Monday, April 29, 2013

Creating Your 'New' Normal

Change is tough.  We know how difficult it is to change our habits... eat less sugar, exercise more, get up earlier... whatever our particular need.  However, perhaps we're making it harder than it need be.

Most changes that we try to introduce into our lives tend to be made in an 'all or nothing' framework.  We want to exercise more so we join a gym and plan on going 3 times a week.  We want to eat less sugar so we cut out all sugar from our diets.  We want to eliminate caffeine so we stop drinking coffee.  Period.

These typically prove to be big challenges for us.  Perhaps too big.  We feel the loss.  We struggle and... we typically quit.  It proves too big and painful a shift for us to make and we therefore revert to our old ways, our comfortable habit patterns.  Perhaps though, it is not the goal that is wrong but the path we've chosen to get us there.

Think of your existing habit pattern as your current 'Normal'.  Think of this like a point you've set on a thermostat.  If you decided you wanted to reduce energy use in your house by dropping the preset temperature by 5 degrees, from the 73F you are comfortable with to a desired 68F... you would walk around wearing sweaters or toting a blanket complaining about the cold.  Instead, reduce it by 1 degree.  Try it for a week.  It will likely prove to be a minor adjustment that you acclimatize to fairly quickly.  In week two, drop it another degree.  Your ultimate goal is to get it down to 68 degrees.  Don't make it all about having to get there all at once.

Leo Babuta, of 'Zen Habits' fame (see below for a link to his book if you haven't read this yet!) speaks about the need to create a 'New' Normal for ourselves.  When he decided to eliminate sugar from his coffee (and he took a lot of sugar!) he didn't do it all at once.  Instead, he reduced his sugar by half a teaspoon for the first week.  At first it didn't taste as good to him, but then it started to taste 'normal'.  At that point, he then reduced it by another half teaspoon.  He continued this pattern until, ultimately, he learned to love his coffee with no sugar.

Don't make change harder than it needs to be.  Introduce incremental changes that move you closer toward your ultimate goal.  If your current normal is to sleep in until the last possible second before you race off to work, but you would like to have more time in the mornings, whether to have a more relaxed start to your day, to fit in a little exercise or meditation, or to just read quietly for half an hour before heading off to work...  start small.  Instead of waking up an hour earlier, start with 10 minutes.  Make that your new set point, your new normal.  When those 10 minutes are comfortable for you, they feel natural and normal... reset your clock adding in another 10 minutes.  Eventually... you will have your hour and, perhaps more importantly, you will have your hour without feeling the loss or sacrifice of sleep had you tried for the full hour all at once.

Creating a New Normal for yourself is perhaps the easiest way to create a new habit.  Who said that breaking habits or introducing new desirable habits had to be a struggle?
Our minds tend to adjust over time.  That's my change process - I gradually adjust what's normal to me      ... Leo Babuta


       

Monday, April 22, 2013

The 4 Secrets of Success


Over my decades of working with senior executives and leaders I have come to recognise that much of success comes down to four small little secrets which, if done consistently and done well, can propel you to the 'top'... however you define it. Successful leaders may call them by different names but the actions all seem to boil down to the need to do these four things.

1.  Show up.  No, this doesn't just refer to the need to actually go to work, though being punctual to work, to meetings, is a must.  Rather, I am referring to the need to be fully present in all that you do.  It doesn't matter what you are doing, you must give it your all and then 1% more.  Successful people give whatever they are doing their full attention, they don't short-change anything.  If you want to get ahead and succeed, you have to be present to do it.  Show up - in body, mind and spirit.

2.  Step up.  You are responsible for your life, your choices, your work, your deadlines, your accomplishments.  Step up and accept the responsibility for it.  Successful people don't make excuses and they don't look to pass the buck elsewhere.  They own the good and the bad, laying claim to both their successes and their failures.  This is where the true growth and learning occur.

3.  Stand up.  You've got to be willing to take a stand on issues, to let people know your position.  Those who try to appease everyone by doing and supporting everything, end up standing for nothing.  Your reputation and brand will be built by the values you uphold and the actions you take.  What are you remembered for?

4.  Speak up.  Give voice to your thoughts, your accomplishments, your goals.  Let others know who you are, what you've done and where you're headed.  Many people fail to move up simply because others don't know what they are capable of or what their interests are.  Speak up also on behalf of those who can't; the underdog, underprivileged, injustice. Many of the greatest leaders and greatest success stories started by finding their voice and then donating it to others.

