Micro to Macro - "Joining the Dots'

I was have a conversation with a friend of mine about some of the things that have happened in her life recently. A number of things had been challenging for her  and she was busy analysing what had happed in each case. What and how effected it had had on her and what she could do about it. I sat and listened for a while quietly.

I then asked these simple questions; How are these things linked? I then asked, What was is similar about each situation?

That really revolutionised her thought, she began to see links. Differences, but also similar causes and characteristics. "Wow" she said "All this stuff has the same basic pattern."

There are times when is beneficial to step back to get the macro view because it allows you to see patterns that may be masked in the up close viewpoint. The next question I asked was what can you do with this information? The solutions then started to develop with the revelation of the connections.

Are there issues in your life where stepping back and gaining a wider view may be a key to moving forward.

Have an awesome week.
Paul

Viva la France

I must admit I had become a little disappointed by the numbers who had read my blogs in the last couple of weeks. There has seemed to be a downward trend, considering they take such a lot of thought and time to write.

I was beginning to wonder what I was going to write about this week. Then I noticed that I had 7 new readers from France. I had never had any French readers before, as far as I can remember. I found this quite encouraging, it gave me  a lift in my thinking and emotions. The other point about them was they had found the blog without Facebook which was also encouraging.

It occurred to me that we become disappointed and discouraged on occasions because we don't look for something to lift our spirits. In itself there is nothing that miraculous about 7 new French readers, but by allowing it to lift me, I was maintaining my own balance. That allowed me to go on to notice that in this week alone people from six nations read this blog!

You can too look around you, there is encouragement everywhere. You  just have to see it. Start small, you never know where it could take you. Often it is all in the way you look at it. Is the  glass half  full or half empty?

Until next week. Even if the glass is only half full, it seems a better option.

IQ of a washing machine?

I was sitting listening to the washing machine spinning away during it's cycle. That started me thinking about how it gets out of balance. I mean you can put a load of washing on very carefully spreading everything in the machine,  trying make sure there is good weight distribution. Strangely, sometimes the clothes and other articles absorb more water than we expect or it could be the agitation in the washing action........ Then the whole load becomes out of balance. As the suspension in the machine can't cope with the unequal weight distribution, the spin cycle cuts out.Including alarm noises as well!!

Modern machines have, as the illustration shows  have bump detection system which allows the machine to cut itself out if it gets too far out of balance. I started to think wouldn't that be great if we had as much sense as the washing machine. To stop and sit down and take stock when things are not going as well as we hoped. How often do we plan our day so carefully, with much more care than we take care in loading our washing machine.  Then there may be too much agitation in our day!  Or just didn't quite figure out the weight of certain items. However unfortunately when things get out of whack, often we just try and push through. We don't stop and reassess where we are, even when the alarm goes off.  Then redistribute our days load accordingly, giving us more chance of success.

I marvel at myself sometimes that I don't have the IQ of a washing machine. Maybe I should look at my washing machine with new admiration. It knows when to say enough!

How about you?

Till next week Paul

10% Inspiration and.......................

Inspiration is an interesting commodity in todays world. There is a great deal of emphasis placed on things that inspire us or people that inspire us. We have quotes flying all over the internet of things that people have said that are supposed to inspire and encourage us.

This week I have had a few things described to me as inspirational. So I started to think about what is inspirational? After some thought I feel that inspiration is like the ignition system in a car it gets the car started, but it is not what in the end will drive it forward.

I am more inclined towards the concept that greatness is achieved by 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Many things are  started (inspiration), but few are followed through to completion perspiration. My job is to take inspiration and work with it to see something worthwhile develop.

Here are some definitions that might help:

inspiration (n.) 

c. 1300, "immediate influence of God or a god," especially that under which the holy books were written, from Old French inspiracion "inhaling, breathing in; inspiration" (13c.), from Late Latin inspirationem (nominative inspiratio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon," figuratively "inspire, excite, inflame," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.)).

Another set of definitions which fit in with modern culture

1. A person, object, or situation which quickens or stimulates an influence upon the intellect, emotions or creativity.  
2. A new idea, especially one which arises suddenly and is clever or creative.  [

I would accept all of these definitions as part of my values system. I do believe in "divine breath." I also believe that people under that influence can be inspirational to me.

So who inspires me:
I will start with a couple historical figures and the reason why?

