According to the Wausau Daily Herald, presidential candidate Barack Obama got in an early morning workout while campaigning in Wisconsin. He reportedly visited the Stevens Point Y to use the elliptical trainer, treadmill and bike.
Now this is a man after my own heart. Our excuses not to exercise pale in comparison to what is on his plate. Thanks, Obama, for the inspiration!
Do you remember the last time you listened to a speech that totally and completely inspired you? You know, the kind of presentation that ends in a standing ovation? The audience was mesmerized, the presenter was highly praised and everyone was practically in tears? I like to call these "experiences" rather than speeches.
I attended one of these powerhouse presentations after deciding to make a big change a few years ago. The energy, enthusiasm and excitement permeated the room. The entire audience was on fire! But as wonderful as the presentation was, I knew most of what I heard. In fact, I was an expert in most of what I heard. I could have been the one delivering the speech!
Instead of becoming drunk with inspiration, I left the presentation angry. I was angry at myself for not taking action on what I knew to do. I was disappointed with allowing too much time slip by without moving forward. I was ashamed of letting the "Play it Again, Sam" routine ruin my chances of experiencing a lifelong dream. I was livid! There wasn't going to be a standing ovation for my inaction! It was time to make some changes.
I left the presentation determined to take action and accept total responsibility for anything less. That was a few years ago. Today, I can proudly say, I am a full time entrepreneur and the owner of a burgeoning life coaching practice.
It's a common scenario: Having all the information we need yet remaining resistant to change. Perhaps these scenarios sound familiar:
You have a physical with your health care provider and she tells you (again) to lose a few pounds. On your way home, you stop by the health food store to stock up on fruits and vegetables. After a few "good" weeks, you find yourself eating the same old way.
You read an article about going green (5th time) and you go out and purchase the latest and greatest recycling bins, chemical-free cleaners and pesticide-free soaps. A month later, you return to throwing things in the trash and using your favorite old cleaners.
You hear about someone having a quadruple bypass (3rd person) and decide it's time that you managed stress. You give up caffeine, begin meditating regularly, and proudly get eight hours of sleep. A few weeks later, after a stressful day at work, you are on your laptop at 2:00 AM, drinking coffee to stay awake and have no plans to meditate any time soon.
What keeps us stuck in good intentions? And why is it that we entertain and even welcome redundant information? I have some thoughts:
It’s a great distraction to hear information we already know, over and over again. Pretending like we still don't quite get it is an excellent procrastination strategy. It’s the one big thing publishers bank on when a new diet book hits the market: procrastination disguised as "cluelessness". Kids play this game all the time. Why can’t we? I have a group of friends who ask me every January how to get rid of ten pounds. Every January, I give them the same answer. Where is the disconnect?
It’s really safe to hear information we already know, over and over again. If we hear the same thing over and over again, we can safely make the choice not to change. The stakes remain the same. We can safely continue eating ice cream at midnight--we’ve already been reminded why we shouldn’t. We can keep up a pattern of skipping workouts—we already know the consequences. But new information makes inaction much harder to justify. Old news = Same old habits. New news = Oh, crap! How did we make hearing something again our comfort zone?
It feels good to hear information we already know, over and over again. Getting intoxicated with inspiration yet having no real desire to change....well, it fascinates me. What good is the information if we have no real desire to change? How did we get knowledge and practice to mean the same thing?
We believe it's really okay to hear information we already know, over and over again. Our time on earth is limited. Thinking that we can make desired changes when the time is right is based on false hope. Nothing is promised to us. All we have is this moment. How did we get misled?
Our lives are worth more than good intentions. It's time to break the cycle of inaction and move boldly toward the life we want.
So here is the challenge: I am challenging 100 people to turn their good intentions into real change. You can accept this challenge by leaving a comment about your commitment. My goal is to get 100 commitments by March 20, the first day of spring. Start by leaving a comment then forward this post to one other person. Help me spread the word! Blog on this post or link to it. Let's support each other to make change real!
A little late, but here we go:
You might already be very familiar with the hedgehog concept. The concept originates from an ancient Greek aphorism by Archilochus and is the main focus of the book Good to Great. Here is the story:
A hedgehog meets a fox along a path. The fox, being very sneaky, jumps out from behind some bushes and surprises the hedgehog. The hedgehog, being a hedgehog, rolls up in a ball and waits for the fox to go away. Day after day, the same thing happens. The fox tries different tricks and creative ways to surprise the hedgehog. The hedgehog continues to react the same way-she rolls up in a ball. This one great thing works for the hedgehog. Why change strategies?
The final strategy for outsmarting the status quo is to become the hedgehog. When you find something you are great at, something that ignites your passion, and something that allows you to soulfully contribute to others, the status quo will lose its power.