Take a moment to think how well you are currently living to each of these success tips and how you might work to improve upon each.  Four 'little' steps that can make the world of difference to where you manage to take your life and career. What would be the impact to yours if you simply made a point to...

  • Show Up
  • Step Up
  • Stand Up
  • Speak Up

The 4 Secrets of Success


Over my decades of working with senior executives and leaders I have come to recognise that much of success comes down to four small little secrets which, if done consistently and done well, can propel you to the 'top'... however you define it. Successful leaders may call them by different names but the actions all seem to boil down to the need to do these four things.

1.  Show up.  No, this doesn't just refer to the need to actually go to work, though being punctual to work, to meetings, is a must.  Rather, I am referring to the need to be fully present in all that you do.  It doesn't matter what you are doing, you must give it your all and then 1% more.  Successful people give whatever they are doing their full attention, they don't short-change anything.  If you want to get ahead and succeed, you have to be present to do it.  Show up - in body, mind and spirit.

2.  Step up.  You are responsible for your life, your choices, your work, your deadlines, your accomplishments.  Step up and accept the responsibility for it.  Successful people don't make excuses and they don't look to pass the buck elsewhere.  They own the good and the bad, laying claim to both their successes and their failures.  This is where the true growth and learning occur.

3.  Stand up.  You've got to be willing to take a stand on issues, to let people know your position.  Those who try to appease everyone by doing and supporting everything, end up standing for nothing.  Your reputation and brand will be built by the values you uphold and the actions you take.  What are you remembered for?

4.  Speak up.  Give voice to your thoughts, your accomplishments, your goals.  Let others know who you are, what you've done and where you're headed.  Many people fail to move up simply because others don't know what they are capable of or what their interests are.  Speak up also on behalf of those who can't; the underdog, underprivileged, injustice. Many of the greatest leaders and greatest success stories started by finding their voice and then donating it to others.

Take a moment to think how well you are currently living to each of these success tips and how you might work to improve upon each.  Four 'little' steps that can make the world of difference to where you manage to take your life and career. What would be the impact to yours if you simply made a point to...

  • Show Up
  • Step Up
  • Stand Up
  • Speak Up

Monday, April 15, 2013

Down but Not Out

Times are tough.  You've hit a wall.  You've been knocked down.  But you haven't been knocked out!
What defines us is how well we rise after falling          Lionel, Maid in Manhattan
If you are down now... it's an exciting time for you.  Quite literally there is nowhere for you to go but up.  this is your moment of definition.  Some may think that you are down for the count and discount you.  But they will be surprised.

They will be surprised because this is a pivotal moment for you.  Others may choose to give up, but you?  You'll choose to get up!  You have the ability to separate yourself from the actions, circumstances and people that brought you down, to dig deep within yourself, and move beyond.

This is a moment of self discovery, a moment for you to realize just how much untapped potential you possess.  This is the moment to unleash those possibilities within you, showing yourself and everyone around you that you are now, and ever have been, MORE.

You have the power to change your attitude, change your circumstances, change your finances, to change your destiny.  The time to begin is NOW.

Down but Not Out

Times are tough.  You've hit a wall.  You've been knocked down.  But you haven't been knocked out!
What defines us is how well we rise after falling          Lionel, Maid in Manhattan
If you are down now... it's an exciting time for you.  Quite literally there is nowhere for you to go but up.  this is your moment of definition.  Some may think that you are down for the count and discount you.  But they will be surprised.

They will be surprised because this is a pivotal moment for you.  Others may choose to give up, but you?  You'll choose to get up!  You have the ability to separate yourself from the actions, circumstances and people that brought you down, to dig deep within yourself, and move beyond.

This is a moment of self discovery, a moment for you to realize just how much untapped potential you possess.  This is the moment to unleash those possibilities within you, showing yourself and everyone around you that you are now, and ever have been, MORE.

You have the power to change your attitude, change your circumstances, change your finances, to change your destiny.  The time to begin is NOW.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Life-Hacking - Could Yours Use a Little?

