Today, in fact this whole week, has been a fast flow of things to do. The sort of time when it is most important to remember to breathe. (That must be why one of my themes in aikido last night was pay attention to your breath, and what happens when you hold it - we teach what we wish to learn and remember.) So, writing for the blog this week has been a background thought. And, Judy and Ellen seem to be in the same place as no posts have surfaced from them either. It must be the alignment of the planets.
But, then, when all else fails, look in your inbox. Alia Crum, whom I am sure I have mentioned is a Ph.D. student at Yale, is developing the wonderful habit of sharing articles that she comes across that may be of interest to me. Since part of Ali's life right now is to study and research (sounds heavenly, doesn't it?!), she is accessing all sorts of great info.
Today she shared a post from the Yale School of Management on Integrated Leadership. The opening paragraph immediately caught my eye:
General George S. Patton dressed in all the regalia of a four-star general, complete with a chest full of metals and a Colt-45 sidearm with a monogrammed pearl handle. Mahatma Gandhi wore a simple cotton garment he spun himself and walked hundreds of miles to gather salt. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before hundreds of thousands of people and proclaimed a vision of justice that continues to resonate four decades later. And Steve Jobs debuted a computer named after a piece of fruit and challenged the forces of corporate darkness.
....the website page goes on to describe a course at Yale where students study these figures to better understand the kind of leadership necessary to operate large organizations, where executives never meet most of those affected by their decisions. I found the discussion a stimulating comparison of the leaders plus there are links to summaries of other weeks in the course being discussed.
Here is the link for your enjoyment.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A Quick Exercise in Creativity
Twyla Tharp, the famous choreographer, wrote a wonderful book called The Creative Habit which was published in 2003. I recently ran across it in my bookcase. It is a book filled with suggestions and processes for getting the creative juices flowing in your being presented against the backdrop of her fascinating career. Whether you are a writer, painter, choreographer, teacher, or manager, Twyla’s book can help you start to think outside that infamous box for solutions to your conflicts.
One exercise is so simple I have to mention it. Take a handful of coins and toss them on a table. Then work with the pattern made by the coins. Keep moving the coins around until you feel as sense of completion, congruity, satisfaction. It doesn’t matter whether you will use the design you just completed in a project. You have just allowed yourself to observe a situation and create a possible resolution. Simply stated, you have gotten yourself into a creative mode. Now, move on to the nagging problem you have been avoiding all week!
One more suggestion – as you turn your attention to that chronic conflict, remember to take a few deep breaths, stretch your body a bit, and then smile. That too will help get the creative juices flowing.
Judy Warner
One exercise is so simple I have to mention it. Take a handful of coins and toss them on a table. Then work with the pattern made by the coins. Keep moving the coins around until you feel as sense of completion, congruity, satisfaction. It doesn’t matter whether you will use the design you just completed in a project. You have just allowed yourself to observe a situation and create a possible resolution. Simply stated, you have gotten yourself into a creative mode. Now, move on to the nagging problem you have been avoiding all week!
One more suggestion – as you turn your attention to that chronic conflict, remember to take a few deep breaths, stretch your body a bit, and then smile. That too will help get the creative juices flowing.
Judy Warner
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Resolution
What supports you in being centered? A piece of music, a special place, reflecting on your purpose, or simply taking a few deep breaths? We all have activities, words, or visualizations that bring us to center.
Resolve on your birthdate, each month, to create time for an activity out of the ordinary which centers you — calling an old friend, visiting a museum, a visit to a spa. Whatever you choose, savor the experience and appreciate that nurturing yourself is a part of being centered.
For every man the world is as fresh as it was at the first day, and as full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them.
Thomas Huxley
Resolve on your birthdate, each month, to create time for an activity out of the ordinary which centers you — calling an old friend, visiting a museum, a visit to a spa. Whatever you choose, savor the experience and appreciate that nurturing yourself is a part of being centered.
For every man the world is as fresh as it was at the first day, and as full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them.
Thomas Huxley
Friday, July 4, 2008
Inner Freedom
"We hold these truths to be self-evident."
--Thomas Jefferson
Every July 4, we celebrate Independence Day in the U.S., commemorate our struggle to free ourselves from tyranny, and celebrate victory in the quest for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We remember the freedoms we normally take for granted and we appreciate our responsibility to honor, maintain, and clarify those freedoms every day.
Mostly these freedoms are associated with rights - the right to free speech, for example, or to worship freely, assemble peaceably, petition the government, and to due process of law.
I gratefully acknowledge these privileges and freedoms and, frankly, would do well to recognize them more often. And every July–every day actually–I think about other freedoms perhaps not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but freedoms nonetheless; freedoms I don't actually practice as much as I might.
I'm thinking of inner freedoms, quality of life options that have less to do with restraints by others and more to do with how I limit myself. These include but are (definitely) not confined to the freedom ...
To choose my attitude, even when I have no choice over the circumstances
To decide not to take things personally
To talk things out in difficult situations instead of holding back
To laugh when everything around me seems to be falling apart
To breathe
To smile
To center
To be curious
To see the good in people
To appreciate and be present in this moment
To live life purposefully and intentionally
To notice that I am, in fact, freer than I think I am to create meaning in my life
The United States Declaration of Independence is an amazing document.
