Tag Archives: planning

¡Quien lo vive es quien lo goza!

alcanza metas, autoconciencia, empoderamiento, empoderamiento profesional, encontrando significado, liderazgo, nirvana profesional, retroalimentacion, tomadecisiones,

carnaval-de-barranquilla-07Cuando el economista John Maynard Keynes dijo: “A largo plazo todos moriremos” – a simple vista pareceria que estaba festejando con todos aquellos que se guían por la filosofía: “la vida es para gozarla y es ahora”.  

En realidad, Keynes, con esa pregunta, buscaba resaltar que el largo plazo, por muy lejano y borroso que parezca, eventualmente llega.  Como tal es responsabilidad de los gobiernos asegurarse de que las reformas que proponen hoy, tengan un impacto positivo en el futuro de un país.  Con eso revoluciono el pensamiento de economistas del momento proponiendo una política más intervensionista por parte del gobierno.

Para tu carrera eso quiere decir que pensar en el corto plazo y tomar tiempo para planear para el largo plazo, son parte de una carrera sana.  Al igual que la propuesta de Keynes, el largo plazo no se cuidara así mismo.  Es tu responsabilidad desarrollar un plan de acción que te lleve a ese futuro que buscas.

Si hasta ahora has creído que planear va en contra de tu filosofía de vida, y como tal atenta contra tu calidad de vida, aclaro que, por definición, no tener noción del futuro, o planes a largo plazo, es ser corto pensante. No es ser gozetas.

Vivir el ahora y planear no son excluyentes el uno del otro. 

Todo lo contrario.

Es precisamente esa visión a largo plazo la que llena de sentido a tus momentos – a tu ahora.  Sin visión los momentos tienden a ser piezas que no pertenecen en ningún lado.  Tu visión del futuro es lo que te hace sentir, momento a momento, que cada uno de esos momentos esta conectado, y se unen para formar un rompecabezas. Saber que estas trabajando hacia algo mas que un momento que desaparecerá tan rápido como una burbuja de jabón (¡pop!), es lo que realmente te lleva a gozar.

Tu carrera es como una trenza que esta formada por momentos.  Si esos momentos apoyan una visión, al final de años de trabajo, tendrás una carrera que te dará orgullo – y quizás tendrás la posibilidad de dejar un legado.

(Eso si que es gozar)

¿Entonces como es posible hacer ambos – cuidar el corto y el largo plazo – sin sentir que te estas perdiendo de algo?

Para realmente gozar, la clave esta en balancear tus impulsos y tú disciplina.  

Siendo que ser impulsivo y disciplinado es parte de tu naturaleza como ser humano, ambos juegan un papel protagónico en una carrera sana. 

Te explico.

El sentimiento de impulso lo produce la región menos desarrollada de tu cerebro.  Se puede denominar como la parte instintiva – y animal.  La capacidad de controlar esos impulsos – es decir la disciplina – la hace posible la región de tu cerebro mas desarrollada.  La región donde vive el uso de razón.

Aunque ahora no lo sientas así, la realidad es que tú, como ser humano, tienes la necesidad tanto de darle gusto a tus impulsos como a tu disciplina.  El balance no solamente es posible, es necesidad de la condición humana.  No sentir necesidad de uno o de lo otro – se saldría de lo normal.

El temor que sienten los que creen que al ser demasiado disciplinados se estarían perdiendo de algo, es producto de su imaginación.  Lo mismo pasa con aquellos que creen que están desperdiciándose cuando se salen de sus rutinas.

Míralo como manejar cuentas de banco. 

Para realmente gozarte la vida es necesario que hagas depósitos en ambas cuentas.  Por un lado, si eres demasiado disciplinada y no satisfaces tus impulsos y deseos, terminaras quemándote.  Por otro lado, si en tu día a día solo persigues la satisfacción inmediata, no crearas la estructura que necesita tu carrera.

Y eso, a largo plazo, no te dará tanto placer.

