Monthly Archives: February 2020

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Passion

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Valentine’s day is coming tomorrow and it is typically a time when people show passion for the one they love.  Passion is both emotional and powerful.

Demonstrating strong feelings or beliefs about something is the hallmark of passion.  These feels can cover many topics from success (a passion for achievement) to love (being passionate about somebody).

At the Expense of Logic

Typically passion is a good thing.  It helps supply the underlying energy and motivation we need to achieve our goals, i.e., things we are passionate about.

The downside is passion can blind us to reality.  Our ability to conduct a logical analysis of a situation can be overwhelmed. Our earnest and enthusiastic search to achieve the object of our passion might lead us to inappropriate behavior.

We may even injure our chances of attaining that which we seek.  Certainly, stalkers have some passion for their prey but it manifests itself in a totally inappropriate way.

Embrace with Caution

Passion can include belief in the spiritual and occult and other concepts that do not necessarily have physical proof of existence.  Actions in accordance with these beliefs should be treated with some measure of caution.

Recognizing passionate feelings have us in their embrace is important.  This is not to enable an override of those strong feelings and desires but rather to let us manage them appropriately.

Embracing those things you feel passionate about and acting on them is natural, it feels good and mostly is a worthwhile exercise.  Caution is recommended only to prevent headlong rushes into something you will regret.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Full Steam Ahead

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Do life’s challenges and concerns end by the time you reach old age (say 65, 75)?  Is it easier when you are older than when you are young and constantly struggling with stress from worrying about what is next?

This is a strange way to look at it.  Life can be just as sweet and fulfilling no matter how many birthdays you have had.  The daily challenges, stress and joy we experience only end when we are dead.

Sweet Failure

Whether you are 12 or 80, living is made up of challenges and successes and these are the things worth continuing to live for.

There is no age in which life’s failure to be sweet at any given point in time is not painful but likewise the enjoyment of success gives pleasure.

Age and experience may well result in changing perspectives but we don’t stop living fully just because we are getting older.  It is not easier to cope with age because you have done it all, it is just different.

Purpose

The most important aspect of any life at any age is purpose.  Believing you have a purpose, a raison d’être, is really the only basic requirement to living a long life of great enjoyment, decade after decade.

Whatever age you are it is critical for you to believe they are all worthwhile.  Anticipate the enjoyment coming with age.  The end of your life does not occur until death.

Up to that point cherish and enjoy every moment, they will not be repeated.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

No, No, It Wasn’t me.

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I heard the classic rock song  “It wasn’t me” by Chuck Berry which appeared on his 1965 studio album ” Fresh Berrys”  on the radio this morning.  This was his 9th studio album.

The title and chorus line appealed to me as a potentially great blog topic.  And so here we are.  In this case, the author is me, but for everything else you want to blame me for, well, it wasn’t me.

On the Defence

It is natural to defend ourselves.  Our unconscious can play a big role in this leading us to explain why it was not us even before we have thought it through.

Self defence can begin even before conscious logic kicks in.  Not surprisingly, this is not always the best approach.  We revere honesty in others and so owning up to mistakes and taking the blame right out of the box can put us in good stead with others.

However, that takes more than a little effort, in main because we will both naturally and unconsciously immediately defend ourselves.  Not sure what the accusation is but “No, No wasn’t me” is often our first reaction.

Own Up

It has been my experience accepting blame, without excuse or explanation (and thats a real important part) focusing on resolution works wonders.

This is not to suggest we should accept responsibility for ever accusation, in particular those for which we really are not to blame.

That said falling on our sword, while not  a natural inclination can very often be the best approach and a way to turn failure into success.

Give it some thought next time the opportunity to avoid blame comes up, maybe you should be singing “ Yes, Yes, it was me”.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Silence

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The absence of sound can create a void.  In particular, when associated with a situation where you are interacting with others maintaining silence can be a daunting task.

Taking a philosophical bent, personal silence can be a pathway to enlightenment.  It is difficult to listen when you are talking or even just thinking about what you are going to say next.

Contemplation

Deep reflective thought can occur without silence but noise can be a distraction and silent contemplation is often more effective.  This enables us to have a sharper focus on the object of our thoughts.

When interacting with others, first listening, then contemplating in silence before reacting is far more likely to result in well thought out responses which are more likely to have a positive influence.

Beauty in the Quiet

Although it is natural and human nature to want to express ourselves and share our thoughts with others this is not always the best way to get our point across (or even ever the best way).

It is not easy to be silent and wait for the best moment.  Sometimes there is a fear the opportunity might never come and our thoughts come bursting out.

Unfortunately, this can lead to emotional outbursts and poorly founded logic.   There is nothing wrong with quiet moments.  In fact, they are most often more beneficial than nought.

Fill the Void

There is no need to break the silence.  Be comfortable in the quiet moment even in the presence of others.  If they can be silent until there is something worth sharing, why can’t you.

Everyone benefits.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Who, What When

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Through experience I have come to believe accomplishing a goal requires three things, at a minimum.  Of course you need to be clear on what the intended outcome is be you start.

The three simple things are:

  • What do we need to do in order to attain the objective?
  • Who is involved in executing the “what”?
  • When will it be done?

Anticipating Failure

Whether a very simple or complex task unless what, who and when is clearly defined I am never surprised by failure.  Failure is more likely than success when clarity of purpose, approach and accountability is not present.

That is not to say you cannot stumble upon success miraculously (often called luck) but even with luck, intent is usually present which implies some level awareness of the objective being sought.

While being very clear about the steps to achievement, how they are executed, by whom and when does not guarantee success it does increases the likelihood.

