Category Archives: Change

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Everything Is A Mess

I’m doing some serious business planning these days.  I’ve quit a job I’ve been doing for a couple of years.  I’m rebuilding my business and I’m excited about what’s coming.  I’m also feeling discombobulated.  Well, maybe not quite discombobulated but certainly ‘out of sorts’.  I really just like using that word if possible.

One thing I have learned in my journey so far is:  Change is always messiest in the middle.

My husband is painting a room in our home right now.  It is a perfect example for me of the mess of change.  The planning for his home office/guest bedroom wasn’t messy at all.  We talked about what we would do and then he went and picked the paint colour.  Then I went back to the store with him and picked out the right paint colour. OK – that could have been a little messy but after being married this long he knows when to let me have my way.

Yesterday, the room was dismantled, the walls washed, trim taped and some sanding done.  You know how that goes.  Everything small enough to be carried out of the room is now redistributed in other rooms in our house and today the painting starts.  The plan is to have everything back in place by the end of the week.

For now, things are messy.  

It is a metaphor for my life right now.  I’m in the middle of the mess.  I’ve got an idea of what the end product will look like but it has involved tearing apart a lot of things.  The difficult thing about life change is that it usually goes on for quite a bit longer than a week.

I read quote recently, “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.  Henri Bergson, French Philosopher.

I have no idea when all the parts will be put back in place.  In the mean time I just have to keep working at it.  Keep preparing the room and taking the time to make sure I don’t rush the change but take the time needed to really ask all the questions to make sure that I don’t miss anything important as I move forward.  I don’t want to paint myself into a corner or paint around the furniture.

If things feel messy in your life right now that’s OK.  You are probably in the middle of something.  Trust the process.

 

 

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The 4-Hour Workweek

I have to admit it – the title of this book got my attention.  So when a friend gave it to me to read I was skeptically intrigued.  At just a little over the half way point I have noted some things I will try.  I’m not sure I’ll ever get to a four hour work week but I’m no Timothy Ferriss!

All things about vision attract me these days and I really liked what Ferriss had to say about vision:

Most people will never know what they want…”What do you want?” is too imprecise to produce a meaningful and actionable answer.  Forget about it.  “What are your goals?” is similarly fated for confusion and guesswork.

Instead he suggests the question you and I need to ask is, “What would excite me?”

There’s another way of looking at vision.  What would excite you?  Make a list of five things that you find exciting.  Add that to your vision thinking.

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Hold Off On The Reality Check

In talking about transformation we will get to the discussion of the reality check.  Assessments can be enlightening and are part of the process but only after you have done the inspirational work of crafting a vision.

My Real Life

I read a great post on Escape from Cubicle National.   Someone shared a picture of their real life (the one they wanted) and their fake life (the one they were in).  It’s a great story and a great idea.

If you were to take a picture that captured your real life – the one you want to be living – what would be in it?   Take a picture or find one online and make it your desktop picture.  Every time you look at it you’ll be reminded of where you want to be.  Have fun – and let me in on your pictures!

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The Green Eyed Monster

As I mentioned in an earlier post this month I plan to write on the topic of vision.  This is the first time I’ve been as intentional as picking a monthly topic.  It is part of a bigger plan to try and put together something more formal (perhaps an ebook).

As often happens since I made the decision I’ve come across countless articles on vision.  You can infer what you like from that happenstance.  You might think I’m attracting vision or you might think that I’m just more aware of the topic and as a result noticing anything on the topic.  I’m more inclined to go with the last theory.

The reason I am writing on vision is not because I want to flog the dead horse of vision statements. We can only hope churches and corporations are revisiting those manufactured vision statements that have more to do with what they think they should be doing than what they really feel inspired to do. No, my interest in vision has to do with transformation – a topic I am quite interested in.

After spending over 20 years in organizations with an eye on helping people grow, move forward, take action, etc.  I’ve noticed that there are a few things that need to happen for someone to really change.

The first one is vision.  We need to have a vision of what we want to be like to put it simply.  The clearer it is the better.

So to kick start this topic – what person do you envy? It might not be your typical vision casting question but I think it’s a good one.

Who do you wish you were?  What person do you hear about and think – I wish that was me?  It doesn’t have to be one person.  Maybe you have several people who you envy.  You might envy someone because of their career and someone else because of their community.  It doesn’t matter.  Make a list of a few people you envy and why you envy them.  It’s a part of sorting out your vision.  We’ll add to this discussion this week.