Buena semana.

Desde el abismo

autoconciencia, empoderamiento, liderazgo, tomadecisiones,

AbismoEn típico estilo mío – una vez mas, vi venir un reto y me le metí de cabeza – sin hacer muchas preguntas.  Ahora, mirando atrás, buscando aprender de la estela, veo que desde muy pequeña aprendí ese modus operandi de mi madre.  Repetidamente me acordaba: “al miedo, ponle el pecho”. Mas que todo, fue esa frase la me coloco hace tan solo unas semanas en un avión camino a un destino que no conocía, a pasar varios días con personas desconocidas. 

D e s c o n o c i d o – era el hilo común de mi viaje.

Lo se, ha muchos lo desconocido los asusta – y en ocasiones paraliza.  Es tan común ese sentimiento de miedo frente a lo que no conocemos, que parecería que formara parte de nuestra naturaleza humana. En realidad, a otros tantos lo desconocido los emociona. Es mas, en algunos casos el sentimiento es tan extremadamente positivo que constantemente están persiguiendo retos para sentir un high.

Si no me crees pasa una tarde observando a niños de 4 años jugando en un parque.  Rápidamente veras que hay unos que se montan en cuanto columpio y rodadero se les pase por delante. Mientras otros tan solo observan tímidamente desde la distancia, sin hacer mucho.  

Entonces ¿cual es la diferencia entre los asustados (y hay veces paralizados) y los emocionados (y muchas veces hiperactivos)?  ¿Que ven los que le ponen el pecho a lo desconocido – que no ven los que se retraen en su caparazón?

  1. Sorpréndete – Así como los resultados negativos son estadísticamente probables, hay la misma probabilidad para los positivos.  Por eso es curioso ver como gran parte de las personas esperan – y se preparan – solo para resultados negativos.  Muchos hasta pierden el sueño – literalmente. Entonces los resultados positivos los cogen por sorpresa – como si pasaran por accidente.  Sin duda es recomendable anticipar retos y preparar soluciones.  También es sabio anticipar victorias y saber aprovecharlas al máximo.  En muchas ocasiones serán tu trampolín a otras victorias.  Analizar solo lo negativo que puede resultar de una situación desconocida es hacer 50% de la tarea.  Considerar los 360 grados de una situación implica también prever resultados positivos – y abrirse a su posibilidad.
  2. Desaprende – Por su naturaleza, las cosas nuevas, ya sea una blusa, un carro o una obra de teatro, son desconocidas. Aun no las hemos probado o presenciado y por lo tanto no sabemos con certeza que resultara.  Desconocemos si la experiencia será positiva o negativa.  Sin embargo el común de las personas siente gran emoción (posiblemente mariposas) ante la anticipación de estrenar algo – ya sea un objeto o un evento.  Comparan estreno con algo positivo. De la misma forma, es posible transferir ese sentimiento de anticipación y mariposas ante lo desconocido.  Es cuestión de desaprender la reacción impulsiva de miedo – y entrenarse a responder de forma racional, con emoción ante lo desconocido.

Con el tiempo comprobaras que la anticipación es definitivamente mucho mas grave que la situación en si.  Y que poner el pecho es la única forma de vivir – y trabajar.  Veras como aprovecharas mas oportunidades.

…y sale pa’ pintura.

alcanza metas, autoconciencia, empoderamiento, empoderamiento profesional, encontrando significado, liderazgo, tomadecisiones,

dreamingSe que arriesgo pasar por intensa.  Aun así por favor alguien me explica como es posible que las compañías – con la ayuda de sus empleados – se ponen metas, luego diseñan planes y estrategias para alcanzarlas – y sin embargo la mayoría de los empleados tan solo sueñan? 

Te imaginas que la presidente de tu compañía apareciera frente a tu equipo a decirles: ”Ay, que deli seria crecer 30% en el 2010. ¿Verdad que si? ” Y hasta allí llegara la sesión.  ¿Que pensarías de ella?

