Last week I wrote about creating opportunity. It is challenging to create or even recognize opportunity when our minds and lives are crowded with so many things. How challenging was it for you to make 20 minutes of “white space”?
Our 24/7, always-on world has conditioned us to believe that “always busy”, “crazy busy” and other similar descriptors of our lives, reflect how on-course we are and how needed and important we are. Yet we feel continually frustrated by an inability to get ahead…according to our standards. Why are we trapped on a hamster wheel of continually doing?
We are human beings, after all, not human doings. Being is such a very different place from doing. Many of us derive great satisfaction from doing; completing the checklist, marking things off and getting things done. Yet, typically the things we mark off our list are “doing” not “being”.
Let’s take a look at what I have done this morning: reviewed, responded and filed e-mail; initiated e-mails to follow up on 2 speaking events, as well as an event I am hosting; reviewed client birthday list and mailed 2 birthday cards; updated my calendar and added two new contacts to my database; ordered office supplies.
What, in this list of items, moved me toward my vision of touching as many people’s lives as possible with the power of coaching? None, specifically. Most of these “doings” supported my vision, but none moved me toward it. It is not a bad morning or waste of time. My desk is now cleared of collected business cards and my inbox is addressed. This makes writing a newsletter (and touching as many as are on my e-mail list!) far easier as my mind and physical environment are clear and I have a topic! I’ve gotten to my vision and purpose.
What happens to many of us, however, is that we stay in that first stage, cleaning, clearing, organizing and responding for most of the day. At the end of the day, perhaps we are able to feel good about checking items off the list. For most of us, however, there is that nagging feeling of not having moved the ball forward. That is where the frustration sets in.
Keeping this message at a manageable length, you will need to tune in next week for tips on how to move your ball forward!
For tips on how to get the most from your marketing efforts, join us on Tuesday, September 25th for the next Expert Series Interview with John Comer, CFP®, of Comer Consulting, LLC.