Yes, YOU have Superpowers Now Let’s Use Them
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
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I’m getting very tired of people not believing in their superpowers. It’s why I hate the word strengths. It’s the most overused word in business today.
We focus on things we are good at instead of doing work that we care about.
You may crunch numbers because you are good at it. You may sell toner because it’s what you know. You manage projects because people keep asking you to do it again and again.
This is so wrong on many levels. You shouldn’t be doing work based on your strengths. Yes, this should be a factor, but not the whole basis of your work. It’s also why I hate strengths test. They don’t make you think about the work that excites you. They force you to fit your work into square holes.
You have powers to change people’s lives.
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Stop Ordering Yourself Around
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mike Bundrant of iNLP.
“Do it, Mike! Just do it! Stop your whining and get off your butt!”
This is how I used to motivate myself. I carried around an inner high school football coach to bark at me whenever he thought I was slacking. The problem was, I constantly stressed myself out. Worse, half the time I “rebelled” against this inner dictator and became passive aggressive toward my own goals. How’s that for nutty?
Patterns
Actually, this is a common pattern. A “dictator” style of motivation has an undermining effect in the long run. Most people don’t like to be ordered around. In the workplace it leads to low morale and a low productivity, high-turnover workforce. Dictator-style parents tend to divide families and create harsh rivalries in the home. Ordering yourself around leads to the number one killer of personal development goals: self-sabotage.
Think about it. To your mind and body, a harsh, loud voice ordering you around is jarring, regardless of the source. You respond with stress and resistance whether from an outsider imposing his will or you imposing your will upon yourself. In the end, your brain experiences the commands in a similar fashion. Your mind places a lot less emphasis on the origin of an experience than you may think. All of us can make our mouths water just by imagining a delectable dessert. We’ve all reacted with fear to inner thoughts that had no basis in external reality. Ordering yourself around is being ordered around, period. Chances are, you don’t like it and will shut down, refusing to take any action at all.
The stress and resistance of dictatorial self-motivation is an expressway to self-sabotage. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do!” is the common response to inappropriate commands, even when those commands are self-generated. It’s a perfect set up.
A New Way
Zen Motivation changes all this. The need to bark orders and force yourself to do things doesn’t even arise in a Zen motivation state. Motivating yourself to do things, even unpleasant things, is a normal part of living and comes quite naturally when in a more Zen-like state, connected to the present moment. Do this exercise and see what I mean.
1. Consider one thing that you need to motivate yourself to do, such as exercise, pull weeds, meet with a difficult colleague, and so forth. If you can, write down the name of the task in the middle of a piece of paper (if you have a pen and paper).
2. Become aware how you would typically motivate yourself to do this and write down (if you can) the thoughts and feelings that come next. For example, “Get it done!” or “Let’s move!” or “I just have to get this done!” or “Come on, Mike!” or (feelings, too) “Tension in chest and shoulders.” Write freely for a minute or so and don’t censor yourself.
3. Just clear your mind for a few moments. Shake it off.
4. Forget everything and enter a more present, grounded state by tuning into a mundane sound, such as the sound of distant traffic, the hum of your computer (or the white noise of a fan, refrigerator, running water, etc…). Don’t do anything else or try to relax – just tune into the sound. Keep listening for a minute or more, until you feel settled.
5. When you feel more settled, reconsider the task you need to get done. Write it down on a clean sheet of paper and notice the thoughts and feelings that come to your mind and body. Do you notice the difference? In this more calm state, what words can you choose to gently motivate yourself? How much easier is it to avoid ordering yourself around while you are feeling more settled and connected to the outside world?
For managers, the key to motivating employees rests with the quality of the relationship – how well do they treat their employees? Likewise, the key to motivating yourself is correlated with how well you treat yourself. Zen motivation allows you to motivate yourself from a more grounded, connected state. When you do, your tendency to order yourself around will vanish and your productivity will increase. Best of all, you’ll be respecting yourself more.
Mike Bundrant is an NLP trainer with the iNLP Center. Visit iNLP for a free personal development mini course and learn more about the Zen Motivation Twitter Party.
Image courtesy of phoeric.
Be the Rabbit with Focus
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Almost everyone loves the story of the tortoise and the hare. It’s a classic.
