Living in the Flow

Every year time seems to go by faster and faster, have you noticed? As we get older and still have big dreams we want to accomplish, we can get a bit anxious about this rapid passing of time. Do we have enough time remaining to accomplish what we set out to this year, a decade ago, or maybe even at the outset of our careers?

One highly effective way I've found of approaching this dilemma is by setting an intention to live life in the Divine Flow. Steven Lane Taylor does a wonderful job of explaining this way of living, giving us proven tools for recognizing and cooperating with the underlying current that exists in each of our lives. He's so good at this because for years he did it the hard way, the way many of us do - pushing, scheming, and manipulating circumstances and events, trying to get them to go as we thought they had to for us to meet our objectives. Eventually he realized that the Universe is actually on our sides, working daily to guide us to the fulfillment of our dreams in a joyful, effortless way!

I had a perfect demonstration of this idea in a big way a couple of years ago. After two months of training to pass my audition to become a certified Jazzercise instructor, I broke my toe (and my confidence) 10 days before my audition. I was the only one out of 11 to fail - can you imagine how I felt? But encouraged by the support of family and friends I arranged to have a top instructor mentor me, and two months later I passed the audition with accolades. I immediately took over a well-paying class with up to 100 customers, many of whom have been with Jazzercise over 20 years. In just a few weeks, we were all having a great time together, although I found out later that most of them were dead-set against me at the beginning. If I had not had the opportunity to train with one of the best, I doubt I would have been successful in winning them over in the long run. The Universe really was conspiring for my good, even if it didn't appear so at the time!

So keep one of my favorite bits of advice from Steve in mind the next time something appears that doesn't look good: if the appearance isn't good, it's not over yet. For much more on this, I recommend Steve’s book: Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Living Life in the Divine Flow.

Making Change Easier

Wouldn’t it be great if it was easier to change our behavior? Don’t you wish you could help those around you at work find it easier to make a change? According to Dr.Dean Ornish, founder of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute and a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, reasons for the change need to be positive in order for people to be successful in altering their behavior. All too often, we attempt to motivate change using fear tactics, emphasizing the dire outcomes that are likely if we don’t change. Dr. Ornish says this just does not work. He recommends trying the reverse: paint a picture of the positive results of making the change. Whether it’s getting the advanced degree, striving to get along with the difficult co-worker or agreeing to take on a new responsibility, focus on the beneficial outcome. Make the WIIFM something desirable! For more ideas on motivating employees, check this out.