Winston Churchill has always inspired me given that I am a Baby Boomer born after World War 2 and during the Cold War. Brought up on Commando war comics and having a great love for English history. Why do I admire Churchill? Firstly he had an unshakeable sense of destiny; he knew no matter what his life looked like,  he was created for a purpose and greatness. He became a symbol of the character of a generation that overcame huge odds to triumph .Another point for me is he did his best work in his 60's being 71 at the end of the war.( I must be getting older)



Martin Luther King Jnr was a leader in a different generation leading for a different reason.. His cause was social justice. Martin Luther King Jnr came  as a man of peace, with great courage he stood against violence and corruption to see his  dream achieved. He did not live to see the full effect of what he set out to achieve. It is still unfolding!

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I think that one of the things that inspires me about both King and Churchill was that they were not perfect saints. They had  some spectacular character flaws but still achieved their purpose in their generation.

Rachel Joy Scott was actually incredibly young, but still achieved her purpose in her generation. a victim of the Columbine massacre on April 20 1999 in Colorado in the United States. She was able to work on a small scale of an every day high school student but still inspire a generation of her peers. It encourages me that we may never know how or what we will do will effect others; walking our everyday journey.
She walked to a different drum beat and that made all the difference. If you don't know who she is look for the book called "Rachel's Tears"


Whether we perform on the macro or micro stage we can still have a profound influence on those around us .

The next two inspirational people are so special because I walk with them on a daily and weekly basis.

Colin Shilston is a man of honour and integrity I have walked with for 18 years. I have privilege of journeying with him through the good, the bad and sometimes the down right ugly. He is a rare commodity in this day and age "authentic man". Above all he is a man of courage to stand for what he believes when to it is not popular, acknowledge when he gets it wrong, and last but not least, give his utmost for God's highest in this generation.

I will continue to be inspired by this man and consider it an absolute honour to know him.

I have saved the best till last. The person I am going to acknowledge is my beautiful wife of 30 years Bev. This wonderful women has been my companion for 30+ years. I watched her walk through  the difficult places with integrity and courage. She has done things in that should not have been able to be done but she has achieved them anyway. She is starting to see the fruits of her labours, while still dealing with the curve balls that life throws at her. I am so privileged and inspired to journey with you truly do do encapsulate the 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. The quiet achiever! my love you inspire me everyday!

Who inspires you? But most importantly why?

The 90/10 Principle

 I am a collector of all sorts of things, so I love hunting all over Trade me. I was recently purchased a piece of memorabilia on Trade Me (an online auction site) that I hade been looking for  a while. I thought I had finally found what I wanted, so bought it for $100. When it arrived it was not at all what I had expected. It was in kitset form. I was unhappy because in place did the advert mention it was a kit, it just showed  a finished product. I was quite disappointed and a little angry when I first got the product.

So I thought about it and politely contacted the seller stating it wasn't what expected and That I didn't have the time or the skills to build this. I also stated that there was no reference to the fact it was a kit in the advertisement, so I felt it was little misleading. The seller said he thought it would have been obvious seeing it was in the kitset section. I  replied that I just named the product I wanted and arrived there without having any notion of what section it was in.

Now the net result of this has been that I got my money back minus his postage , as it had been free delivery . I thought this was a fair process, to which we both amiably and mutually consented to.

So where does the 90/10 come in to this? About the same time I was reading a short article by author Stephen Covey ( 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) he was describing how the 90/10  principle works.

10% of life is made up of  what happens to you. We really have no control over this process. The other 90% you have total control over because it is your reaction to any given situation. No matter what you face there are always alternatives. Some more positive than others. Your immediate reaction determines how the subsequent scenarios may work out and how limited your options are.

So getting back to what happened to me. I first reaction was disappointment and a little anger. My next reaction was to do nothing for while. Then  I assertively, but politely made contact via e-mail with the seller explaining my situation. I felt this was the best option.

1. I could have"thrown my toys out of the cot" and got abusive to the seller....getting the sellers back up.
2. I could of got angry and stomped and raged and ultimately done nothing and said "Oh well it was only $100 dollars" ........................Made every one around me miserable
3. I could have just done nothing at all.....................so achieve nothing at all

                                        or I could have responded the way that I did!

