You now have two new tools in your tool bag:
1) The Three Stressors: categorize for clarity and forward action.
2) Face your fear: speak it out loud, then re-frame it as a Hero's Journey. What would breakthrough on the journey look like? What is the vision you see ahead? What will it take to Leap?
Try using these two tools and following your live-with, JUST DO IT!, this week in order to take action on your course challenge. How can you get enough clarity, so that you can take appropriate action on your challenge and any other challenges you might be facing?
Regarding company culture and WestJet, please post any ideas that you have.
The Ray chapter introduces the Relationship Challenge. You can comment on this if you wish.
Also, if you are not familiar with Whole Foods, try to visit one... and read the case
Have a great week,
Hal & Julie
Just Do It! I really had a shift yesterday when I did this. I found myself in a situation where I could not conduct myself the way I normally do because I got injured. I had to think quick. Calm down. Breathe. Figure out another course of action. I found help; asked for it; and, completed the task today. In the end, we did have an additional financial expense, however, the work got done and I did not further my injury. Sometimes life throws you unexpected stressors...this 'live with' gave me the strength to move past my stress and fear and 'just do it'.
ReplyDeleteIn the WestJet Case study, I really liked the Idea of Profit Sharing Program by reducing the operating costs.
ReplyDeleteIn the software industry, I was told that lot of money is spent on Power, as people are very careless to switch off the lights when they leave, switch off monitors, hardware equipment etc when they are not in use. Probably companies should start this kind of program to share the profits if the operational costs is reduced in those cases, that way people will be more proactive to saving those little costs and this also is environment friendly.
The Just do It that I did this week has nothing to do with my course challenge, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I recently signed up to do a triathlon and need to buy a bike. I normally do a lot of research before I go into a store to buy something. However, purchasing a road bike required knowledge of basically a whole new world/language. In the end, I decided to just go to bike shops and talk to the salespeople. Usually I am wary of doing this, because I feel like they will try to upsell me. However, I decided to throw myself in and actually learned a lot about how I act when confused and overwhelmed. I saw many traits that I liked and some that I can improve upon. However, I definitely came out less confused!
ReplyDeleteI chose my focus for the week to be “Just Do It” … something I coach my clients on frequently, however, doing it for myself was a challenge. I think I have to have everything prioritized and organized (for myself) before I “just do it!” Interesting what comes from grabbing a project (or part of a project) and completing it. There was no time for VOJ … I was involved in taking action. The week sped by and I felt my spirits lift as I saw my administrative backlog, although still overwhelming, lessen. I suspect now that a part of the backlog will go into recycle since that area of stress calls for a new philosophical attitude … that being, dump it, it’s not important.
ReplyDeleteI’d love to give more time to all the ideas our reading and class work have brought forth. While I choose to continue working and have a life with my husband, some of the practicing will be done while coaching my clients through the exercises. Lucky me, they are as interested in them as I am!!
I’m confident that “Just doing it” actually DID help me feel less stressed out than I naturally would have otherwise this past week! I am adjusting to a lot of changes in my life right now and, when I have felt myself starting to over-analyze something or dwell on something, I remembered this live-with and it helped a ton. I moved this past week and it’s incredible how often reminding myself to DO instead of flip-flopping on a decision lead to de-cluttering my space and my life. When I found myself struggling with making decisions on what to keep and what to toss yesterday, I went for a long walk around my neighborhood and thought about other things, then came back refreshed and ready to tackle the challenge at hand. I need to think of an effective way to bring “Just Do It” to the forefront of so much of what I do. I find that going with my gut and/or going for something vs struggling with it and leaving it un-done is usually the right way to go. I think this can also be applied as “Just DON’T Do It”…just relax and enjoy and don’t DO anything once in a while:)
ReplyDeleteLast week I applied the just do it onto my own situation. I had a fairly small administrative boring task that I just had to do by the 5th of Nov, I knew of this since early October, but as I don't like boring admin tasks I had made this small task much bigger and more cumbersome than it actually is/was. But for once I decided that I wouldn't wait to the last minute as I normally do, so I acctually filled in and submitted the paperwork one week in advance, which I never do, I just did it! and what a relief, was only a 20min job, which I had portraid into a 2hour job, and the stress was so much less :-)
ReplyDeleteThis week's Live-With has been really useful for me. I've applied "just do it" to many simple but annoying tasks. I even made a significant dent in a stack of papers, each representing a simple but annoying task, that has been sitting on my desk and stressing me out since we moved in. Every time I found myself feeling stressed about an easy task, I forced myself to either take care of it immediately or stop thinking about it. This Live-With also gave me perspective on some of the things that I worry about frequently. For instance, I'm planning to potty train my son in January, and several times a day I find myself worrying that he won't be ready or the process will fail for some other reason. Other than preparing him by getting him excited about using the potty, there really isn't anything I can do right now, and this week instead of dwelling on all the things that could possibly go wrong, I've been able to remind myself that worrying about this is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the "Don't Think About It" chapter in the book, surprisingly the following quote really changed my approach to reading: "If, as you read this chapter, you are partially occupied with what you will do when you finish this chapter, you are mothering a child that does not belong in this moment; it's only a distraction, pretending it's a true thought." It sounds very obvious, but after I read that, I really was able to focus better on what I was reading. Every time I had an unrelated thought, I told myself that now was not that time for that thought.