¿Será que muchos se quedan soñando porque disque ‘soñar no cuesta nada’?

Y ¿que del costo de las oportunidades perdidas?  ¿Ya sacaste la cuenta cuanto te cuesta en calidad de vida, en salud emocional y en dinero no alcanzar tus sueños?

Los sueños, sin planes y estrategias hacen ¡poof! – se desaparecen.  (relee eso cuantas veces sea necesario…)

Entonces te invito a que pases 4 horas haciendo el siguiente ejercicio de planeación.

Si te ayuda, reúnete con un grupo de amigas – o seres queridos.  Pon música relajante – como Mozart.  Es decir, haz un plan rico – que esto de planear no es tortura.

  1. Primero define las áreas principales de tu vida.  Aquí no hay una respuesta correcta o incorrecta.  Es algo personal.  Cuando hice el ejercicio hace 2 semanas, dividí mi vida en 8 áreas:
    1. Vida en familia
    2. Relaciones
    3. Finanzas
    4. Carrera
    5. Contribución a la comunidad
    6. Salud – cuerpo
    7. Espíritu
    8. Crecimiento personal
  2. Ahora evalúa en cada una de esas áreas como consideras que te fue en el 2009.  Si te ayuda, date una calificación – o usa los calificativos bueno, regular o malo.  Eso si, ten en cuenta que el propósito de la evaluación es mas que juzgarte para castigarte.  Es para ayudarte a pensar como quisieras que te haya ido en cada área.  Por ejemplo, para mí en el 2009 mi crecimiento espiritual fue más importante que mi crecimiento personal. Siendo así, pues en el área de crecimiento personal me di una calificación de 4.  Y eso esta bien porque quiere decir que tuve mas tiempo para mi crecimiento espiritual que es lo que buscaba. Ahora, porque me puse un 8 en crecimiento espiritual no quiere decir que en el 2010 bajare la guardia en esa área.  Es más, en el 2010 busco sacar un 8 o más.
  3. Identifica específicamente que quisieras mejorar en cada área.  Por ejemplo, es posible que en el área de salud busques bajar de peso.  Si ese es el caso, ponte una meta específica. ¿Cuántos kilos quisieras bajar y para que mes?  Si en el área de finanzas buscas entradas pasivas (de inversiones), escribe una suma exacta y para cuando quisieras que esto suceda.  Entre mas real seas con tus metas, mas probable es que las cumplas.  Si pesas 150 kilos, pues no es real que para el martes pesaras 80.  Sin embargo, si es real – y muy factible que de aquí a 6 meses peses 20 kilos menos. 
  4. Antes  de preguntarte ¿cómo alcanzare mis metas?, pasa unos minutos sintiendo y pensando exactamente que significaría para ti alcanzar esas metas.  Es decir, piensa ¿por qué es importante para mí alcanzar esas metas?  Puede ser que más dinero pasivo te permita tener más tiempo con tu hija adolescente. O que bajar de peso te permita gozar de la ciclo vía con tu esposa.  O que contribuir a la comunidad te de un mayor sentimiento de bienestar y pertenencia – y sirva de ejemplo para tus hijos que últimamente están un poco malcriados y desagradecidos con todo lo que les has dado.  Si te ayuda, cierra los ojos e imagínate – en forma detallada – que sentirías si alcanzarías tus metas.  Es decir, haz una película llena de colores, sonidos y emociones con todas tus metas cumplidas.
  5. Ahora llego el momento de definir que recursos necesitaras para alcanzar cada una de tus metas.  Ahora si, pregúntate ¿cómo alcanzare mis metas? Confieso que este paso siempre me da miedo y hasta siento mariposas en el estomago. Supongo que es porque temo descubrir que mis metas requieren demasiados recursos.  Si a ti te sucede algo similar, te recomiendo que ignores el miedo.  Simplemente analiza que recursos necesitas. Y piensa que vas a significar para ti cumplir tus metas (refiérete al paso 4). También piensa que pasaría si definirías tus metas inspirada por tus miedos y no tus ambiciones?  Verdad que vivirías estafada?
  6. Para finalizar la sesión, te recomiendo una corta relajación.  La idea es que te sueltes y empieces a confiar en el poder de tener metas claras, y planes y estrategias para cumplirlas.  También te recomiendo agendar una cita en 6 meses para evaluar tú progreso.

