All tagged Becoming who we want to be
The Franciscan Friar and ecumenical teacher, Richard Rohr, said that the things that brought you success in the first half of your life are of no use to you in the second half and, in fact, they actually get in your way.
The older I get, the more strongly this statement resonates.
I’ve always had this problem when it comes to the concept and practice of self-improvement. And that is, that I’m incredibly hard on myself as I’m in the process of achieving my goals.
What I mean by that is that once I’ve set a goal, then I presume myself to be not ‘fully complete’ until that goal has been achieved.
In one of the final scenes of the 1994 movie, ChungKing Express, the character “Cop 663” is at a Hong Kong bar called California, waiting for Faye, a girl he met while she’s been working at her cousin’s takeaway shop.
He’s been recovering from a break up and Faye, who’s trying to figure out who she is and what she wants in life, becomes enamored with him as he stops by every night for something to eat or drink. It's an unspoken (and somewhat strange) flirtation, until he finally asks her out on a date, asking her to meet him at California at 8 pm the next night, to which she agrees.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
Today's episode focuses on the concept of idealism. It's a concept that comes naturally as kids but one we tend to sacrifice as we grow older. I argue that's a mistake.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Today's episode focuses on Values. Our values don't simply materialize - we have to choose and exhibit those values. When we don't, we're basically choosing someone else's values.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode closes out the month with a few thoughts on mindset and how we tend to define standards that, frankly, constrain us more than they help us, especially when we're just starting out.
I had a different post I wanted to put out today but, instead, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts about John Lewis’ posthumous Opinion piece that was published in the New York Times yesterday. Written a couple of days before he passed away, it’s his final message to us all, and it speaks to the underlying ideals and principles that guided him through almost the entirety of his life.
What is this idea of “being a hero”? I don’t know how to really comprehend it, that is, what makes someone become a hero?
I mean, it’s a concept we talk and hear about incessantly - all over the media, in our news, in a lot of our personal conversations. But I don’t know if we really internalize what it means.
In 1969, Led Zeppelin released their sophomore album titled Led Zeppelin 2, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. A year later, they followed up that album with Led Zeppelin 3, which diverged from the path that their first two albums took. Where as the first two albums were driving rock albums, this one, while it didn’t lack for driving rock songs, dove pretty heavily into the acoustic realm. The album was panned at first but is now regarded among their best.
That’s a word we love. It’s also a word that we tend to hold to a specific standard.
Superhuman strength. Incredible bravery. Folks who demonstrate those traits are called heroes. The determined doctors, the brave firefighter, the courageous police officer tend to fit the bill.
We can accept that. Because that individual put themselves at risk for the betterment and gain of another, almost always someone they don’t even know.
A while ago, I watched a Michael Smerconish interview of Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame). It was centered around his tour and the frequent political statements he made during his shows.
At one point, he asked Waters:
By the time Bruce Springsteen released his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, in 1973, he’d already had almost a decade of playing experience under his belt. He’d started playing back in 1964 with a band called The Rogues, then another, then another, ultimately morphing into the now famous E Street Band.
That first album met with critical acclaim but little commercial success. The one after (The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle) fared pretty much the same, and he didn’t really achieve commercial success until Born To Run was released in 1975.
In school, we’re taught a range of different subjects - from history to math to science to art to music to physical education. We’re tested, judged and evaluated on our proficiency in each of these disciplines, and by the end of it, given a numerical average of our performance across all of these areas, otherwise known as our Grade Point Average (GPA).
A few years ago, Professor Jens Krause at the University of Leeds conducted numerous experiments where he and his team asked groups of people to walk randomly around a large hall. Unbeknownst to the majority, a few individuals were given specific instructions as to where they should walk. No one in the group (informed or otherwise) was allowed to communicate (verbal or non-verbally) and everyone had to stay within arms length of each other.
"We don't lower our standards. We raise the bar and bring our people with us."
We have a couple of choices when it comes to dealing with performance problems within our team, in those times when we lack capability alignment, a consensus of will, or moral cohesion.
Values are important. Values are sacrosanct. Values define who we are.
We all stand for - become known for - a specific set of values, whether we've expressly considered this or not.
Happy people don't act like assholes. Generally speaking, my own unscientific survey over the last several decades suggests this to be true.
Think of the happy people you know. How do they act? What's their attitude to others around them? Folks who are happy tend to be comfortable with themselves, with what they have and who they are.
Last Friday, I woke up and flipped open my email to a thunderbolt of a message from my colleague and fellow Gooner, Gavin:
BREAKING NEWS: WENGER LEAVING AT END OF SEASON
In the movie, "The Matrix", Neo's (Keanu Reeves' character) education - his understanding, acceptance of, as well as his ability to fulfill his true potential - is centered around belief. Belief that the world as he has known it has been defined by someone else's rules. Belief that these rules are there for a specific purpose, and that this purpose is not only serving someone else's goals, they are limiting his true potential.
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." (Lao Tzu)
We love stories. We love telling them. We love listening to them. We love creating them. We love being part of them. Stories define our lives and our experiences. They remind us of who we have been and help make us who we are. They also shape who we want to be.
