Why Do The Same Issues Always Come Up?
The year is fast coming to a close.
Before you know it, you'll be back where you were last year, thinking about resolutions you'll want to be making for 2008. But, whoa! Before you go galloping off to dive headlong into some new resolutions, might I ask how well you did on last year's? What did you resolve to do (or not do)? Do you even remember? If you do remember, how well did you do on each one of them?
Before you know it, you'll be back where you were last year, thinking about resolutions you'll want to be making for 2008. But, whoa! Before you go galloping off to dive headlong into some new resolutions, might I ask how well you did on last year's? What did you resolve to do (or not do)? Do you even remember? If you do remember, how well did you do on each one of them?
Did you know that most people who submit to
annual performance reviews at work see
approximately the same types of successes and
failures year after year? They confront the
same kinds of strong points and issues over
and over again. The majority of such reviews
are incredibly boring both for the worker and
for his or her supervisor because the results
are so predictable. Even when people say that
they want to change, most people just
don't. For many, it's a struggle just to
figure out where to begin!
For whatever reason, people are afraid to take into consideration what they really want — as though it's not supposed to matter. Many trudge (sometimes quite happily) through life doing what they're 'supposed' to do. "Why," they may wonder, "do the same issues come up year after year with much change? After all," they surmise, "I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do!" Do you ever feel that way? If so, do you ever wonder if what you're doing is really what you are meant to do? Or, are you expending your personal (and family) resources doing what you assume that other people expect you to do? If you live a life that's inauthentic and out of alignment with your core principles, you can't avoid recreating the same issues over and over again. In effect, you've decided to to make them a permanent part of your daily life!
For years, I've heard people say over and over again how difficult it is to balance all the competing forces of their busy lives. I agree that it's not always simple or easy. However, it's far from impossible! In fact, the principles behind our Balanced Life Project are almost too obvious: perhaps so obvious that we have a tendency to overlook them! How about this one: "Don't waste your resources"? That's clear enough, isn't it? Yet, how many of us miss the fact that when we're doing things simply because we think other people expect us to do them, we're wasting our life resources? How much difference would it make to the way we live our lives if we were operate from our own inner drive rather than from an often-misplaced sense of duty?
Here's the question you need to ask yourself before you even start to think about making any new year's resolutions or facing another work performance review: "My life is OK as it is. Is 'OK' good enough for me?" If you can honestly answer "No" to that question, then the next question you need to ask yourself is, "What is getting myself out of this rut worth to me?" Think about it. Everything worth doing has some cost — but staying where you are has costs of its own, doesn't it?
I've dedicated my life to the study of the meaning of life from the point of view of philosophers and theologians, psychologists and sociologists. It's not my role to come up with a final answer; that's entirely up to you. What I can do is help you to develop the strategies you're going to need to discover and promote the meaning of your life. No matter what your age, status or stage in life, you have at your disposal the resources you need to live a meaningful, authentic life. If you're looking for some way to leverage those resources to make a real difference in your profession or career and in your family and social life, you'll find it here. Check out The Frazzled Entrepreneur's Guide. Get involved in the Balanced Life Project. See what a difference you can make.
For whatever reason, people are afraid to take into consideration what they really want — as though it's not supposed to matter. Many trudge (sometimes quite happily) through life doing what they're 'supposed' to do. "Why," they may wonder, "do the same issues come up year after year with much change? After all," they surmise, "I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do!" Do you ever feel that way? If so, do you ever wonder if what you're doing is really what you are meant to do? Or, are you expending your personal (and family) resources doing what you assume that other people expect you to do? If you live a life that's inauthentic and out of alignment with your core principles, you can't avoid recreating the same issues over and over again. In effect, you've decided to to make them a permanent part of your daily life!
For years, I've heard people say over and over again how difficult it is to balance all the competing forces of their busy lives. I agree that it's not always simple or easy. However, it's far from impossible! In fact, the principles behind our Balanced Life Project are almost too obvious: perhaps so obvious that we have a tendency to overlook them! How about this one: "Don't waste your resources"? That's clear enough, isn't it? Yet, how many of us miss the fact that when we're doing things simply because we think other people expect us to do them, we're wasting our life resources? How much difference would it make to the way we live our lives if we were operate from our own inner drive rather than from an often-misplaced sense of duty?
Here's the question you need to ask yourself before you even start to think about making any new year's resolutions or facing another work performance review: "My life is OK as it is. Is 'OK' good enough for me?" If you can honestly answer "No" to that question, then the next question you need to ask yourself is, "What is getting myself out of this rut worth to me?" Think about it. Everything worth doing has some cost — but staying where you are has costs of its own, doesn't it?
I've dedicated my life to the study of the meaning of life from the point of view of philosophers and theologians, psychologists and sociologists. It's not my role to come up with a final answer; that's entirely up to you. What I can do is help you to develop the strategies you're going to need to discover and promote the meaning of your life. No matter what your age, status or stage in life, you have at your disposal the resources you need to live a meaningful, authentic life. If you're looking for some way to leverage those resources to make a real difference in your profession or career and in your family and social life, you'll find it here. Check out The Frazzled Entrepreneur's Guide. Get involved in the Balanced Life Project. See what a difference you can make.
