Do You Have A Couple Of Minutes

The second lesson I take from marathons is the importance of finishing.  There are certainly runners with a goal of winning the race or winning their category, however, there is a high value placed on finishing. I am always amazed to see the emphasis placed on people that finish the race long after most of the lights and the crowds have vanished.  It's a reminder, that following through and finishing matters.  It's a reminder that life is about your finish line.  The finish line may look the same but the journey to that finish line and when it is crossed is individual and still of great value.  Do what it takes to finish. In the end your finishing is about living up to your potential - you have what it takes to finish.  Keep running your race!

Marathon Lessons Part 1 of 5: It's A Journey - Life is a journey. I am not a marathon runner but I know a few.  One of the things they all do is prepare for the Marathon.  They take inventory of where they are, what they have and try to understand where they need to be and what they need to have in order to be prepared for the journey.  The preparation helps ensure they are ready for what is to come.  Preparation includes not only personal training, but also getting information and advices.  This is a great life lesson.  In life we will have milestones we want to achieve and they will require preparation in order to finish well.  It's important that we take the time to understand what is needed to accomplish the milestones we want to achieve.  The more prepared we are, the better our chances for success, completion, and fulfillment.  Preparation takes time and diligence. - give yourself time time you need to prepare.

Recently on one of my Facebook live #MorningMusings, I talked about incremental learning and growth in the context of stretching over time increasing our capacity for learning, growth, and greater success.  Stretching doesn't seem too hard in the moment, but if done repeatedly, it makes a great difference.  Training is like this, in that training can result in great transformation.

When my youngest son went to high school, he was torn between playing football or water polo.  The teams either practiced at the same time or one right after the other.  My son decided to challenge himself by doing water polo.  When he started out he wasn't a strong swimmer, but he practiced.  Over time he gained stamina, which had him playing goalie.  I didn't know too much about water polo before he began playing.  I soon learned that players had to develop an endurance of being in a constant swimming motion so as not to touch the bottom of the pool.  Later my son took up weight lifting, like many teenagers do. He was diligent with his training and has transformed his physique to one that reflects muscle and strength.

In all aspects of our life, we have the opportunity to "train for transformation."  Transformation takes time, whether it be a state of being or transformation of a habit.  However, it is repetitive training and/or a practice that typically proceeds transformation.  So, if you have a goal or are seeking progress, keep at it, keep at your training, it will result in learning and transformation, little by little, until the change is obvious and undeniable!

In the Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, there are song lyrics that say "Whistle while you work and while you play..."  I have always liked that song.  For me it has always spoke to the necessity of work and attitude.  It has always made me think that one can have the same joyful attitude while working as they can have while playing. I like that thought.

Work is work, and it can be challenging, however challenging and joyful aren't mutually exclusive. We can find joy in the accomplishment of the opportunity to work, joy in the opportunity to move things forward, joy at the prospect of finishing something, joy in the prospect of delivering a service or product that will benefit others.

While whistling aloud might not be appropriate in every setting, I think having a joyful attitude is something that can benefit us and those around us.  So, today try to be mindful about whistling in your heart and mind while you work and play and see what a positive difference it can make.

You know sometimes old advice is good advice that stands the test of time.

This message is for those who find themselves in leadership roles or who strive to be in positions of leadership. 

Leaders teach people to fail successfully - Again leaders teach people to fail successfully. 

Failing is a part of the learning process.  This is something that is not rewarded in our systems of learning. We reward people for getting it right, but not necessarily the effort for all of the attempts to get it right that  proceeded success. As leaders we should encourage good efforts and capitalize on the learning that comes from failed attempts.  sometimes there is learning of what doesn't work, to narrow down alternatives. Other times, "failures" may yield unexpected breakthroughs - remember the failed glue that we now use for post-it notes!

As leaders teaching people to fail forward means they learn through the process by reviewing the circumstances nd outcomes, and they learn persistance to keep going until a thing is progressed and/or figured out!

Leaders teach people to fail successfully.

Part of being more fulfilled and successful in life has to do with having a good understanding of yourself so you can practice self-management.  We can begin to understand ourselves by taking self-inventory of our thoughts and behaviors.  Understanding ourselves, also helps us to better understand others through an exercising an empathetic approach.  Two areas that can provide a lot of data for self-reflection are Crisis and Ambiguity.