Guaranteed Results

Understanding how to achieve the results you seek  is certainly a best practice it does not mean you are guaranteed to reach your goal.

If that were the case, this practice would be universally employed.  We simply decide, I want that, here is how I can get it, with these peoples help and this is when I want it.

If this approach was always assured of success everyone would, after all if what I want is guaranteed just by making the attempt, what barrier to trying?

Sadly it is not that simple and good planning and preparation do not equate to absolute achievement (the possibility of failure is omnipresent).  Still good process is more likely to lead to success so well worth undertaking.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Relationship Context

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How we interact with each other can be heavily influenced by the context of our relationship.  Two obvious examples of this would be relationships defined either as a colleague or as a client/customer.

Where both parties view the other as a colleague the relationship is usually not-adversarial largely defined by polite behavior.  If both view it as a client/customer relationship it evolves more as demand/subservient behavior depending on which role you are in.

Mis-aligned Context

The really interesting stuff can arise when each party views the context differently.  This can lead to anxiety, frustration, disagreement, and dissatisfaction.

Consider the case where one “colleague” considers themselves the boss (not a colleague).   Interactions have a disconnect from the beginning as one colleague believes they have granted power over the actions of the other (unfortunately this is only one way).

The perceived context of each participant leads to different behavioral expectations.  Interactions could very quickly become adversarial as each party’s expectations don’t match.

Service Expectations

In many many societal groups, organizations one internal unit provides service to another.  Everyone is part of the organization and in these cases do not have direct reporting alignment.

Are the receiving unit members clients or customers of the servicing unit or is everyone a colleague?  Or is this even defined but rather just shakes out organically?

Where one person views another as a colleague rather than a customer or client the interactions can quickly fall apart due to widely differing expectations.

The appropriate behaviors for provider/client interactions are quite different from colleague to colleague.  Without being clear upfront as the context of the relationship you can get into hot water very quickly.

The Simple Solution

Before interacting with others, share your relationship perspective and ask for theirs. Even if there is not agreement at least you will know that and can adjust behaviours accordingly.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Seeking Concensus

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Leveraging the skills and abilities of others in conjunction with your own can be frustrating.  Independence and belief in our own abilities and self-worth lead us to challenge the value of collaboration.

That is to say, while the quality and effectiveness of our achievements are greatly enhanced by acting en mass rather than independently it is not human nature to do so.

Interacting with Others

Going it alone can be very satisfying.  Individual accomplishments make us feel good.  Group accomplishments are still worth applauding and can be very satisfying but we are just a cog in the wheel.

A very challenging aspect of working with others is the need to attain a consensus.  This is a general agreement among all parties.  Making a unilateral decision and forcing it on others is so much easier.

Therein Lies the Rub

Leaders with granted power can abuse this privilege by taking the easy route.  That is rather than attaining consensus, which means the best ideas and knowledge all participants gets leveraged, they just override and push forward with their decision.

The disadvantage of this approach is simply that is has a lower likelihood of arriving at the best approach.  Intuitively the larger the information base, the combining of multiple processing power and the diversity of thought will provide better results than a single stream,

Albeit it slower, taking the extra time and effort to consult, discuss and achieve consensus will in most cases (outside of dire emergencies) produce the best results.

Granted power should not be used recklessly.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Why Worry?

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Don’t worry you can figure it out.  This can work really well as a personal philosophy provided you don’t make it too all-encompassing.

Figuring stuff out is virtually always possible.  However, sometimes it is not expedient or efficient and quality often is diminished.  Completing a task or objective at the moment might work but might not be the best solution.

Risk Prevention

Identifying things that could go wrong and proactively working out an approach to mitigate them when they do can be more effective than figuring out how to deal with the issue when (and if) it occurs.

In both cases though, whether you plan in advance how to resolve problems or deal with them at the moment, there is nothing to worry about.

Fear and worry arise because we intuitively recognize working things out on the fly can be challenging and might not produce top quality results but we should not worry about failure, somehow we always figure it out.

Avoid Rushing

Working out how to deal with a problem or unexpected event can be a rush; both from the surge of adrenaline and the need for speed perspectives.

Being aware of things that could go wrong and preparing in advance (i.e., figuring it out) is probably the best approach to dealing with problems but is not always practical.

Worry about things in advance though does not make sense. Either plan how to address it before it occurs (in case it occurs) or be ready to deal with it at the moment.  However you choose to figure things out, in advance, in the moment or a combination of both approaches, remember, there is no need to worry.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Vision, Goals, Strategy, Tactics

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Our ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom is often referred to as vision. This can be a great starting point to define your goals and objectives.

Using what you visualize your future to be as a foundation, goals are the specific aims or desired results that make up the steps to enable you to achieve what you seek.

What Next

Once you have determined your goal/objective, that is the achievement aimed at or sought, the next steps are to determine how this will be done.

This is where strategy comes in.  Basically a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim – i.e., your ultimate goal or objective.

Strategies clarify what is to be achieved, by when and how.  This may be a multi-step process and the strategic plan does not need to be detailed but is rather more indicative in nature.

Make it Happen

After you have defined your vision, developed the goals to support is and combined everything into an overarching strategy, it is time for execution.

Use your strategy to develop tactics and associated tactical plans.  These are a series of carefully thought out actions that form the recipe for success.

The tactical plan defines activities that are focused on achievement of a specific end – the specific milestone needed to support the strategy which is just an encapsulation of the goals and objectives required to achieve the vision.

Using vision, goals setting, strategy development and tactical planning enables you to perform efficiently with a high chance of actually achieving your vision.