Life pulls us a thousand ways, how do we stay on track?
Its been more than my usual few days between posts.
I got distracted. I've been more manic than usual this past week and my mind is like a magpie, drawn to a million shiny things. I get these bursts of creativity, a massive pull to make something. This week I've made wallets out of duct tape and paracord braided accessories. All usefully useless in the the grand scheme of things.
I'm not the only person in the world that does this, it's certainly not a uniquely bi-polar affliction. We get distracted from our goals, dreams, responsibilities and loved ones very easily. We're never really happy for long, we always search for the next thing to occupy our time and cure our idle hands.
Focus is the cure for distraction, with strong focus its easy to stay on track. It's useful to have visual reminders of what the end goal is, what you are living for. My PC desktop at work is a picture of Vancouver, and all over our house are reminders that happiness, love and positivity are our main aims.
Some of the little distractions we have in life are fun and enriching, they add value to our lives. I, for example play a game called Ingress. It's a location based, augmented reality game for smartphones, and is a massive distraction. But last month it took me to London on a great day out, and I've met loads of really interesting people that have expanded my circle. Mainly good things have come from being distracted by Ingress! (My other half might not agree...)
As long as we are walking in the right direction, the path we take doesn't matter. If we step off it for a while and go off road, if we take a detour to see something beautiful, then so be it. As long as we don't forget where we are going all together, or get lost along the way.
Showing posts with label Social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social media. Show all posts
Sunday 15 June 2014
Sunday 8 June 2014
Clarity
Don't let the "gray goo" become you.
Let's face it, life is a confusing and frustrating place to live at times, if not most of the time!
Modern life is a chaotic assault of fast paced confusion, finding your own pace and clarity can be difficult.
One flaw we have as humans, is we tend to over complicate everything. We are not always adept and picking the most simple route and sticking to it. We like to create drama, we like to make things "exciting". The other problem is that once we are in this cycle of living keeping pace, complicating everything and running around, its really hard to stop and slow down. I know so many people that come into work on a Monday morning and only talk about everything they had to do on the weekend! How has it become that the only spare time we have off from work, we fill with more work?
Fair enough, I understand we all have priorities, but looking after yourself should be right at the top of that list. Else, if you're not on top of your game, then yet again, everything just becomes more complicated.
You need to take time, as often as possible, to seek clarity. Stepping back and evaluating situations, trying to see them from the outside perspective can have a massively positive effect. Often, the most simple solution to most problems is readily available, but due to our chaotic and rushed lives, we miss it. However, if we allowed ourselves that time to stop, take stock, evaluate and then act, we'd see it first time round.
When it comes to problem solving, whether it be at work, or in daily life, we have a tendency to try and think of every possible solution and the merits of each etc etc etc, over complicate again. Is it not easier to stop, take stock, find the first solution that you think will work, then go for that? If it doesn't work we repeat the process when we reach the next problem! But this over complicated "what about this, this, this or this?" approach usually tends to lead to yet more over complication and confusion.
At first it can be hard to train yourself to stop and seek some clarity, it can feel inefficient and useless, but in effect, taking time to free yourself and your mind from the "gray goo" of life can save time and your metal health!
Right, now hurry up, go relax!
Let's face it, life is a confusing and frustrating place to live at times, if not most of the time!
Modern life is a chaotic assault of fast paced confusion, finding your own pace and clarity can be difficult.
One flaw we have as humans, is we tend to over complicate everything. We are not always adept and picking the most simple route and sticking to it. We like to create drama, we like to make things "exciting". The other problem is that once we are in this cycle of living keeping pace, complicating everything and running around, its really hard to stop and slow down. I know so many people that come into work on a Monday morning and only talk about everything they had to do on the weekend! How has it become that the only spare time we have off from work, we fill with more work?
Fair enough, I understand we all have priorities, but looking after yourself should be right at the top of that list. Else, if you're not on top of your game, then yet again, everything just becomes more complicated.
You need to take time, as often as possible, to seek clarity. Stepping back and evaluating situations, trying to see them from the outside perspective can have a massively positive effect. Often, the most simple solution to most problems is readily available, but due to our chaotic and rushed lives, we miss it. However, if we allowed ourselves that time to stop, take stock, evaluate and then act, we'd see it first time round.
When it comes to problem solving, whether it be at work, or in daily life, we have a tendency to try and think of every possible solution and the merits of each etc etc etc, over complicate again. Is it not easier to stop, take stock, find the first solution that you think will work, then go for that? If it doesn't work we repeat the process when we reach the next problem! But this over complicated "what about this, this, this or this?" approach usually tends to lead to yet more over complication and confusion.
