Let The Darkness Do Its Job...

Today earmarks the darkest, and longest day of the year welcoming the cold and dreary days of winter...and yet…consider this post from Eric Klein.

“The solstice is a turning point in the cycle of the year. In the silent, stillness of the deepest night – light is born. And the days begin to grow longer.

This birth of light is a symbol of the potential within each of us to find purpose, meaning, direction, and joy in life – particularly when things seem dark.

The winter solstice is a reminder that things always go dark – sooner or later. Darkness is not a mistake. It’s part of the natural cycle of growth and renewal. Every career has its winter solstice times – when there’s more darkness than light.

Few projects or creative endeavors follow a straight ahead path from concept to completion (despite planning a nice neat timeline.) The life cycle of creativity is a cycle – with ups and downs. Periods of light and periods of darkness.

The winter solstice is a reminder. We need to learn how to embrace and work constructively with the darkness. How do you know you’re in a winter solstice phase in your work or life?

You know you’re in a winter solstice phase when:

• The beliefs, attitudes, structures, and goals that fueled your past success stop working.
• The harder you push the slower you go.
• The self that you’ve been identified no longer fits who you need to be.

A winter solstice phase comes whenever it’s time to let go of ways of thinking and methods of working that no longer serve.

It’s time to let go.

During a winter solstice phase, your task is to empty your self, without knowing how you will be re-formed or what your vision for the next turn of the cycle will look like. It’s a time for not being sure. Not knowing.

Certainty and knowing precisely what to do are qualities of day light – brilliant sunshine. Not knowing is a quality of the dark. How can you move ahead when you don’t know what’s right and the old ways no longer work. This takes trust. Trust that only by letting go of old forms, can you make space for something new to be born. Trust in the darkness – recognizing that “those who dwell in darkness shall see the light. ”Trust that the old structures of selfhood need to be dismantled because to hold yourself (or the team, the project, the relationship) together at this point is to fight with your own destiny.

The way forward comes through letting go and surrender.

At the winter solstice, you shed the layers of thought, belief, and habit. You can’t make this shedding happen. You can’t power through or visualize your way out. Now is not the time for action but for stillness.

As you let go and release the old identity and way of being, the stillness deepens. It’s in this stillness that you can re-connect with that which is deepest within you. It’s the birth of light that starts as just a flicker. For it to grow, you can’t jump into action too quickly. You need to tend the emerging light – like you would care for a tender plant that’s just broken through the earth.

Light emerges from the silence.And as it emerges, you are infused with a new sense of what matters most. Your values take on new meaning and significance. Your sense of purpose feels real again.You’re ready to begin a new cycle of action.Even if the outer forms of your work and life appear hardly to change – you are a different person. And you bring a new vision to all that you do.

But, first you need to spend some time letting the darkness do its work.

• What is it time to let go of? 
• What or who can support you through the period of uncertainty and not-knowing? 
• How can you make time for silence and stillness?” 

Hmmmm...certainly appears this is a self-serving post...hope I’m smart enough to heed my own advice...Time to let go...Be good to yourself...Merry Christmas...

Blessed Is The Learner

Don’t you find it curious that the more you learn the more you realize how much you still need to learn? If this is true, the question which pops into my mind is can anyone really “master” anything? Is mastery a final destination or simply a journey?

Arggggg…too much to think about on a Friday afternoon, but yet, how do you motivate someone who believes they have arrived? How do we motivate those we serve to reach further than their grasp allows? How do we embrace “continuous improvement” individually, and as an organization?

Now if you expect the answer to these questions, you won’t find them here unfortunately, as IF I HAD all the answers the universe begs to answer, guaranteed I’d be selling my books by the millions….but consider this quote, one of my favorites, which helps put a perspective on learning…

“Blessed is the LEARNER for he shall inherit the earth; while the LEARNED will find themselves beautifully equipped in a world that no longer exists.”

Let that rattle around your brain a bit this weekend…and be good to yourself….

Did You Get Your 10,000???

Did you get your 10,000 yet? I got over 13,000 yesterday...For those of you with FItbits or Google watches or step counters on your phone you know exactly what I’m talking about.  10,000 steps a day is the goal to achieve some sort of fitness without going to a gym. The surprising truth is that the 10,000 number originally appeared in the 1960s when a Japanese company started selling pedometers called manpo-kei, which literally translates to "10,000-step meter." Later, studies confirmed that people who take 10,000 steps have lower blood pressure, more stable glucose levels and better moods. The number quickly caught on.

