Reflections
When it is your turn
to speak
will you use it
to build up,
to give voice to grace,
to care?
Or will you
join those who
tear down,
divide,
and
care only for their own?
One is
much more difficult.
One is
much more tempting.
Your turn to speak is coming.
How you use it matters
to all of us.
Choose wisely.
We are listening.
Profundity
is
most often
found in
simplicity.
So root out
complexity
in your process,
in your project,
in your product,
and
you will
uncover
whether
it is designed to
make an impact
or if it was
just complicated.
(Do same with
your relationships,
your workouts,
your eating plan,
your spiritual practice
your budget.)
Paying attention to
beginnings
and
endings
is part of who we are.
We celebrate and mourn
with rituals and rhythms
to mark the passing of
time,
people,
and
seasons.
For every ending
can be a beginning
and every new beginning
comes after an ending.
So, is today the beginning or the end?
Pay attention, because it’s you who decides.
(Re-post from January 2017. So may endings and beginnings happening right now.
What's yours?)
Golfers know
correct alignment
is crucial.
It doesn’t matter
how good your swing is,
how great our outfit looks,
what kind of ball or clubs you use,
if you’re not aligned to your target,
you’ve little chance of hitting it.
Most amateurs spend little time on alignment.
It’s probably why they will always be amateurs.
Much more exciting to hit balls
rather than make sure
your feet, your shoulders, your club
are all going in the right directions,
every. single. time.
The same is true for
work
and
life.
Most of us spent little time
checking our alignment
or even
picking a target.
We just metaphorically
go to the range and hit ball after ball,
wondering why we’re not making any progress.
It’s why professionals have
coaches,
to remind them of the fundamentals
and
keep them aligned to their target.
If you really want to make progress
and
hit your target
in golf and in life,
check your alignment,
Every. Single. Day.
What is it you’re shooting for?
On Monday,
by the house near the intersection,
I saw a three-wheeled fun machine
abandoned in the grass.
It seemed so lonely there,
its handlebar turned to one side
like open arms waiting for
a rider to come astride.
As I walked by,
it spoke to me,
“Today may be Monday,
time for work,
but I’m here to remind you
without time for play
everyone turns into a jerk.”
My mind lept to the way
work is now structured
with cell phone as leashes,
no one is untethered.
So even when trying to play,
work can be calling,
not far away.
And then we wonder in
C-suites
and
boardrooms,
why our people look so tired
and
seem to be going through the motions.
And so I resolve to heed
the three-wheeled fun machine’s call
to not be a jerk
and
plan time for fun
as well as
for work.
Dabbling is so tempting.
It feels so safe.
When you dabble,
you can always say,
“I didn’t care much anyway.”
or
“It was just a side project.”
Dabbling is partial ownership.
Dabbling means you don’t have to
really decide.
You can say the weak, “yes.” to
all kinds of things without much thought.
Dabbling is what everyone is doing.
It’s why people are
stressed,
“busy”,
overwhelmed.
Dabbling.
So if you
don’t want
to be like everyone,
if you want to know what it’s like to
care,
to take ownership,
you’ll need to look at what you are
dabbling in
and
make decisions.
Then dedicate yourself to those decisions.
Dedicate yourself to
yourself,
certain relationships,
certain projects.
And when you dedicate yourself,
all the things you had been
dabbling in
will fall away
and
you’ll find yourself
living fully for the first time.
Dedication not dabbling.
(Your life has been waiting for it.)
In roundabouts, cars keep moving.
(You may be in the cue, but you’re moving.)
At stop lights,
well,
cars stop.
The design
and
even the name
indicates the function.
Too often,
in our businesses,
in non-profits,
in leading teams,
in management
we’re creating
stop lights,
not
roundabouts.
Let’s keep everyone moving.
Self-confidence
is built
by
keeping promises
to
yourself.
(previously posted in 2016
and published in
Every. Single. Day.)
So many conversations about this lately.
When I awoke
to the dark clouds covering
my life’s light,
I thought they were like
a summer storm
moving through.
So I watched
and
waited
for the light to shine again.
The clouds remained,
not simply obscuring,
but covering up
joy,
peace,
presence,
purpose,
passion.
They didn’t budge.
I began to despair.
I believed I had no control over them,
just like I have no control over the weather.
This is my life now, I thought.
Looking at the darkness.
Wishing to see life’s light again.
But then I awoke
to a different thought,
What if my inner landscape is not like the weather?
What if I’ve created the clouds by
staring at them?
What if my attention is what holds them in place?
And so, I looked away,
calling to mind all
the gifts of beauty and grace
present in every moment.
I sensed the clouds movement.
I felt life’s light again
and embraced this awakening.
More than difficult
when you’re hurting,
when you’ve been
slighted,
alienated,
disregarded,
overlooked,
rejected.
So hard because
extending grace
is what forgiveness is.
Grace’s definition:
unmerited favor.
Unmerited.
Favor.
What makes this more problematic:
If we are ever going to be able to extend
unmerited favor
to someone else,
we’ll need to
extend it
to
ourselves
first.