Life-hacking.  This is a real term, a real phenomenon.  Popularized by Tim Ferriss, through his best-selling book The 4-Hour Work Week, life-hacking is helping people to redesign their lives, their work, their paths, their approaches.  According to Wikipedia, life-hacking ...
refers to any productivity trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life; in other words, anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious way might be called a life hack.
Take Alex Day for example.  This young UK singer/musician hacked the UK music industry such that, with no manager, no producer, no agent and no PR help... took his single to #4 on the UK charts on Christmas Day, their biggest day of the year.  Oh... and he did it in 8 weeks.  Unheard of perhaps, but he hacked the system.  He looked for alternatives to the 'typical' processes, worked around the 'way it works' established systems, found a couple of loopholes and...  made it happen.  (see his story here)

Consider musician Amanda Palmer.  In her Ted Talk, aptly named the Art of Asking (here's the link), Amanda describes how, after being dropped by her record producer (because her band didn't bring in enough sales and revenue), she put her album out for free and simply asked people to pay what they'd like for it.  She netted well over a million in sales.

Two recent examples that I have simply tripped over (I didn't even go looking) that both highlight individuals that were willing (and able) to think outside of the proverbial box and try a different approach.  They weren't constrained in their minds by 'how things work' because those systems clearly weren't going to work for them.  Rather than give up or move on or... even worse... conform, they invented a new process, one that would give them the results that they were after.

How might this work for you?

How many times have you limited or restricted yourself from going after something that you want because there weren't enough resources to make it happen?  Because you didn't have the time to invest?  Because you didn't have the skills?  Perhaps all of these would be true if you were following the 'tried and true' approach to the issue but... what it... you reinvented the approach so that you didn't need the money, the expertise, the knowledge the... whatever is holding you back?  You create the rules and... go for it!

Re-invent.  Re-design.  Re-craft.  Re-tool.

When it comes to your life don't hate it... hack it!  The possibilities just grew exponentially!


(and... if you haven't read this yet...  here's the link to go buy it.  Read it.  Learn from it.  Do it.)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Life Choices Made Easy

We often find ourselves at a crossroad, two divergent choices in life.  As we make a choice our life and our options then veer off in a different direction, leading us to make other choices.  Some of these choices lead us toward our desired goals, some will lead us further away.  At every crossroad of choices we face though, there will always be an opportunity to shift back on track, to direct our path back toward our desired future.  This means that if we are not on track it is because we chose not to be.

Most people feel that when they are faced with that moment of choice they are being asked to choose between something that is easy-not-to-do and something that is difficult-to-do.  Sometimes we just don't feel up to the challenge of facing that difficult hurdle and we opt for the easy path.  The more that we do so the more that we find ourselves drifting from our desired course.

The issue of course is that it is simply easier to choose easy over difficult.  However, moving yourself in a positive direction, the one that leads to your defined success, need not be difficult.  Often, it just needs a little reframing.

The most common mistake we make lies in the fact that we have spent more time thinking about, defining, and crafting our desired future and, as a result, we tend to think of it in its 'finished' terms.  It is therefore big and distant.  Of course it looks difficult and challenging.  It represents a significant distance and change from where we are in the moment.  Instead, we need to break it down.  What is the one small step we can take toward that vision and goal that moves us along that path?  Instead of our choice then being between easy-not-to-do and difficult-to-do, we are now faced with a choice between easy-not-to-do and easy-to-do.  Much more appealing.  Who isn't going to choose the option to move forward to their goals if it is just as easy as not doing something?

Use this any time that you face a challenge and begin to feel resistant.  You know it's the right choice, you know it's what you should do, what you want to do, but you are fearful.  You will recognise the moment when this occurs because you begin to find yourself making excuses not to take action.  The I'm not, I can't, I don't, I won't phrases begin.  Before you firmly settle on the easy-not-to path, reframe your other option.  Break it down.  If you are hitting resistance it is only because you are facing too big an obstacle or are feeling overwhelmed by its sheer size.  Make it smaller.  Break it down until you hear yourself thinking... I could do that.  And then choose it.

Reframing your life and your choices so that you are continuously facing choices between the easy-not-to-do and easy-to-do will cement your path to success faster than any other piece of advice I can offer.  Not all of life needs to be hard, not everything needs to be an obstacle.  'Life' is more than capable of tossing boulders into our path to disrupt our journey.  We can pole vault over them or we can build ladders one step at a time.  Both get us over, past and beyond the obstacles.  If you can't vault, step.  It's easy.