1 Year Later

I cannot believe that one year ago, I ventured off on my career exploration process.  I was determined to find a sense of "cause" about my life.  That my work and my cause would collide.  A year later I realize that you have to make the best out of your current situation.  You have to find ways to contribute your passion or cause to your work or you can easily allow situations to control you.

You also have to fight the voices in your head that are telling you that it is not worth it.  I realized again that only I can go after the cause.  It is my torch that I am carrying.  No one else can really carry what I care about.  Most of the content in my posts have come true.  You have to go to the place where you can contribute the most, that the cause is found in giving to others, that being present is a big part of this and that I can work where my true self is an outflow.

I have no regrets.  I seriously contemplating going off on my own.  I do not think I was ready for that.  I really like the situation I am in now.  As long as I am detached from the outcomes things seem to go well.  When I over own the outcomes, I get really tired.  Today, the outcome was just ok and I became discouraged.

Hyper-Motivation

I am reading the Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely on my Ipad.  It is more fun because it is on the Ipad, but that is not the point of this blog post.  During a week where I was feeling intense work pressure, I happened upon the chapter on hyper-motivation.  In times of intense pressure, most individuals will actual perform worst.  They are so focused on the outcome, the need to impress others and themselves that they actual psyche themselves out.

What does this mean for you and I?  Well, part of the solution is tricking your mind into believing that the pressure is really off.  Most of the time, the situation requires you to be present in the moment, not blow people away.  You may blow people away by just being yourself and engaging.  That is the internal part of this.

The other factor is that there could be externalities in your organization, which may cause you to feel over-stressed in various situations.  It could be the pay bonus is too high or a boss that says you better perform or you are out or someone below you is threatening for your position.  The solution here in my mind is to find or maintain that sense of personal cause in your work.  Your organization needs you to bring what only you can bring to the work place. YOU!

Practicing the Present

I can still see my father moving his lips without words to hear.  I would look over and say to him "Earth to dad."  He explained to me later that he was thinking about a math problem or some other type of work issue.  Two nights ago, my youngest daughter caught me talking to myself in her presence.  The key word "presence"  I was with her physically, but emotionally thinking of work.

So what does it take to be present in the moment you are in?  Obviously, this is a work in progress, but this has helped me:
1) Trusting that where I am at this very moment is where I need to be right now.  In other words, let go of what has occurred in the past and focus on what you can create now.
2) The people you are with deserve you being with them in that moment.
3) If you are alone, practice observation.  What do you see? What do you hear? How does it feel?
4) Challenge that voice in your head that is screaming for your attention.
5) Imagine yourself enjoying each moment when you are alone.

Life is made up of the moments.

Hierarchy of Needs

If you get a chance, I would not spend a ton of time reading the book Organizational Man, but if you have a long attention span go for it and read the whole thing.  If you have a short attention span, read the chapter on belongingness and togetherness.  If you don't like to read, then don't read.  Do something else more productive.

Anyway, it occurred to me while reading this book, that an organization and its people have a hierarchy of needs.  Picture a house with a strong foundation, call it "Sense of Personal Purpose", without a sense of personal purpose, you will struggle to build the strong organizational house.  Then build the walls, call them the walls of "Belongingness." If you do not feel strongly connected to the organization you cannot go far with your "Sense of Personal Purpose"

The beams across the top of the house, call those the "Beams of Togetherness"  You can feel a sense of "Belongingness" with those around you for all kinds of reasons, but without a common organizational purpose, the walls will eventually collapse.

Finally, the roof, call it the "Roof of Results"  Seems like a pretty basic hierarchy of needs, but a model to help you as you navigate the wonders of the organization.  It can become wonderful or collapse right in front of you.

Evaluate the four:
1) Sense of Personal Purpose
2) Walls of Belongingness
3) Beams of Togetherness
4) Roof of Results

How are you doing with the foundation?  You gotta fight for your own sense of clarity around this.

The Cause of the Kennedy's

I enjoyed a terrific four day getaway with my wife Tricia this past weekend. We had never been to Boston and decided on the last day to head off to the JFK Presidential Museum.  I would highly encourage a visit.  I found the visit very inspirational.  I was surprised because I would not say I am particularly intereseted in politics. 

We happened upon a documentary of Bobby Kennedy.  I found him to be a man of great cause.  He shared "You get one round at this life and you may as well find a cause you can contribute to wholeheartedly." Bobby found his place as Attorney General on his brother's cabinet during the Cuban Missle Crisis.  JFK later discussed how important Bobby was during this process. To each meeting Bobby brought something of value to the table.  JFK trusted his brother implicitly and they had a bond.  Bobby was the right hand man during this crucial period.  His cause was to support JFK and he had many others.

A story of cause from antiquity

I have been reading the book Flow which has been a fantastic read.  There is a story of Democritus a deep thinker sitting around the stone bath deep in thought. This guy actually sat around thinking for days at a time.  They even brought in the famous Hippocrates, the doctor to see if he was psycho or sick.  He was neither.

Our friend Democritus found great pleasure in meditating on the deeper realities of life and created his own reality of cause.  I greatly appreciated his quote regarding cause and happiness.  "Happiness does not reside in strength or money; it lies in rightness and many sidedness"; "I would rather discover one true cause than gain the kingdom of Persia."  (Page 127 Flow)

Case Studies Of Your Life

I was with an IT/Accountant/Financial Analyst yesterday and he used the phrase: "Case studies of your life."  I loved the use of those words.  We all have some very natural case studies in our lives to reflect back on.  The school age years, the junior high days (Yikes!), the high school years, the college years, the single days, the married without kids days, the married with kids days, the empty nest phase, the retirement years and the golden years.  

In reality, these 4 - 15 year segments contain important chapters in our lives.  We can look at each chapter and glean powerful insights and connections about our existence.  We may have regret or feelings of inspiration.  No doubt you can find some themes in the midst of each case study and no doubt use the past to inform your future.  

In your search for a sense of cause and purpose, I would suggest a review of your life's case studies and reflect on your moments flow, energy and purpose.  Let those inform you of your future.  As you are doing this, might I suggest you enlist some friends at each phase and ask them to tell you what they saw in your life.  See if it matches up!