Changing non-discretionary activities in your life

Posted on September 4, 2009 at 9:29 am in

Before I swam this morning, I had a conversation with another person at the pool about the Canadian Masters Nationals. It made me think about why I swim and especially the fact that I have been doing it consistently for so many years…

While I enjoy the competition and it motivates me to work hard during my swims, that isn’t why I started to swim…in fact, if the truth be told, two of the biggest reasons I swim are:

1) I like to eat …and the level that I swim at means that I can eat several hundred more calories every day

2) people who swim regularly have a much longer life span than others. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/137549.php

But, when it comes to getting up early 4 times a week and heading to the pool, the truth is that I never DECIDE if I have time to go, or if I feel like going, ….I just go, because it is what I do…

And it made me think of other non-discretionary things in my life….

Some are obvious – e.g. sleeping and eating….

Others are habits that I have developed…like the swimming. Reading a portion of scripture every night before I go to sleep. Going for coffee with some friends….And for the last number of years – going to work for IBM.

So, as I get on with this next phase of my life, I pause to think….what are the new non-discretionary things I want to add to my life?

One of the possibilities is writing – I’d like to get to the point where doing some writing every day is just something I do….

Eating that frog? (that’s another story for another time) http://www.briantracy.com/catalog/product.aspx?pid=465&cmpid=2158&kw=Eat%20the%20frog&gclid=CKjCuJiG2JwCFQ62sgodPTm1qw

And…..?

And once I’ve chosen something, the question comes, how do we get to the point where something I choose to do becomes non-discretionary? I’ve been told that, if you can discipline yourself to doing something every day for 30 days, it will become a part of you. And, I suspect, that, if I am to keep to that discipline, I will need to enlist some help to hold me accountable for those 30 days to develop the positive habits that I CHOOSE to add to my life.

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Strengths vs Weaknesses

Posted on August 7, 2009 at 3:50 pm in

As I have been contemplating the rest of my life, I have re-focused on some things that had been in my mind. One idea, which I had already claimed as a ‘resolution’ for this year, was  to focus on my strengths and do the things that I love to do.

It turns out that is not as easy as it might sound.

I am getting some good help….Sometime ago, I read a book by Marcus Buckingham called “First Break all the Rules” which gave me a great perspective from the point of view of a corporation, of the value of having people focused on their strengths. I have purchased the follow on books in his series….Now, Discover your Strengths and Go put your Strengths to  Work ..I plan on working through them over the next little while.

I found (in one of those books) an interesting quotation from the late management guru Peter Drucker ” Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer”.

But I also had an interesting thought, which was impressed on me by a science fiction book by Brandon Sanderson called Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians. (Don’t be influenced too much by the fact that it is classified as Children’s fiction – it is still a fun read in a quirky sort of way).

In any case, the hero of the book discovers that the fact that he is constantly breaking things is not all bad – in fact, it is his “super power” – he can cause things to break that need to be broken.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot….We have probably all heard that “His greatest strength is also his greatest weakness”. What if, as suggested in Sanderson’s premise, “your greatest weakness is also your greatest strength”?

The ’so what’ to that thought, is that we may be more aware of our weaknesses than our strengths.

Why?
1) Our strengths make things seem easy so we don’t realize that they are a big deal.
2) People think we must be aware of our strengths, so they don’t bother to tell us.
3) We have too much fun when using our strengths so we feel guilty about indulging ourselves
4) People close to us will remind us of our weaknesses frequently (”You’re always ……”)

So, if we know of our weaknesses, perhaps there is a clue in there what our strengths are.
i.e. what are the positive twists of my weaknesses that I might be able to maximize?

e.g. A weakness might be “procrastination” …. the related strength might be “an inate ability to set aside those things that aren’t necessary in order to focus on those things that are”

A weakness might be “naive and easily duped”…. the related strength “an ability to demonstrate trust and confidence in people to build them up”

I’d be interested in your thoughts on additional weaknesses and their related strengths.  (And I won’t assume that it is your weaknesses that you are sharing :-) )

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New Beginnings

Posted on April 27, 2009 at 2:23 am in

One of the amazing truths of human life is that we are given the opportunity to make each day a fresh start. A prophet once said “His compassions  never fail. They are new every morning”

For me, and a good number of my peers, new beginnings will take on a very personal meaning this week. For some of us the change is welcome – for others, it will be tough. In any case, it will be change and I am convinced that the rest of my life will be built on the experiences I have had up to this point. I will be taken to new levels that I am sure will challenge my abilities, my energies and my faith. But I am also sure that I will look back on this new beginning as a positive step.

A number of years ago, while in a staff position in SE Programs, I had a number of SEs come to me looking for career guidance. My advice was simple:
1) make sure you develop skills that are transferable outside of the company. That way, you will be of value to the company…and if you should find yourself outside, you will have skills to fall back on.
2) Invest in your life outside of the company to retain balance.

To some extent, at least, I have been able to follow my own advice and it leaves me well positioned to enjoy my retirement from IBM and to hit the ground running in this new beginning.

Over the last several years, I have become chairman of the board of a charity – a writers’ association called The Word Guild. As well, in partnership with my wife (with her doing most of the work), we have done some publishing. One of the highlights of the last couple of years was a joint project between the charity and the publishing partnership where we were able to donate a half a million dollars worth of books to World Vision to use in their fund-raising efforts on behalf of kids with aids.

That book, Hot Apple Cider, is a compilation of pieces from 30 Canadian authors who are members of The Word Guild. In addition to the books donated to World Vision, Hot Apple Cider has sold enough to become a Canadian best seller.

We see a lot of opportunities to expand both the ministry of the charity and the publishing. I am thankful that I will no longer have to limit my involvement to evenings and weekends – it is exciting to think of what might be accomplished.

I have had many conversations recently with a business man who has been encouraging me to look at the merits of being a big cog in a small machine vs being a small cog in a big machine. While I am looking forward to that, I know that one of the best parts of being part of a big company has been the teamwork with so many other ‘cogs’ – I will miss those relationships. The people I have worked with have been the highlight of my career. And I know that success in the future will mean partnering with many others. (that’s one of the transferable skills I believe I have learned.) And isn’t it exciting to see the potential teamwork that can be built with the new social networking tools? (See you in facebook!). ….Les

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