Take inventory of yourself in crisis situations.  How do you respond when faced with a crisis?  Do you panic?  Do you take charge? Do you seek out assistance?  how has your behavior and response served you?  Could your approach to crisis benefit from some change or modification?  If so, what are steps you can take?  How do those around you respond to crisis?

How do you respond in situations where there is ambiguity? Are you comfortable or uncomfortable with ambiguity? Does it make a difference to you how the ambiguity may impact the short or long term?  Do you evaluate the impact of the ambiguity to you or do you just attempt to eliminate the ambiguity, no matter what?  How has your response served you?  How did your response affect others involved in the circumstances?  how do those around you respond to ambiguity?

Remember, circumstances vary, and different approaches can be beneficial in different situations. The point, is to understand how you respond and how it serves you and the situations in both the long and short term.  Then to use this information for better self-management and understanding of others.

I recently heard someone ask, if we knew and really believed that obstacles were really just the doorways we needed to go through to realize our fullness, would we seek them out?  This is an interesting thing to think about.  I think it's been my experience that the problem solving that comes about because of inefficiencies and shortcoming propels us forward.  Think of how we solve problems with technology advances which allow us communicates all around the world and to physically travel throughout the world quicker than ever before. in our lives, when we are able to resolve problems and inefficiencies, it allows us to take on more challenging circumstances and realize greater success. So, the next time you are faces with an obstacle, why not think about actually running toward it as an obstacle full of positive opportunity?  Ask, what can I learn and how might I benefit by getting to the other side of this obstacle.

Creating and solidifying a vision for yourself or for an organization is hard work.  But it is worth it!

When creating a vision, keep in mind that greater clarity can emerge over time.  So don't be afraid to start where you are with what you know.

Sharing the vision is important.  It allows others to support the vision and it can help elicit valuable input to help further refine the vision.

It's OK and recommended to question your plan, Questioning helps to ensure opportunities for continuous improvement and the ability to ensure the vision remains relevant.

A plan without action has little value.  Testing the plan is necessary to keep things moving forward.  Testing the plan allows opportunities to fail forward.

Taking intentional action keeps progress toward the vision going.  

When it comes to a vison for you or your organization remember when we take time to plan, we are clarifying and sharing the process, we are clarifying the approach, and we make things more manageable by having such clarity.

Without a defined vision, we don't give ourselves or our organization the clear direction available to help them thrive.  So, be intentional about visioning - the hard work is worth the clarity you will receive for the path forward.

Benchmarking is the practice of measuring performance against a performance metric that is usually established by looking at organizations or people believed to be at peak performance or the performance of a group of organizations or people.

I have a love/hate relationship with benchmarking.  Though benchmarking usually looks at organizations in similar industries, it fails to account for the variances that make each organization unique.  in my experience typically, people aren't looking for similarity of Mission, Vision, and Values when benchmarking for marketplace performance.  I also take a little issue with deferring to an external gauge of success.

That being said, I do think there is some value to benchmarking, as long as we don't use it as a narrow definition of success.  Benchmarking can provide insight for us to learn from ourselves and from others.  We can take time to delve beneath the outcomes to understand actions that are being taken, why those actions are being taken, and what the long and short term impact of those actions are.

Comparing can have a negative impact if we are not certain of what we are comparing and not clear on the application and "why" of the comparison.  So, if you must benchmark, carry-on, however, be sure you are defining your measure of success based on the Mission, Vison, and Values that you have set to use as a reference for your actions and outcomes.

Some people schedule "free" time so they can be intentional about rest and time to spend time doing things they want to do.  Some people dread unscheduled "free" time because they don't or can't see it for the opportunity that it is. Why not be intentional about making your "free" time a positive benefit for you.

I want to encourage you to get comfortable with how you purpose your time.  

- It's OK to take time to rest and relax. 

- It's OK to take time to think.  

-It's OK to take time to get organized.  

-It's OK to spend time exposing yourself to new places, and new things.  

Sometimes we use phrases such as "If I only had the time."  Perhaps, you'd be well served to make a list of things that you want to have time for,  And then you can intentionally purpose your time.

Finally, be reminded that a string of ordinary moments can create an extraordinary story. Look for the opportunity in the ordinary and everyday, it's the stuff that strings it all together!