Category: Mindfulness

Create the Future Now!

9/12/2018

Sep 12, 2018
Clear Confident Leader Weekly Observer, Issue #80
From the Greenbelt of Boise Idaho, Shorter Days

As we make the turn toward fall, we feel the change in light, the shortening of the days, and the impulse to act before winter comes.

The actions we take now create the future we’ll experience for many days to come.

We’re constantly choosing how to spend our time and energy, sometimes consciously, and most often not. The most frequent question I hear is, what needs to be done today?

It leads to a frenzy, completing unfinished tasks and “fighting fires” as a sign of “progress”. Most people “fighting fires” eventually burn themselves out.

We rarely ask, what do I need to practice today, to create the future I want?

In a recent conversation with a leader, we talked about the importance of balancing daily production, change projects, and developing himself and his team.

By starting with what do I need to practice today to create the future I want, he was able to identify a simple approach to connect all three. He started with what he would practice to develop himself and his team as they approached each day.

Whether its conscious or not, what we practice today creates the future we will live in tomorrow.

What are you practicing?
Is it creating the future you want?

I help leaders and teams create new possibilities for the future today. I will close the fall enrollment window for new clients on September 21st. If you're interested in enrolling, visit here.

Let’s choose the future we create!

Tunnel Vision - What's at Risk?

2/3/2018

February 3, 2018
Clear Confident Leader Weekly Observer, Issue #63
From the Greenbelt of Boise Idaho, Dark skies

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

In any situation that you encounter, you can either respond to what is occurring, or you can respond to your ideas and emotions about what is occurring. – Peter Ralston

I was driving to a meeting thinking about a difficult situation, and my mind kept returning to one outcome: deliver a clear message about what needed to be satisfied, or else. This thought had been coming up for the past few days as the meeting approached, and it was intensifying as I moved closer to the meeting place.

I paused realizing my body was contracting and the resulting tension was leading me to “lock-on” to a specific outcome, and “lock-out” contextual understanding and other possibilities. I was so focused on getting through what I felt and thought to be conflict, my perception shrank to very narrow tunnel vision. I was stuck responding to my reactions instead of what was really occurring.

Stepping back, I reflected on what fears had been triggered that led to my body to react. I realized I’d fallen back into my long-lived habit of tensing to protect and driving to control to make it through difficult situations. The more I ran the story in my mind, the more I was responding to my ideas and fears about what was occurring.

What was really at risk here? Yes, a clear boundary needed to be communicated. And, what was at risk was an important relationship. If I shut down and focused on control, I was likely to create the risk I was most concerned about.

We develop reactive habits as we grow up, enabling us to cope with life’s situations as best we can at the time. These reactive habits have gifts and strengths within them that we can creatively utilize, when the habits are not in control of us. Learning to see our habits as they arise, enables us to accept their wisdom and let go of their control, and choose to respond to what is occurring.

I work with teams and leaders to create better results through the conscious practice of leadership. Let’s create a better future today!

Choosing to Focus our Attention

12/28/2017

December 28, 2017
Clear Confident Leader Weekly Observer, Issue #60
From the Rincon, Ventura, CA, Warmth of Sunrise

For the moment, what we attend to is reality.
– William James

Each of us chooses, by our ways of attending to things, the universe we inhabit and the people we encounter…The reality that appears to us is not so much what’s out there as it is those aspects of the world we have focused on.
– B. Alan Wallace

The time and space between Christmas and New Year’s Day is for me a wonderful time for family and reflection. As I reflect on events of the past month, I’m increasingly aware that what I focus on is what I perceive.

I spent a lot of energy focused on the Santa Paula fire where my parents and much of my family lives. Being here, it is a common topic of conversation. The conversations lead to a story in my mind full of interpretations that shape my perspective. It seems more raw and real as I personally connect to places where I grew up and see and hear what my family has experienced. It is possible to spiral in on the anxieties and fears that arise.

Yet, when I step back from the story, I can take a different perspective. Here, as in many places of the world this year, a tragic event occurred. People responded as best they knew how, to deal with a dramatically new reality, and are now taking steps to rebuild and move forward in their lives.

Trusting in others, and compassionately caring for those in need, has in many ways strengthened our family and the communities we live in. We’ve reconnected with what we care about and what we share together.

We each have an opportunity to choose what we focus on in each moment. I find it helpful to consider:

What do I care about in this situation?
What outcomes would I like to see?
What is my intention as I engage with those around me?

I work with teams and leaders to create better results through the conscious practice of leadership cultivating resilient effectiveness and compassionate action. Let’s create a better future today!

Wind, Fire, Resilience and Gratefulness

12/10/2017

December 10, 2017
Clear Confident Leader Weekly Observer, Issue #58
From the Greenbelt of Boise, Idaho, Inversion Gray Days

Michael Hardison Photography

Human beings have enormous resilience. – Muhammad Yunus

It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. Every moment is a gift. There is no certainty that you will have another moment, with all the opportunity that it contains…Most often it is the opportunity to enjoy it, but sometimes a difficult gift is given to us and that can be an opportunity to rise to the challenge. – David Steindl-Rast

The east winds were blowing 45-50 mph along the ridges last Monday night, when fire broke out just north of Santa Paula. In 90 minutes the fire had burned 2,500 acres. In the next two hours it would double in size twice to 10,000 acres and threaten both Santa Paula and Ventura. Six days later the fire has covered over 230,000 acres, and is now threatening the neighborhoods east of Santa Barbara.

My family has farmed and lived in Santa Paula for six generations now. My parents, aunt and three cousins there were all threatened. Four of the five households had to evacuate. One cousin's house was destroyed, and lots of trees have been lost to the fire. More damage is possible until electricity is restored, and irrigating can begin again.

We were lucky, everyone survived. Two months ago, similar circumstances occurred in Santa Rosa where my mother-in-law and another cousin live. Four months ago, my nephew’s in-laws were evacuating in the face of fire just east of Redlands.

For many of us living in the west, wind, drought and fires are occurring more frequently and later in the year. In other parts of the country it is hurricanes, tornados and other disasters from an evolving climate.

As has occurred in many places, homes will be rebuilt, people will be cared for, and our communities will evolve too. This depends on our capacity for resilience in living and working together effectively to rebound from adversity.

I’m grateful for all the emergency preparedness and response people and teams who have taken care of so many of us, and minimized damage where they could. I’m grateful for neighbors and community members who rise to the challenge, and take care of each other in these times of need. I’m grateful for my family who quickly pulled together to help each other during each of the disasters.

Developing our resilience and gratefulness help us deal with and recover from the adversity that arises in life. What practices do you use to develop resilience and gratefulness?

I work with teams and leaders to create better results through the conscious practice of leadership cultivating resilient effectiveness and compassionate action. Let’s create a better future today!

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Create the Future Now!

Tunnel Vision - What's at Risk?

Choosing to Focus our Attention

Wind, Fire, Resilience and Gratefulness

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