So how did my 90% work for me this time? Well I have managed to find a different item for my collection which is actually better, and it only cost me $12 delivered.  I also found anther item I had wanted for a while for another $12. I have subsequently managed to buy two more items for another collection all under my $96 budge,t so it was a great result!! 4 items for the price of one and I am very pleased with each of them.

I have been able to enjoy some great deals all because of how I was able to react well to the first incident.

Remember you can't change your 10% (stuff happens) but you can change you 90%. So stop. take breath and respond in a level headed way. Don't just react. it can make all the difference to your subsequent options.

Until next time.

Significance matters day to day

I have felt the need to pause and decide how I want evaluate or measure the large and small milestones in my life. So I have decided to look at two important words in this sphere, because I need a mind set change.


Success:

The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.





Significance:

1.The quality of being worthy of attention; importance.

2..  The meaning to be found in words or events.

Do I choose to live a significant life or a successful life? Can I do both?






I am beginning to understand that the difference between these two standards can be the difference between living contentedly in the day and always striving towards tomorrow. When I look at the concept of success it is fleeting and momentary. A success may last 24 hours as a euphoric moment but unless I can replace it with another I am probably going  to emotionally drop. I have found this can be  a precarious way to live which can lead to great highs but some troubling lows as well.


Success revolves around achievement or accomplishment. Success is the "corporate way" where you are only as good as your last win, sale or achievement. This works while you are on the up, but not so great if you find yourself struggling. Success is often measured by someone else's standard or a standard that we have little control over. Some of us may set our own standards, but they are usually connected to an external standards. It may a number of sales, the right car or clothes, being with the right crowd or a large income.

An alternative is to switch my attention to significance, this means I am moving towards a different thought process. I feel that significance is about using your value and belief systems to interpret the information that is presented to you. Some of it by the events that happen to you and around you, interactions with people and yes achievements you have. However I believe using significance as a measure brings activity, beliefs and feelings into the long term game. Living with the end in mind. As Michael Hyatt says; What do you want people to say on your tombstone? Then living accordingly. Live with end in mind.



Now I haven't got this all worked out yet, but  it would seem to me that when you operate from the process of significance you move from an external measure to an internal measure of how am I doing?   Moving from comparison to evaluation. A gyroscope measures balance and equilibrium it is designed to keep things level. I believe that a gyroscope is a good symbol of a significance model because it allows us to internally assess where we are sitting at any time by using what is happening to us, being said to us, what we are doing and achieving related to our set of values and beliefs. That means the fluctuations are  probably not as catastrophic or euphoric, but they make us effective over the long haul.


So matter where I sit right now if I know my values and beliefs I can put both past and present events trough the significance grid and see where I sit. This allows the gyroscope to remain or regain balance because I understand the significance of what I am doing or not doing  not just how successful it appears right now.


 I believe living with significance is about quality of life not just quantity.

 I believe that significance and success can cohabitate as long as I am guided by significance. Therefore I am going to go back to reassess my values and do a quick significance check.

Have you considered what your values are? Have a look on line there will a lot of information to help you.

"I have been waiting to talk to you"

Last Sunday in New Zealand was Mothers Day, so the extended family, comprising all our adult children and grandchildren went out for lunch. I was sitting next to my son-in-law Alex and we started to discuss the new car he was purchasing which was similar to one I own. Alex had been talking about the features he liked about the car. When he was expecting it to be available and about a slight glitch he had had with the mag wheels that needed fixing up.

Then he said "I have been waiting to talk to you about what I should do with the old car. How do I dispose of it easily?" When then proceeded to have a discussion about the possibilities. Upon hindsight I was intrigued that he had waited to talk to me about it. I came to the conclusion that we all trust certain voices in our lives when it comes to certain issues. They may not be the same voices as the topic changes, but in a particular sphere we trust that advice.

I started to mull over how important it is in an age where so much information is flying around us constantly. Some of it good, some not so good and some that is absolute rubbish. It is necessary to have sources we trust in our lives. In the future this will become more and more important. In our information soaked age where do you get your information?

Does "Uncle Google" or "Yahoo" really know everything? In the information age,it not so much about what you may know, it is more about knowing where to find trustworthy information that will supply your need.


Who are your trusted sources of advice?

How did you decide if they were trustworthy?

How do you decide what information you can rely on?

Food for thought until next time.

Paul