At first it can be hard to train yourself to stop and seek some clarity, it can feel inefficient and useless, but in effect, taking time to free yourself and your mind from the "gray goo" of life can save time and your metal health!
Right, now hurry up, go relax!
Friday 6 June 2014
Naivety
Is your head in the "cloud"?
The whole world is now at your fingertips. Every single bit of recorded information, every person you've ever met, and even others that you haven't, are accessible through the internet.
Now that should open us up and expose us to more and more people and things. However the opposite seems to be true. Look to any place where there is a gathering of people and you'll see most people looking at some sort of screen. We lock ourselves away into our virtual world and communicate people more through social media, email and text than we do any other way.
Now don't get me wrong, I love technology! I'm a total, self-confessed geek. But these tools to help us really have taken over our lives. We spend so much of our time looking down at our screens and much less time looking up and around at the world and the people around us. We have become totally naive to what is going on immediately around us, because what is happening else where is just as accessible.
I find this more than anywhere at work. Technology has transformed sales. I can call a company and be told the boss is out, or in a meeting, only to have them instantly reply to an email or linkedin message. People I already have a relationship with would rather spend hours discussing things that we could resolve in a 5 minute phone call. Even when I see people face to face at networking, they ask me to send them and email, rather than ask me the questions they have there and then. I find that crazy.
The real, tangible interpersonal relationships that we forge in life are so much more valid and valuable to our lives. We need people, real people to live. We need to spend actual physical time with people to learn and develop from them and with them. We need to lift our heads up, open our very square eyes and stop being so naive to the real world around us.
Creativity
What will you make of today?
Most of the time when we talk about creativity, we think about artists, photographers, writers, crafters etc.
But there are no limits to how we can be creative. We need not have a talent or skill, nor does what we create have to be tangible, or even visible and often the invisible things we create are far more valuable than a perfect painting, or a beautiful hand crafted vase.
We can create amazing things with nothing but ourselves. We can create memories by taking the time to share things with people, travel to new places and try new things. We can create an atmosphere by being positive, making positive changes and sharing positivity.
By keeping an open mind and a positive attitude, the opportunity to create a little bit of magic comes around a lot more often. If we are open to new ideas and new experiences, the memories and good feeling that can be created will last a lifetime and add value to each and every day.
We can also create relationships, friendships and connections with other people, and the single easiest way to do this is to take the time to get to know them, to listen and to care. We're very quick when we meet people to tell them about ourselves and what we do, who we are. But by simply taking that little bit of time to listen to them and care about what you are hearing, the relationship forged will be stronger. I use this at work a lot. When prospecting a new client, before I even tell them about me and the company, I ask about them and theirs, and I genuinely care about what they are telling me. If I've taken an interest in them, they are much more likely to take an interest in me and what I am trying to achieve.
Our lives are the sum total of the things that we create, so the more time and energy we dedicate to creating good, positive and happy things, the better our lives will be. You can create drama, or you can create laughter, which do you enjoy more?
Create Karma.
Most of the time when we talk about creativity, we think about artists, photographers, writers, crafters etc.
But there are no limits to how we can be creative. We need not have a talent or skill, nor does what we create have to be tangible, or even visible and often the invisible things we create are far more valuable than a perfect painting, or a beautiful hand crafted vase.
We can create amazing things with nothing but ourselves. We can create memories by taking the time to share things with people, travel to new places and try new things. We can create an atmosphere by being positive, making positive changes and sharing positivity.
By keeping an open mind and a positive attitude, the opportunity to create a little bit of magic comes around a lot more often. If we are open to new ideas and new experiences, the memories and good feeling that can be created will last a lifetime and add value to each and every day.
We can also create relationships, friendships and connections with other people, and the single easiest way to do this is to take the time to get to know them, to listen and to care. We're very quick when we meet people to tell them about ourselves and what we do, who we are. But by simply taking that little bit of time to listen to them and care about what you are hearing, the relationship forged will be stronger. I use this at work a lot. When prospecting a new client, before I even tell them about me and the company, I ask about them and theirs, and I genuinely care about what they are telling me. If I've taken an interest in them, they are much more likely to take an interest in me and what I am trying to achieve.
Our lives are the sum total of the things that we create, so the more time and energy we dedicate to creating good, positive and happy things, the better our lives will be. You can create drama, or you can create laughter, which do you enjoy more?
Create Karma.
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