Sadly, too many of us leave our passion and unique attributes behind to pursue material things. We do things we are competent at but not great. We pursue interests that we like but not love. We ignore our intuition that things could be better, that we could be more satisfied and that we could experience more fulfillment. Being a hedgehog is a radical move.
Becoming great rather than good starts by asking yourself, "What am I passionate about?" "What are my natural abilities and strengths?" "What can I do best in the world?" Here are two resources to get you started:
www.strengthfinders.com
www.authentichappiness.com
Finding out more about your unique attributes, strengths and talents, and following the other principles for outsmarting the status quo, is not just good for you, it's also great for the world. The world needs more people who dare to step into their personal greatness! Every day I am in contact with people who live in mediocrity. They lack self-confidence. They are ruled by scarcity thinking. They have been conditioned to look at things a certain way. Their ability to experience deep fulfillment and satisfaction is severely limited. Let your journey toward greatness be healing for someone else! Want to improve your health? Be the best at health improvement! Want to grow spiritually? Be a powerful spiritual leader! Want to improve your financial situation? Shoot for greatness! We are all capable of shining brightly, reaching our full potential and being great rather than good.
This wraps up my series on outsmarting the status quo. I hope you enjoyed it!
Energy - the fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work. - Webster's Dictionary
From becoming an effective leader and running your own business to spending more time with your family and pursuing personal interests, energy is the fundamental currency for performing your best. As stated in the book The Power of Full Engagement, without the right quantity, quality, focus and force of energy, we are compromised in any activity we undertake.
Imagine you are an expensive luxury car that needs a little gas. If you had a choice between a cheap grade of fuel and first class premium gasoline, which would you choose? Now think of your life in the same light. What constitutes a substantial and sustainable form of energy? The desire to live passionately, healthy perspectives about failure, new and rigorous undertakings and the elimination of life clutter (all previously discussed strategies for outsmarting the status quo) make wonderful options, yet there is another energy source that rarely makes the front page in the world of human performance-our physical energy. To the contrary, the practice of depleting physical energy to increase energy output is ubiquitous. In a frenzy to keep up with life, we rob our bodies of sleep, we skip our regular workouts and we fuel ourselves with fast food, but therein lay the irony. Creating physical energy allows our bodies to do more with less effort.
What if you could go all day without relying on caffeine, sugar or artificial stimulants? What if everything you did, from getting the kids ready for school and grocery shopping to attending all day meetings and making presentations, required less physical effort? Creating, storing and managing physical energy is the key to living a full, active and productive life. Here are few tips for building up a physical energy reserve:
Eat Smart. The food we eat has a huge impact on how we perform. The right combination of nutrients, vitamins and minerals is essential for energy output, as is eating breakfast regularly, eating frequently during the day (mini-meals containing 250-300 calories) and getting enough fluids. Thought: Work with a certified and licensed nutritionist to determine how well you eat and where you can improve. It is really worth the investment.
Get a Move On. Moving more to increase energy might seem a bit counterintuitive, but a new study conducted by the University of Georgia found overwhelming evidence that regular exercise plays a significant role in increasing energy levels and reducing fatigue. Exercise also increases energy-promoting and mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Bonus! In addition, just being ten pounds overweight can make the body work harder than it has to. Moving more means burning more calories thus eliminating excess weight. Thought: Hire a certified personal trainer to get you started on a fitness program. If you are on a budget, hire a trainer for a few jump-start sessions. Another great investment!
Get your Zzzz's. Cheating the body of sleep to get more done is a huge temptation. I am guilty of this occasionally. But according to the The National Foundation for Sleep, there are plenty of reasons to think twice about burning the midnight oil. Sleep is a time for restorative healing. Even 1-2 hours of lost sleep can impair functioning the next day, not to mention interfering with reaction time (not good for driving), decreasing focus and attention and decreasing the ability to perform a variety of mental tasks. Make those Zzzz's mandatory! Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Relax. Unmanaged stress does more to rob us of energy than anything else. Stress generates negative emotions, disrupts sleep, fosters poor eating habits and interferes with exercise routines. In addition, stress hormones can wreak havoc on our cardiovascular and immune systems. The results can be disastrous for outsmarting the status quo. Learning proper ways to respond to stress is an essential life skill. Yoga, deep breathing and meditation are all great options and should be incorporated into a daily routine.
Practice Prevention. Fact: The majority of illnesses in the United States are preventable. Preventable! Not only can illness zap your physical energy, it can destroy your livelihood. No excuses here! Women- click here. Men- click here. Get yourself on a regular preventive health screening schedule today!
As a life coach, certified personal trainer and health education specialist, I often speak with clients about their desire to become healthier. Often their intentions stem from a one-dimensional view of health. Without a doubt, looking better ranks first among the motivators, but being healthy has so many other benefits, among them being the exponential increase in energy. Looking through the lens of life enhancement, these healthy changes make sense. More importantly, we can't outsmart the status quo without the help of our physical bodies.