Ahora si, sale pa’ pintura.

 

Buena la foto ah?  Gracias!

A New Kind of Hero for a New Kind of World, Career Hero #15

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Female surgeon(This post is part of a pact I made. Click here for the full story.)

Ambition. Passion. Tunnel vision. Laser-sharp dedication.  Self-criticism. High expectations. An entrenched fear of failure. A need to compete and to win. And self-awareness.

Meet Josephine.

Without exception, every single one of those traits fuel her career. 

As she candidly admitted to me, it was mostly in search of approval and admiration the reason why at the age of 17  she decided that she wanted to follow her parents’ footsteps and become a surgeon.

Guided by her parents’ example, she immersed herself in a rigourous training program that lasted 13 years.  It included working long hours, completing exams 12 years in a row (that’s a total of 24 semesters) and supporting a family on very little pay – while watching most friends live comfortably. 

13 years later, Josephine now owns and runs one of the most succesful private day surgeries in the country.

Note to self: Knowing what you want is only part of the picture – working with all your might is what will get you what you want in your career. 

No doubt, she earned her current success.  As she wrote to me:  “Being self-demanding to ensure my success has become a habit…Fortunately my profession is judged by results.  And it’s delivering results where I’m talented – and I seek to be better every single day.  It’s because a patient’s complication gives me so much angst that I seek to be a better a surgeon.”

Most definitely she feels that it’s an advantage over other surgeons to have parents working in the same profession.  Because she admires her father inmensely, she has been wide open to learning from his path.  Today she feels that she has gained 30 years of experience – over those who don’t have parents in the same profession – or those who aren’t willing to learn from their parents.

In her words:  “It’s been a matter of learning from my dad’s mistakes.  About following his idealogy about work – and paying close attention to what it takes to stand out as a surgeon – just as my dad has.  From a technical view point, I’ve benefitted from the number and variety of procedures that I had access to during my formative years, from having a medical library at home, and from travelling to conferences with him…This is in large part why my experience is much greater than it should be at my age…Today we enjoy learning as a family.  Professional development has become a fun family activity that my dad, my mom and I share.”

Note to self: Sure you can chose to rebel against your parents – and go at it alone. Or you can choose to leverage their wisdom.  It’s your choice.

As much as she admires her parents, and learns from them, she feels that perhaps the best career move she has made so far has been to work alongside her dad – and not for him.  They each have their own private practice, that includes having separate patients and support teams. That has allowed her to make a name for herself – and importantly to receive her own referrals and build her own reputation as a surgeon.

Note to self:  The success of your parents – and of others around you – is not your own.  The sooner you accept this reality – and use it to your advantage – the sooner you will start to cast your own shadow.

Although her career has benefitied immensely from working alongside her parents, it’s having clear and achievable goal posts that have led her to her own achievements.

In her words:  “In school I knew I had to complete the school year, in university I worked towards completing every semester, and during my residency I worked towards completing every new rotation at the hospital.  I always planned  – and rarely did I make impulsive decisions.  I guess I was fortunate in that sense. There was always someone around who reminded me to be analytical, look at the facts and stay on the path I had planned.”

Note to self:  Set achievable goals – and a long career path will not feel like holding your breath under water.

Clearly Josephine is a person who thrives under the constant tension that exists between success and failure.  She is constantly looking to improve her skills, increase her knowledge and sharpen her business acumen – that is her way of guaranteeing success and warding off failure.

Note to self: What are you doing in your career to guarantee success and ward off failure?

“Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is that my profession is made a day at a time, a patient at a time.  As long as one is ethical, committed and professional, results will begin to emerge.  Just as well, monetary achievements cannot be an end in itself – but a desirable fringe benefit that results from helping people and offering a service with care and loyalty.”

Note to self:  Working for money is short-sighted.  Expand your vision.  Work for more than money – and the money will come.

 

*Name changed for privacy reasons.  I feel honored that Josephine trusted me with her story. She did so only on the condition that her identity not be revealed.  Looking to respect her wishes – and thank her for her contribition – her real name has not been use

A New Kind of Hero for a New Kind of World, Hero #7

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(This post is part of a pact I made. Click here for the full story.)

Meet Penelope.  A professional who has worked out a way for making lots of money, doing what she loves, and changing careers seamlessly.  Perhaps it’s all because she has an inbuilt industrial-strength bullshitake detector.

Read on to get a dose of her tough love.

Like many other creative and sensitive people, Penelope feels a strong need to do what she loves.  Unlike many others, she has not taken the ‘starving artist’ road.  Instead she has gone to great lengths to satisfy her creative cravings while paying bills. That’s because Penelope feels adamant about people having a false belief that they should get paid for doing what they love. In her speak: “A capitalist world needs mundane stuff to be done – stuff people will not necessarily love.  If we’d all really do what we love, we’d be having sex and eating apple pie…”

“In adult life what we’re looking for is the intersection between what we’re great at, what we love and what people will pay us for…”

This is what her career Nirvana looks like:

As she went on to tell me: “The commitment to finding (that point) is the only honest way to find a career.  And if you say that you have a career but you haven’t found that, you’re lying to yourself.  Because we all want to be valued financially…our self-esteem is higher and our sense of personal stability is higher if we can support ourselves.  And so the idea that you change careers to do something that you can’t actually support yourself in, is bullshit(ake)…It’s not negativity (towards) career changing, it’s negativity towards bullshit(ake).  It’s negativity towards being a brat about work life…we all compromise and that’s what adult life is.”

Note to self: Pursue what you love – but don’t feel entitled to getting paid for it.  And please, don’t take this personally. It’s just how the business world works. Instead look outside of your work life to do what you love. Above all, be honest with yourself.

She’s been one to put her money where her mouth is.  During the first decade of her working life she made it a point to have two jobs at the same time.  One job was for doing what she loved, the other job was for paying the bills.  While she played professional beach volleyball, she worked at bookstores.  While she wrote, she taught undergrads.  While she learned about interactive media, she coded HTML.

Even after she started running her own companies at 29, she kept this trend alive.  Today, Penelope is the CEO (and founder) of BrazenCareerist.com, a website that receives 500,000 hits per month and is ranked by Alltop as the top online destination for young professionals. She’s also the author of the book Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, which has been widely successful.  If that was not enough, her syndicated column runs in over 200 publications and her blog has over 32,000 subscribers. (Penelope is also a single mom of two)

Note to self:  Time is only mental.  If you’re committed, you’ll make the time.

Penelope is also a strong advocate for change.  As she described it to me: “Careers are…mutational…(and) the idea of career change is outdated…career change as a noun or a verb is outdated…Career change is kind of like a permanent state.”

“Even if you do what you love – and get paid for it – you won’t want to do that your entire (work) life.  We’re going to have (work lives) for 50 to 60 years.  Anyone who’s doing the same career for that long has brain damage.  It’s just too boring and it’s a waste of a life, and your learning curve flattens, and your personal life changes…So there’s nobody who’s being honest about living a life that is true to them saying: ‘ I’m set in my career for the next 60 years’  It’s ridiculous – it’s just dishonest.”

Note to self: A career is a living thing that is constantly evolving. Both change and impermanence are part of the package.  Rather than resist this reality, prepare for it.

Even so, she recognizes that change is hard – and disruptive: ”Changing careers is extremely scary and (needs to be) well-thought out. (It) involves making compromises in your life. If you’re not feeling that, then you’re lying to yourself.”