This Live-with “Just Do It” really helped me last weekend and I would like to share my experience with you. I was so stressed preparing a presentation I have to do this week. I had my ideas really clear about what I wanted to present but I found some difficulties to get some information I needed. This made me feel even more stressed and frustrated and I could notice how my VOJ was there telling me your presentation won’t be good if things go on like that, time is going by and you are not getting any better. My friend suggested me to go to the movie theatre that night and my answer was: “I wish I could but I need to work on this presentation but thanks for your invitation anyway”. After the call checking my work wasn’t efficient at all I called my friend back telling her I changed my mind and I’ll go to the movie. I said myself: “Stop thinking about your presentation, don’t worry now about anything, just go to the movie, relax yourself and enjoy it, JUST DO IT! I should say that’s the best thing I could have done. I distanced myself from the problems momentarily and when I was back home new ideas came up easily. I felt more in touch with my creative Essence and I am sure I finished my presentation before I had done if I hadn’t made the decision to go.
ReplyDeleteI tried the "just do it" strategy this past week with a series of projects I am working on by focusing a "just do it" attack on only one area of life per day. For example, I jumped into a "just do it" for a work out on Monday by hiking the Standford Dish trail. I focused a "Just do it" on Tuesday with making a final decision about a new housing opportunity I had been debating. I dove in to a "just do it" on my financial project list on Wednesday, etc. In each case, my stress level dropped with the feeling of accomplishment, and my energy and idea-flow was higher for all subsequent work each day. I will continue the "just do it" practice daily for as long as I can to see how far I can ride the momentum. And to think... I don't even have a pair of Nike's.
ReplyDelete"Just do it" is so simple yet so hard. When tasked with it it takes the ability to push off these tasks out of fear or procrastination and forces you to do these things that aren't actually that hard. It almost seems as though the longer I put something off, the bigger of a challenge it becomes. When I "just do it" it's not a big deal. It's done, the pressure is off and it no longer hangs over my head. Also, it helps for me to think about what the consequences of just doing it are vs putting it off (which ultimately means "just doing it" later. It always comes out that doing it now is better than later and the consequences really aren't consequences generally.
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ReplyDeleteThe "Just do it" is something I've been using for a while actually, I'm an anxious person so a couple years ago I would have a lot of problems thinking to much before decide something, being worried with the consequences, and I figured out that it made me feel pretty bad wasting my life thinking and not acting. So I brought this concept to my life, and just doing it I feel relieved, it makes me feel that is better regret for something that I did than something that I didn't do.
ReplyDeleteBE-DO-HAVE. Julie shared something on Monday night that I found very helpful. It was familiar to a concept I heard a long time ago. She shared about 'Being' and 'Doing'.
ReplyDeleteI had always struggled early in life with always being busy 'doing' things. And, from that busy work, I would have results...but, not always the results I wanted.
Then, I heard about the concept of BE-DO-HAVE. This idea is to shift into a way of 'being', not 'doing'. BE the person you say you want to me, say 'a creative person', and then you will 'do what creative people do' and, then, you will 'have what creative people have'.
It starts with who you are BEING. Then, that drives what you DO and from there, what you HAVE.
I have always found this helpful to think about when I am running around like crazy doing stuff and I want to shift into a place that feels better, centered and focused.
I hope you find it useful too.
:) Kathy
The "Just do it" live with was the most successful for me so far. I have had many experiences in the past where I "Just do it" and it has worked for me, in work, in event planning and doing chores around the house.
ReplyDeleteThis past week, as I am still recovering from a head injury, I have had a difficult time doing anything. I have had a hard time focusing and starting new projects- even a simple e-mail. So I decided I wouldn't think about where to start I just would. So that motivated me and allowed me to feel less pressure from myself because I am not working as quickly as I normally would.
Regarding what Kathy is referring to, I too, felt that was very helpful. I often live for the next day, I forget to be in the now and present. I feel like I have to complete a list of tasks before I can feel something like accomplishment or joy. For me, I have been working on being rather than doing. I actually have felt genuine happiness in these new felt moments.
One thought about Whole Foods and their organization structure. I would expect a flat democratic structure in a knowledge intensive organization like scientific lab or innovative company IDEO, rather than in a grocery store. It says a lot about the founder's believe in workers' potential, creativity and wisdom beyond their background and social position. And he obviously assumed that the staff should perform their daily tasks as non routine ones, as this is a basis in collegiality. No wonder Whole Foods stays high on the list of the best companies to work for.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd like to share a link to the 100 most creative people in business 2011. Interestingly, the list opens
Wadah Khanfar, the director general of Al Jazeera, followed by many visionaries from well-known high tech and media companies including Apple, Google, Twitter and SpaceX. Good starting point to learn more about all the 100 and their achievements.
http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2011
For all of the Live Withs, the core one that I keep coming back to is Trust Your Creativity. That one embodies all of the others for me. Once I'm reminded to trust/in a state of trust, my judgement cools, I'm more centered and in the present, paying attention, observing, and then Just Doing whatever needs doing. Trusting My Creativity has been a nice foundational strengthening for me. I didn't really Just Do Anything this week, though.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t be more impressed with John Mackey. I enjoyed reading the Whole Foods case study and I found his commencement speech a nice addition to it, having the oppty to learn a bit more about him and his unwavering mission and principals. Above all, I’m impressed with his very clear and compelling mission – how it has lasted these many years, has adapted to the times/opptys and has survived numerous acquisitions. The later (as I commented in class), is almost unheard of – corporate cultures seem to morph or come into question during acquitions. Not so with Whole Foods.
ReplyDeleteBut getting back to passion, I was reminded this week of Clare Boothe Luce’s (one of the first women to serve in the US Congress) advice to then President Kennedy. She said to him, “A great man is a sentence.” She was worried the President was trying to do too many things and that his legacy would not be as powerful as the person he was or could be. I think Mackey took Ms Boothe-Luce's advice to heart!