What if we could use it as a template to create an inner declaration that frees us from self-imposed tyrannies, such as prejudice, arrogance, blame, and justification? A personal set of self-evident truths that protect us from our self-imposed limits–the shackles that cause us to struggle so and bring stress to those we love and work with everyday?
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido, said aikido is the art of peace, a way to practice freedom through compassion, wisdom, and fearlessness. If we use this definition, how free are you? And what holds you back?
Stop a moment. Breathe, center, smile, and return to freedom, the freedom that is always at your disposal and that only you can restrict.
--Judy Ringer
--Thomas Jefferson
Every July 4, we celebrate Independence Day in the U.S., commemorate our struggle to free ourselves from tyranny, and celebrate victory in the quest for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We remember the freedoms we normally take for granted and we appreciate our responsibility to honor, maintain, and clarify those freedoms every day.
Mostly these freedoms are associated with rights - the right to free speech, for example, or to worship freely, assemble peaceably, petition the government, and to due process of law.
I gratefully acknowledge these privileges and freedoms and, frankly, would do well to recognize them more often. And every July–every day actually–I think about other freedoms perhaps not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but freedoms nonetheless; freedoms I don't actually practice as much as I might.
I'm thinking of inner freedoms, quality of life options that have less to do with restraints by others and more to do with how I limit myself. These include but are (definitely) not confined to the freedom ...
To choose my attitude, even when I have no choice over the circumstances
To decide not to take things personally
To talk things out in difficult situations instead of holding back
To laugh when everything around me seems to be falling apart
To breathe
To smile
To center
To be curious
To see the good in people
To appreciate and be present in this moment
To live life purposefully and intentionally
To notice that I am, in fact, freer than I think I am to create meaning in my life
The United States Declaration of Independence is an amazing document.
What if we could use it as a template to create an inner declaration that frees us from self-imposed tyrannies, such as prejudice, arrogance, blame, and justification? A personal set of self-evident truths that protect us from our self-imposed limits–the shackles that cause us to struggle so and bring stress to those we love and work with everyday?
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido, said aikido is the art of peace, a way to practice freedom through compassion, wisdom, and fearlessness. If we use this definition, how free are you? And what holds you back?
Stop a moment. Breathe, center, smile, and return to freedom, the freedom that is always at your disposal and that only you can restrict.
--Judy Ringer
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Change Your Questions
It started out as an error. I was searching for a book by Marshall Goldsmith and failed to notice that while he had written the introduction for Change Your Questions, Change Your Life
Marilee Adams was the author of the book. But, nothing happens without a reason. And, those of you who have following this blog since its inception are aware of my love of good questions. So, it came as no surprise to me when I discovered my error that I had unconsciously chosen a book whose title was a natural for me.
Change Your Questions, Change Your Life is written as a fable. It makes for entertaining reading but, once again, as with Patrick Lencioni’s book which I discussed last week, the teachings are invaluable.
In the opening chapters Marilee writes that ‘the ability to intentionally shift our internal questions puts us in charge of our own thoughts.’ While following a fictitious manager who has been failing miserably in his job and his marriage as he is coached, Marilee teaches her model of asking questions in a simple, straightforward way. At the end she presents the model in its totality so the reader can begin to apply in his or her own life.
One of my favorite parts is a list of Learner vs. Judger Questions. While a judger may ask questions such as “What’s wrong?" “Who’s to blame?” or "How can I protect my turf?” a learner asks questions such as “What works?" "What are the facts?" and "What’s the big picture?" The entire concept of Learner vs Judger complements Tom Crum’s Discovery Model, introduced in The Magic of Conflict. Tom writes about the significance of a shift from ‘having to be right’ into a discovering mode. The two books, Magic of Conflict and Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, together make a great guide.
If you are looking for a quick read this summer whose teachings will apply well past the fall, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life as well as The Magic of Conflict.
Judy Warner
Marilee Adams was the author of the book. But, nothing happens without a reason. And, those of you who have following this blog since its inception are aware of my love of good questions. So, it came as no surprise to me when I discovered my error that I had unconsciously chosen a book whose title was a natural for me.Change Your Questions, Change Your Life is written as a fable. It makes for entertaining reading but, once again, as with Patrick Lencioni’s book which I discussed last week, the teachings are invaluable.
In the opening chapters Marilee writes that ‘the ability to intentionally shift our internal questions puts us in charge of our own thoughts.’ While following a fictitious manager who has been failing miserably in his job and his marriage as he is coached, Marilee teaches her model of asking questions in a simple, straightforward way. At the end she presents the model in its totality so the reader can begin to apply in his or her own life.
One of my favorite parts is a list of Learner vs. Judger Questions. While a judger may ask questions such as “What’s wrong?" “Who’s to blame?” or "How can I protect my turf?” a learner asks questions such as “What works?" "What are the facts?" and "What’s the big picture?" The entire concept of Learner vs Judger complements Tom Crum’s Discovery Model, introduced in The Magic of Conflict. Tom writes about the significance of a shift from ‘having to be right’ into a discovering mode. The two books, Magic of Conflict and Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, together make a great guide.
If you are looking for a quick read this summer whose teachings will apply well past the fall, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life as well as The Magic of Conflict.
Judy Warner
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