I hate it!
It’s too limiting.
If everyone thinks of themselves at the tortoise, nothing would get done. Yes, I understand the story’s concept. If you stick with something you’ll win the marathon in the end.
The rabbit has the superpower of speed and that’s great, but like any great strength he lacks passion and focus. This is where I actually love the book.
Yes, I admit. I love the book too!
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Audio Interview With Peter Buffett
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
Whenever I’m asked to interview someone I only do it if I have a burning desire to ask that person a certain question. Peter Buffett fell into this category, so when his publicist contacted me about a possible interview I jumped on it.
I wanted to ask Peter if people were jealous that his family was rich. Being the son of Warren Buffett one of the most famous people on the planet can draw a lot of attention, positive and negative, so I was curious about his experiences.
I was amazed by Peter’s grounded nature and willingness to think before he speaks. I should have known he would be a great interview.
I recorded the interview for all of you to listen to:
Click here to listen to the Peter Buffett interview
(Right click to download the audio to your computer for later use.)
Some of the highlights in the Peter Buffett interview is:
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How to be Drama-Free… Start with Yourself
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Editor’s note: this is a guest post from Kaley Klemp the Co-Author of The Drama-Free Office
It’s gossip, turf wars, water cooler talk, and the chronic complainer no one can stand. When you talk with people about the organizations they work for, it’s common to hear about the “Drama” plaguing their companies: the energy-draining behaviors that keep people from focusing on the creative projects and basic business practices that make the company successful.
If we could just get through the drama, the business decisions and real work isn’t that hard…
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10 Feng Shui Ways To Make Office Life Better
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
Editor’s note: this is a guest post from Michael Schnippering of Feng Shui at Work.
Feng Shui helps with a variety of different problems. It can even help with problems in the business. They give many tips on how to make a business successful and stay successful.
For example, Andrew was a small business owner who complained about having lost his level of concentration. “It all started quickly after I moved into his new office,” Andrew said. His desk was split by two different magnetic chi fields resulting in migraines. His loss of concentration was caused by Andrew not sitting in one of his supporting directions. We moved his desk according to the principles of Feng Shui, and shortly after Andrew felt relief from the negative effects which had impacted his energies before.
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Work Happiness In All the Wrong Places
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
I’m afraid of failure. I’m not so afraid of failure that my creativity locks up. I have a popular blog, social media accounts, and I’ve interviewed superheroes in the business world. I’m putting stuff out into the world to help people, but I’m still holding back.
I recently hopped on Twitter tried to think of something cool and insightful, gave up and went to watch an old episode of The Office. Then as I watched the episode my arch nemesis was whispering at me for being so lame and worthless. I hate when that little voice inside me whispers to me instead of screams. It’s so much harder to ignore him. Why is that?
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How to Do Business with Different Personality Types
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) of Getting to Zen
If you charge for your work, then you know the dilemma between charging hourly versus charging by the project. There are arguments for and against both. For example, if you charge by the project, you could end up doing a lot more work than the project is worth and if you charge by the hour, you many lose clients to the variability of the cost. Knowing the personality type of the persons you are working with can not only help you in deciding how to charge for your efforts but make your working relationships a whole lot smoother.
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Why You Need a Pre-Emptive Strike Against Interruptions
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Barry Demp of Demp Coaching
In the military, rather than waiting passively for the enemy to attack, you attack first – this is called a pre-emptive strike.
The pre-emptive strike isn’t just useful in the military, though: it’s also a powerful technique that I use with my coaching clients in the business world.
You may have certain high-maintenance employees and co-workers who tend to interrupt a lot and ruin your momentum. Maybe you get a phone call, or they pop into your office – however the interruption comes, it breaks your flow. This is when a pre-emptive strike is warranted.
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Effective Communication in the Land of Endless Emails
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Kenneth McCall is director of IT for storage.com.
I love email. It gives me a running record of who said what when. I can write a very business-like email even late at night or early in the morning – look how late he’s working, impressive! I can give bad news gently without having to actually face the person. I get to use passive-aggressive smiley faces. Guess you’ll have that report for me tomorrow instead of today since it’s already 5:30? 
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