I'm so moved by Parker Palmer's book, "Let Your Life Speak" - I want to share the message I found so compelling and compassionate.
We start at a very young age with the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Answers range from various occupations and titles with external attributes and characteristics we admire or want to have. Vocation, then, does seem to be more of an act of will, a determination to make your life go one way or another, rather than growing from within.
Palmer says vocation does not come from willfulness, but rather, from listening. The word vocation is actually rooted in Latin for "voice." Vocation isn't something I pursue, but a calling that I hear. How many of us have actually stopped to truly listen to the message speaking from within? What am I not only wired to do, but compelled to do? When do I feel led from a deep sense of truth, that if stifled, suffocates the soul?
He says, "I must listen for the truths and values at the heart of my own identity, not the standards by which I must live - but the standards by which I cannot help but live if I am living my own life."
Your power, a leader's real power, comes from first listening to the call within you. Without it, there is no clarity, no truth, no substance. If we believe each of us leads by words and actions, then listening to what's already there grants us authenticity and a voice which is heard and seen by others.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Switching Gears
Earlier this morning, I participated in my first "duathalon" class - Technically, a duathlon is a competition that is composed of running and biking where you switch back and forth - run-bike-run. This means you start with a run, then transition to the bike, then transition back to running again. And since your the time includes you switching from running to cycling and back again as part of your race time, this meant the instructor was working his stopwatch! Now I had little to no motivation in my time - my motivation was purely one of curiosity and and avoiding work-out ruts.
It was one of the longest hours I have ever lived... I couldn't get in a real rhythm, and just when I thought I could do several of the intervals, the rules changed - the pace, time, something changed on me. My legs felt weak and trembled when I went from the bike to the track, and my only focus was my breath.
Just after the class ended and I was still panting like a dog, I began to think of all of the change and switching back and forth we are asked to do these days. Leaders frequently tell me their organization is much faster-paced than others; it's much leaner with a larger volume of work. They believe their culture is unique in speed and rigor, and many times, it's leaving them out of breath and stressed.
So the real win seems not to be how fast you are in one area, but how smoothly you can switch gears. It's creating focus when things get fuzzy, and staying the course even when you want to give up. Figuring out what you truly value and being connected with your purpose can give you the resilience against stress. Without this clarity, leading becomes yet another lap to run, another thing to do.
It was one of the longest hours I have ever lived... I couldn't get in a real rhythm, and just when I thought I could do several of the intervals, the rules changed - the pace, time, something changed on me. My legs felt weak and trembled when I went from the bike to the track, and my only focus was my breath.
Just after the class ended and I was still panting like a dog, I began to think of all of the change and switching back and forth we are asked to do these days. Leaders frequently tell me their organization is much faster-paced than others; it's much leaner with a larger volume of work. They believe their culture is unique in speed and rigor, and many times, it's leaving them out of breath and stressed.
So the real win seems not to be how fast you are in one area, but how smoothly you can switch gears. It's creating focus when things get fuzzy, and staying the course even when you want to give up. Figuring out what you truly value and being connected with your purpose can give you the resilience against stress. Without this clarity, leading becomes yet another lap to run, another thing to do.
If switching gears is here to stay, then ask: How do you handle changing directions? How do you interpret the shift? Are you a victim, or do you blame others? Where do you get stuck, and most importantly, how do you get unstuck?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Time Out
When my 12-year old twins were younger, I used the classic "time out" as a consequence for behavior. For the most part, it helped the situation by changing the environment and therefore, shifting the mood, even though it wasn't particularly welcomed by them.
As I work with leaders who have multiple priorities and demands, I wonder about the value of a "time out" in evaluating what's most important. What's the value in a stopping point? To a high achieving leader, this isn't an easy thing - it's not welcomed as adults anymore than kids. Let's face it, stopping in a lean, fast-paced, performance oriented culture doesn't seem like a natural next step.
But what if this step gave us the chance to truly move forward? To Expand. Notice. Listen. Discern. Prioritizing the time to stop may help us more fully see the possibilities in front of us. Just two minutes of breathing with intention and becoming aware of the present moment can give us some desperately needed clarity and insight.
In your daily life, where do you take the time to reflect, create, and discover what's really happening? Where can you shift to make this priority a reality?