As a person who craves challenges, she follows a braid model that allows her to minimize the pain and disruption caused by change. Her braid is woven with three strands – which she keeps very separate.  One strand is for paying bills.  That’s the career that she aims to master.  She knows that the stronger that strand is, the more money she stands to make.  The second strand she keeps looser and more fluid. In this area she looks around for new opportunities, and for intellectual and creative stimulation.  That’s the strand that has allowed her to change courses seamlessly. The third strand she labels relationships. That’s the strand that brings meaning to her life.  As she puts it: “(It’s) a no brainer.  It’s ridiculous to say that work gives meaning.  Work doesn’t give meaning – relationships give meaning. Work keeps things interesting, it makes us feel useful, (it) makes us feel part of a community…People who think they’ve achieved higher meaning through their work than someone else are arrogant and misguided…We achieve meaning through relationships.”

That’s in synch with her child-hood dream – as she wrote in an email to me:

”Childhood dream: to not be lonely”

If you haven’t guessed it by now, Penelope is a planner and quite strategic.  She generally has a solid goal and aims to run her career around it.  Her model is so powerful because it’s pre-emptive and keeps her adaptable.

As she summed it up for me: “The most effective way to do a career change – which is what I’ve done every single time – is I’m always working on two careers.  I have one career I’m becoming great at and earning a lot of money because I’m working hard at mastering…and I have another thing that I’m doing which is looking around, experimenting, trying new things, doing a lot of work for free.  …What it is really, is the commitment to permanent self-exploration so that career changing becomes a seamless part of your life. If you don’t do it that way, every time that you change careers you completely disrupt your life.”

As anyone with business sense, Penelope has an exit strategy.  She knows how to get out before she goes in.

Note to self: Work with the end in mind. Incorporate a bridging strategy into your career. Have two things going at once.

What has worked best for her is self-knowledge and self-trust.  She believes that self-knowledge trumps everything. And in spite of her success, she admits to having felt lonely, afraid and out of step with everyone else.  Twenty years later, she now knows that if: ”you’re feeling those things, you’re probably on the right track…”

A New Kind of Hero for a New Kind of World, Hero #6

alcanza metas, autoconciencia, empoderamiento, empoderamiento profesional, encontrando significado, estratégico y sostenible, liderazgo, nirvana profesional, tomadecisiones, , , , ,

(This post is part of a pact I made. Click here for the full story.)

Meet Joe*, a young serial entrepreneur.

Guided by his appetite for risk-taking and passion for military strategy since the age of 12, Joe found his career Nirvana in the music industry, after going broke and getting back up several times.

In his own words: “I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. My biggest dream has always been to have a lifestyle around my work, to be completely free of bosses or people telling me what to do or how to spend my time.”

Staying true to his childhood dreams, Joe has taken several risks with his own capital.  He’s worked in the telecom industry, recycling, aeronautics and the internet.  As he wrote to me: “I got to know the internet industry quite well when the Y2K stock market bubble blew up in my face, hard.” 

In spite of his financial risk-taking, from how Joe defines a career, it’s quite clear that he’s driven by much more than money and success.

“A career is not about academics or money it is about finding the lifestyle that makes us truly happy, something that if taken away from us, makes us cease to exist.  What we study or even the jobs we hold are not what define us. It’s deeper than that. It is how we chose to live and what we are 24/7 that defines us.”

“…being in love is wanting to be at the same place every day and not getting enough of it. That’s exactly (what) finding the perfect career or lifestyle is about, loving what you do to keep doing it forever.”

Note to self: Define your career. Control your life.  What does success mean to you?

As strategic as he has been, he feels that he stumbled upon his career Nirvana by pure luck. “In my case (my career Nirvana) came serendipitously…For some reason my (music) business came to me as much as I went to it. I do not believe in destiny, I believe we make our own but this makes me doubt. I love my job and it fits me perfectly but never in a million years did I think I’d be doing it. The moment I bought my first book on ‘Music Business’, the moment I opened the first chapter I knew I wasn’t leaving it.”

