WHAT APPEARS TO BE

An eight-year-old neighbor recently explained to my daughter, “Your yesterday is not over.” She was attempting to convey the message that she was still upset about something that happened earlier.

Are your yesterdays over?

WHAT MIGHT BE

How many people sit in meetings and refuse to act like adults because another person in the meeting “hurt” them yesterday? In other words, they choose not to move forward because if they do, it would appear they are forgiving and forgetting the crime to which they were unjustly subjected?

Talk about enduring a self-imposed sentence. Not accepting what happened yesterday is like demanding that the chair you’re sitting in become a Harley Davidson.

That’s a sure sign of insanity. Yet, how many people around you are wasting energy wishing something was different than it already is?

WHAT CAN BE

What happens when you let go of the demand that people and circumstances be different than they are right now? As one participant in our recent training said, “The moment you do this, you can go about the business of doing something about it. It all starts with where you’re putting your focus and energy.”

Let’s face it: the chances that anyone reading this blog has “time to spare” during the average day is slim. Knowing this, how much time would you save if you accepted what already is? How much more will you get done when you are no longer resisting what already is?

What will show up today when you let yesterday end?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”?  You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

It’s 7:30 a.m. The workday is beginning…and you’re stressed. You barely have the energy to get out of your chair, let alone run the “to-do list marathon.” And this on top of the one hundred #1 priorities you have to complete.

Sound familiar? If so, you suffer from an affliction called Monkey Mind. This ailment cripples people, organizations and families, and ultimately costs billions.

WHAT MIGHT BE

The percentage of engaged workers stands at 28% (Gallup). Of this remaining percentage, how many are highly productive and operating with a ‘quiet mind’? “Very few,” is what we hear.

Why? Because of the Monkey Mind. Like a child who watches hours of television and is conditioned to operate with a short attention span, our high-tech world and pressing business issues – when combined with the lack of discipline in our focus – create a storm in our heads, leaving us stressed out and overwhelmed.

WHAT CAN BE

A friend once said, “I was at the beach, relaxed, and realized something that changed my life: It wasn’t the beach that relaxed me, it was how I navigated my thoughts while at the beach that did it. So I brought that approach back to work with me. I’ve never had Monkey Mind again.”

Here are four steps to locking up your Monkey Mind:

1. Acknowledge that things are as they are. To fight what already is…is a costly battle.
2. Ask yourself, “How can I take responsibility right now?”
3. Realize that you are autonomous; your thoughts and actions are NOT a condition of the circumstances around you.
4. Dance! Because you determine your own worth, is there any reason why you shouldn’t live and operate the way you want to?

Taking these four steps impacts productivity immediately, and delivers something we intended to keep our entire life: joy.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

Put down you PDA for a second and check this out. From Fast Company, Dec ‘06, "A Day-Timers survey confirmed that instant-communications technology is making it harder, not easier, to get things done. The number of people who report feeling very productive has dropped from 83% in ‘94 to just 51% today."

Question: When your cell phone rings, how do you respond?

WHAT MIGHT BE

You’ve probably observed people duck out conversations, discontinue an email, leave a meeting, even get out of bed…to answer the cell phone.

What is the average time it takes to “ramp up” when a person returns to the task they were doing before they were interrupted? Most people report it’s minutes –  if ever.

These people are being used. They possess communications gadgets and, like the cocaine addict, crave the next “signal.” Is it possible this signal represents

• The faux sense of being needed? (Ego food.)
• Or does it reveal an addiction to information, the need to be ‘in the loop’?
• Or is it a release from the discomfort of ‘now’?

Why else are people willing to be used by their gadgets?

WHAT CAN BE

Do you find yourself afflicted with communi gadgi addictus? Take this challenge: for the remainder of this week, promise yourself that you will use your gadget – not be used by it. Because we can only focus on one thing at a time, when the signal from your gadget sounds, use it as a trigger, a reminder of how precious your focus is. Ask yourself: what focus is most important right now? How important is my attention and productivity in this moment?

As you master this, each ring of the phone will be reminder of your triumph – and a testament that human beings can evolve faster than the electronics industry.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

I’ve got a relative who lives in a panic. Cut like Zeus, smart like Socrates, and witty like Twain, you’d think the man could conquer the world.

Alas, he hasn’t. Nor does he deliver stellar results. And sadly, he’s rarely happy. Why? Because he hasn’t conquered the demons in his head.

WHAT MIGHT BE

My relative longs for perfection. If something isn’t completed perfectly, he feels it reflects on his inadequacies. And so he walks away, slumping and angry.

Fact: business is no longer about finish lines. Life has become so fast we are seeing evolution right before our eyes. Conversations, projects, objectives, goals, relationships – everything – is about adapting, moving and renewing. It’s not about finishing. It can’t be.

WHAT CAN BE

If your widget rolls out the door successfully, celebrate the fact that you’ve earned a ticket to do it again – better. My relative, the perfectionist, celebrates because he’s done. But who wants to be done?

The fun comes in the run. The fun comes in seeing what’s next and doing it – the conversation, the project, the financial quarter – better than you did last time.

Forget perfection. Concentrate on being extraordinary. Moment after moment, we can be extraordinary in our actions.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be"?  You decide.