As I work with leaders who have multiple priorities and demands, I wonder about the value of a "time out" in evaluating what's most important. What's the value in a stopping point? To a high achieving leader, this isn't an easy thing - it's not welcomed as adults anymore than kids. Let's face it, stopping in a lean, fast-paced, performance oriented culture doesn't seem like a natural next step.
But what if this step gave us the chance to truly move forward? To Expand. Notice. Listen. Discern. Prioritizing the time to stop may help us more fully see the possibilities in front of us. Just two minutes of breathing with intention and becoming aware of the present moment can give us some desperately needed clarity and insight.
In your daily life, where do you take the time to reflect, create, and discover what's really happening? Where can you shift to make this priority a reality?
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sellouts
In rereading "Crucial Conversations" again, I'm reminded of the power of sellouts. They seem small, almost insignificant. But, they have a lot of power!
I love the William Shakespeare quote, "Nothing in this world is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Isn't that true?! That's just it - our stories explain (to us!) what's going on. They are our interpretation of the facts. They help us explain what we see and hear -the why, how and what. Why did that happen? He must have thought I wasn't prepared.... or She is controlling and insensitive. Our stories generate strong feelings.
As the authors say, the truth is that any set of facts can be used to tell an infinite number of stories. So why do we tell clever stories? That's the link to the sellouts - stories keep us from acknowledging the sellouts.We don't typically tell stories UNTIL we have done something that we feel a need to justify. We sell out when we consciously go against our own sense of what's right. And once we've sold out, we have to own up to it (which we don't like to do, obviously!), or justify ourselves.
I love the William Shakespeare quote, "Nothing in this world is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Isn't that true?! That's just it - our stories explain (to us!) what's going on. They are our interpretation of the facts. They help us explain what we see and hear -the why, how and what. Why did that happen? He must have thought I wasn't prepared.... or She is controlling and insensitive. Our stories generate strong feelings.
As the authors say, the truth is that any set of facts can be used to tell an infinite number of stories. So why do we tell clever stories? That's the link to the sellouts - stories keep us from acknowledging the sellouts.We don't typically tell stories UNTIL we have done something that we feel a need to justify. We sell out when we consciously go against our own sense of what's right. And once we've sold out, we have to own up to it (which we don't like to do, obviously!), or justify ourselves.
Risking EVERYTHING
I recommend this book.....
“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” —Mary Oliver
This luminous anthology brings together great poets from around the world whose work transcends culture and time. Their words reach past the outer divisions to the universal currents of love and revelation that move and inspire us all. These poems urge us to wake up and love. They also call on us to relinquish our grip on ideas and opinions that confine us and, instead, to risk moving forward into the life that is truly ours.In his selection, Roger Housden has placed strong emphasis on contemporary voices such as the American poet laureate Billy Collins and the Nobel Prize–winners Czeslaw Milosz and Seamus Heaney, but the collection also includes some timeless echoes of the past in the form of work by masters such as Goethe, Wordsworth, and Emily Dickinson.The tens of thousands of readers of Roger Housden’s “Ten Poems” series will welcome this beautiful harvest of poems that both open the mind and heal the heart.
“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” —Mary Oliver
This luminous anthology brings together great poets from around the world whose work transcends culture and time. Their words reach past the outer divisions to the universal currents of love and revelation that move and inspire us all. These poems urge us to wake up and love. They also call on us to relinquish our grip on ideas and opinions that confine us and, instead, to risk moving forward into the life that is truly ours.In his selection, Roger Housden has placed strong emphasis on contemporary voices such as the American poet laureate Billy Collins and the Nobel Prize–winners Czeslaw Milosz and Seamus Heaney, but the collection also includes some timeless echoes of the past in the form of work by masters such as Goethe, Wordsworth, and Emily Dickinson.The tens of thousands of readers of Roger Housden’s “Ten Poems” series will welcome this beautiful harvest of poems that both open the mind and heal the heart.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Intuitive Mind
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Why do we give our power away?
Why do we give our power away?
If we give it away, we start looking for it from other places.
Part of living with clarity is holding yourself and seeing your power.
When we see who we are, we see our
God given talents & strengths.
Purpose.
Our authentic swing.
Essence.
There is an illumination, a force, when we hold this.
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