system is very systemized. You're put into a system, told what to do, and paid to do it. The company requires anticipated behavior to eliminate as much risk as possible. Structures are hierarchical (top down), people are viewed as cogs in the system, not necessarily paid to think, but paid to follow rules and regulations.

But people's mindsets are shifting as expectations rise, structures change and a global consciousness emerges.

So what will the future of work look like? Well there's no way of predicting at this stage, but there are some patterns/dynamics emerging. What will these changes be based on? Rapid change for one. Work will need to be more fluid and flexible to fit increasing flux.

Work will no longer follow a linear path, it will be more expansive, more transitional. Work will come from who we are as individuals. We will need to take greater responsibility for the direction of our work through self-awareness, knowledge and a deeper understanding of systems (personal, organizational and environmental).

A lot of our work will revolve around mastering skills associated with our strengths as well as the ability to adapt to game changing technologies and scenarios. Greater emphasis will be placed on personal development. The internet has made all types of information readily available so there's no longer an excuse for not knowing something in your specialization.

Finally and by no means least of all, there'll be an ironing out of hierarchies, an integration of mentoring and coaching and a fostering of environments to nurture and grow talent. People will gravitate towards greater levels of autonomy and purpose in their work. There'll be more aligning of skills and interests.

The power must lie with both employee and employer to see that authentic communication, skills training, emotional intelligence, self-improvement, and the seeking of new knowledge all happens in conjunction with each-other.

Questioning Limiting Beliefs (and Morphic Fields)

Beliefs, assumptions, ideologies, and ultimately behavior and attitudes all make up part of who we are. We gain these different parts of ourselves through various influences such as parents, culture, the ideas of our times and people we spend time with. There is even scientific evidence available that proves that much of who we are has been passed on through 'morphic fields.' Although it is not my intention to get all scientific in this article, let me just explain what a 'morphic field' is.

A 'morphic field,' is a term applied by English scientist and author Rupert Sheldrake. His research digs into parapsychology and 'morhic resonance' in relation to topics such as animal and plant development, behavior, memory, perception and cognition. Basically a 'morphic field' is within and around a 'morphic unit' which organizes its characteristic structure and pattern of activity. The idea is that a collective group with an already established 'morphic field' will read the collective information of that field through what he terms 'morphic resonance,' using this to guide its development.

So how does this relate to my topic of questioning limiting beliefs? Well, it really goes to the core of who we are, our make-up and how our beliefs and assumptions serve us, or not. For example, our patterns of thought influence the way we behave,  our attitudes and even how we communicate with other people. This has a profound effect on our relationships, how we feel about ourselves (our sense of self-worth), together with the results we experience in our lives.

Most of the time we don't really question the usefulness of our beliefs, assumptions or ideologies. They guide us as opposed to us guiding them. This can have a limiting effect on our personal and social development.

Say I went to a school where I was teased a lot as a kid. As a child we don't have the maturity or experience to deal with this effectively. It can often get stored in our sub conscious only to have limiting effects later on in life. Such an experience (of there's something wrong) can be integrated into the child's identity. Over time if this perception is not healed, it may result in a subsequent fear that takes hold of the person and causes overwhelming stress.

How does this manifest itself? It could manifest in a number of ways, but if the perception is fear-based, it will always stem from the core assumption of limit. It may for example, result in a person believing she is never good enough, or not worthy of success, or she may develop a deep-rooted fear of rejection. Quickly we can see how these limiting beliefs are played out through the role of the victim. Such a belief can then be fulfilled through various means such as work, relationships or identity.

However, as soon as we question the very basis of this core assumption, we can begin to observe its limiting nature. Ultimately everything has a limit, some things more than others, but for our purpose of growth and development we need to find which are more useful than others. Through the questioning process we can begin to examine our core beliefs, transform them, deconstruct them, or simply replace them with new, more relevant and healthy beliefs and ideologies. Ones that will result in attitudes and behaviors more aligned with our growth and development.

We can then work at creating the results we desire.

5 Ways to Shift your Perspective for Life Improvement

We all need ways to improve health, wealth, business, families and relationships.

Here are 5 ways to improve your life in any of the above categories.

1. Focus on concrete behaviors more than abstract goals. An abstract goal may be something like, I need to get in shape. A concrete behavior is something like focusing on walking 15 minutes today, 20 minutes tomorrow, and 30 minutes the next day.
2. Focus on taking baby steps. I know this is a bit of a cliche but there's tremendous value in not trying to do everything in one day. I have been working at transitioning over to more of a whole foods and raw plant food diet. I know I can't do this overnight - my system would reject such a radical change. It's a process and I have to work  at integrating more of this food into my daily diet. Seek tiny successes as opposed to massive leaps.
3. Create new behaviors that make old ones obsolete instead of resisting, pushing back or trying to change old ways of doing things. I have learnt this over time, and it's so important to integrate new, more healthy behaviors while dissolving old patterns of thinking and behaving that no longer serve you. Otherwise you're just going to replace what was there with the same again because these systems are hard wired into our body/mind and therefore behavior.
4. Ask yourself what's the underlying assumptive base for you wanting to change whatever it is you're seeking to change. Often we seek change for the wrong reasons. For example is your need to change the result of a 'fight/flight' response to something that is causing you a lot of discomfort. I think it's better to observe where this comes from. Then you can go about changing the core assumption which will be better for your all round growth.
5. If you keep getting the same results perhaps it's time to shift your focus for a new perspective. A great way to do this is to ask yourself some different questions that will allow you to see your problem in a new light. Often by shifting our awareness we immediately create an opening for relevant change to take place. If you're having difficulty finding the right questions, or posing of yourself the difficult questions needed for growth, seek help. A coach is a great way to help you gain perspective on the areas that perhaps you may be overlooking.

Growth can be immensely challenging, so be patient with yourself. It takes time and perseverance. Reward yourself for the tiny successes. Its those small successes that add up to the bigger ones. Change, especially behavioral, communicative and relational is a process of connecting the dots for more relevance, greater purpose as well as more joy in what you do.