"He who has health, has hope; He who has hope, has everything." - Arabian Proverb
See you next week for strategy #6, my final post for this series.
| "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert Kennedy A novice talk show host gets his big break exclusive interview with one of the legends of rock and roll. He takes a risk, jumps, and flops. We label him a failure. Where did this nonsense come from? Failing, and learning from failure, is a great way to outsmart the status quo! Don't get me wrong, failing isn't fun, but learning from it and evolving with it is worth its weight in gold. Here's why:
I can't image where I would be without failing a few times. Okay....it's actually been more than a few times! But each one of my failures, big and small, has made me bolder, wiser and stronger. Collectively, my failures have created a container from which I continue to take risks, a huge value for me. So, go ahead. Do the thing that might result in a big fat flop! It will only mean you are living a full, rich and robust life. See you next week for strategy #5! | |
Strategy #3 for outsmarting the status quo is to immerse yourself in new experiences. There are many fun ways to keep scaring yourself. I'll share my ideas in the context of person, place or thing (my daughter's favorite mind game).
People. Surround yourself with wildly successful people who are doing things and not just talking about them. More than likely, these people are excited about life and its possibilities. They are thinking about new ways to make an impact. They are forward thinkers, visionaries. They don't sell themselves short. They desire to live full out, want to experience their full range of resources, aren't afraid to fail, and believe in living abundantly. Go find someone who fits this description and take them out to lunch! Write the words "status quo" on a napkin and watch them cringe.
Places. Immerse yourself in a new environment that forces you to learn another language, understand a different currency or read a map to get around. (By the way, can you guess where the above street sign is?) Go to a swanky restaurant that specializes in a cuisine that is new to you. Visit a museum to learn about a unfamiliar culture. Oh, the places you can go!
Things. Start reading books, magazines or take classes on topics about which you know very little. Engage in lateral thinking puzzles (I love these), suduko, or crossword puzzles. Substitute these things for other downtime activities such as watching television or surfing the Internet. These are big time wasters that worship the status quo.
The whole idea is to immerse yourself in new, different, and stimulating experiences and work outward from there. Here’s the thing: The status quo is about being stuck. Think about an area in your life where you are stuck. Still stuck? Thought so. By taking your mind off the stuck area, and shifting your energy toward a new and stimulating thing, you create space for a whole new set of tools and a new way of thinking. And this works with just about everything from a weight management regimen that has lost its zeal to deciding on your next exciting career move. Try it and let me know what happened! See you next week for strategy #4!
As I coach more and more, I am amazed by how many people are bogged down by what I like to call "life clutter". Their minds, schedules and environments are so full of distractions, it is nearly impossible to think clearly about anything, yet alone a life- enhancing goal. Life clutter kills any chances of outsmarting the status quo. Enough with it! Getting rid of life clutter is strategy #2!
There is a great resource from New American Dream ( I absolutely love what they are doing in the world) called More Fun Less Stuff. It is packed with great tips on simplifying your life, freeing up time, money, personal energy and protecting the environment. This life coach gives this resource "two thumbs up" on the "outsmarting the status quo" scale. Waste no time-go buy this resource!
See you next week for strategy #3!
There should be no room for complacency or mediocrity if one reads and lives passionately. -Lucie MacDougall
Living a life full of passion is the first step to outsmarting the status quo. How do you know if your life lacks fervor, enthusiasm and zeal? This question should lead to an obvious answer, but as life becomes more complicated, it is easy to lose touch of what is really fueling your engine. Here are five signs that passion might be taking a backseat:
Outsmarting the status quo and moving away from mediocrity begins with:
Make no room for the status quo. Live life passionately!
See you next week for strategy #2!
Ahhh....the competitive game of chess. A perfect metaphor for this post! It will all come together in a minute, so let's begin with a quick question:
Think about your health, career, finances, spiritual health, leisure time, personal growth and personal relationships. On a scale from 1-10 how do rate these areas of your life?
1 = yuck
2-4 = struggling
5 = just okay, better than some
6-7 = good enough, comfortable and satisfied
8-9 = very good but there's still more waiting...
10 = whoopee!!!!!!! I Rock!!!
Hovering around a 5,6,7? You might be letting the status quo call the shots. That's right, I said it! Get angry. Get very angry!
What do you forfeit by embracing mediocrity and settling for "good enough"?
What if mind boggling success were possible?
What's stopping you from creating an extraordinary life?
Join us next week as The Health and Life Mixing Bowl takes a stand against mediocrity by launching a series of posts entitled Outsmarting the Status Quo. It's a sneaky little thing, isn't it? Come join us and be ready to learn strategies for reaching your "10"! Don't forget your anger (you can euphemistically refer to it as "fiery passion"--passion is a good thing) and please bring a lot of curiosity and the willingness to look within. I am looking forward to a thought-provoking discussion.
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