He then said: “…For me, finding the right path, the right job, the right place to be and live, what I call “that” has come after searching and falling…I have shoved my nose into so many industries, places, jobs…”

Note to self: Be open to exploration.  Stay open to finding your career Nirvana in unexpected places.

Experience has taught Joe that being indecisive can be costly: “I have gone broke because of (the) when/then game and it is probably (one of) the most important things a business manager or leader (needs) to know. You must know when to stop or when to change direction. If you do it too soon, you’ll miss out, if you stay on the same path thinking things will change doing the same things you are doing you will fail. There is a great deal of importance in this. (Unfortunately)…we will only learn (to be decisive by) practicing. It hurts…Decisions in business are the H in H20.”

Note to self:  Practice making decisions.

Joe has also learned that failing is part of the learning process. In spite of going broke, he wrote to me: “(I have) no regrets…Falling down is almost a pre-requisite to being an entrepreneur. Even more so is getting back up. Companies today are hiring executives who have failure in their CV’s because falling down teaches so much more than success. One must enter any endeavour committed to it. If you fail or win, (something) can be (gained) from (the experience). So by all means jump. Worst that can happen is that you will lose all you have and you have to get back up again. It sounds pretty rash but it is the entrepreneurial game…”

Note to self: Failure is the new success.

When I asked Joe if he’s planner, he almost sounded like a general preparing for war: “I always, always, always have a plan. First I write out what I want to do then I put it in numbers. When I do the numbers I am extremely pessimistic. If they turn out ok I just go for it, no matter what…there are 3 secrets to business: Plan, plan, plan. Having a plan and executing it are completely different things. Military strategy says that any plan goes bust when the first shot is fired, the same is true for business.”

Note to self:  Plan, plan, plan.

Joe’s scars of war have left him with several lessons, which he was happy to share with aspiring entrepreneurs:

“Definitely, I would try to gain more experience. It is very important to learn as many ropes as you can from an industry, then go solo. This does not mean that one cannot be successful by jumping in. It’s good to risk but it is also good to have at least one foot on the “sane” side.”

 

Image for post chosen by Joe. In his words: “It’s a circle called Enso (Japanese origin).  It sombolizes many things in Zen Buddhism. Emptiness, wholeness, perfection, imperfection, many things. I love it.”

 

*Name changed for privacy reasons. 

Now, future – both matter

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It’s true that being in the now has its benefits. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever been in the zone and experienced flow while doing something.  You’ll know that in the zone is where you reach your optimum performance. Out of simple and effortless doing come our best results. 

Professional athletes know this.  Next time that you watch an NBA game, pay close attention to how a player shoots a free-throw. Notice how they follow a ritual.  Every player follows a slightly different routine but each one is looking to centre themselves and get into the zone as quickly as possible before shooting.  They know that when they are in the now, there are no thoughts involved – and hence no interruptions. Just pure being.  It’s from that state that they perform their best.

In spite of this, even Eckhart Tolle, the author of the Power of Now, admits that the future is important.* That same NBA player would not be so eager to score that point if he did not have a sense of the consequence of his actions. He knows that his shot counts toward something bigger.  And he knows that to reach that something bigger, he must mind the small things – like making that single free-throw, out of the hundreds that he shoots during a game.

The concept of having something larger to work towards and minding the small things transcends into our own work lives.  Setting five-year goals for your career will give you something bigger to work toward.  Having long-term goals works like a magnet.  Goals will guide each and every moment of your life and infuse your day with a reason for being.  At that point it will make perfect sense for you to pay attention to the small things.

Set goals and just watch what happens.  Notice how your perspective on things changes.  I’d love to know.

 

*Click here to watch Eckhart speak about the power of now

Cool photo?  Thanks flickr