As leaders, we often spend too much time sitting...sitting behind our desk, around conference tables, in our car, at meetings...my wife reminded me of a recent article she read which declared that “sitting is the new smoking.” (CLICK HERE for article)

10,000 steps….approximately 5 miles a day...I know what you’re thinking...Good Lord...who has TIME to walk that much??? Well...I’m glad you asked!

In his recent Blog, Leadership Freak, Dan Rockwell urges leaders to “Walkabout.” He encourages leaders to connect to their organization by taking fifteen minutes a day to walkabout with a specific intention. Here are his suggestions:

1. Empowering walkabouts. “If you were the boss, what would you do (name a situation)?”
2. Affirmation walkabouts. “You’re really great at … . Keep it up.”
3. Accountability walkabouts. “What’s happening with (name a project)?”
4. Give feedback walkabouts. “I notice … . The impact of that behavior is … .”
5. Effectiveness walkabouts. “What might we stop doing?”
6. Challenge walkabouts. “I’m counting on you to … .”
7. Values walkabouts. Choose an organizational value and ask about it. “How are we recognizing initiative?” (If initiative is one of your values.)
8. Learning from failure walkabouts:

• “What are we/you learning from failure?”
• “Where did we/you fall short last week? What did we/you learn?”
• “What are you learning about yourself? Your team?” (With falling short in mind.)
• “What are you learning about … ?” (Insert a topic)

      9.   Innovation walkabouts. “What would you like to try that we aren’t already doing?”

Full disclosure here...you will NOT get your 10,000 steps in 15 minute “walkabouts”....but you will begin down a path that is healthier for you and your organization…

Be good to yourself...

AH-HA!

Recently my wife and I returned home from a wonderful trip in Utah where we explored 5 National Parks, 3 National Monuments, and 2 State Parks in  matter of 10 days. For those of you who have never been to southern Utah, I highly recommend the trip. The scenery is mesmerizing, the stillness and vastness of the area makes one reflective while enjoying God’s handiwork.

I thought I’d share some of my “ah-ha” moments this trip provided….

THE PLAN - I had the “vision” of the trip, the number of days needed to make our trip in a reasonable amount of time, planned the budget, made the reservations for air, car, and hotel...everything was set...but while I had the overall plan mapped out, it was my wife who dotted the “I’s” and crossed the “T’s” executing the day to day operations as to what exactly we were going to do and see…. The ah-ha???? Every team needs a visionary with the “Grand Plan” who trusts others to do what they do best in executing the DETAILS of the plan.

TIMING - As an ameatur photographer I learned early on the importance of light. The red rock which was bleached out by the morning sun would produce amazing hues of red when photographed at sunset. Vacationing “off-season” produced challenges of expected conveniences such as finding restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores in short supply. The ah-ha??? TIMING IS  EVERYTHING.

SLOW and STEADY - We estimated that we hiked 25 trails and over 100 miles during our trip. Some were were easier than others...some with asphalt paved walkways, some with dirt and red sand, and some with nothing but rocks and kerins showing the way up the side of a mountain. Some 3-4 mile hikes took but an hour while others took half the day..the ah-ha???? Understand the challenges of your journey before presuming anything.

GOING ROGUE - For safety reasons, paths are usually marked fairly well. Going off the trail can lead to getting lost fairly easy as there is absolutely no cell service in these remote areas to rely on any help, and most trials had little to no other hikers. There were times, admittedly that we strayed from the designated path to experience a better view or a different challenge that made our journey unique. The ah-ha???? Sometimes it’s a good thing to go off the “beaten path” to experiences something new or accomplish something never done before.

PERSEVERANCE - While standing on the rim wall of the canyon peering at the valley below, one couldn’t help be reminded of the power of perseverance from the depth of the canyon wall carved by the might of the Colorado River, or seeing the flora thriving in the desert rock...the ah-ha??? Never give up...never give in...Perseverance is key as even water cuts rock...eventually…

ONE LAST AH-HA - Joys and challenges are meant to be shared...having the right partner along the way makes every journey a special one….choose wisely...me???? I am one blessed man...

Be good to yourself...