The Power of Words
Starting Each Day With A Little Thinking...Values
The idea of “values” is tossed around frequently in the workplace. Unfortunately folks often roll their eyes, sigh, and shake there heads when the topic comes up. Why is that?
As is often the case, taking a look at Mr. Webster’s good book can help us to gain some insight in to what’s behind the word. In fact, the answer jumps out at you as soon as you perform the search: when you search for “values” you end up directed to “value”. How ironic, that when we are searching for something that is difficult to intrinsically quantify we end up with a phrase that is all about assigning a tangible amount! That irony actually leads you to EXACTLY the heart of the matter — values ARE a reflection of what IS valued by an individual or an organization.
Back to the original “why is that?”. In my opinion, it’s because there is a disconnect between what folks see and what folks are told. People are pre-programmed with a wonderful BS detector that flags up inconsistencies in this area almost immediately. Further, that same “sensor” can cause internal discomfort when we get off track.
Are the things that you value consistent with your values?
As always, thanks for the time.
Focus
In today’s world we’re constantly bombarded with information and options. The rise of the internet, the increase in connectivity, and the prevalance of cell phones has resulted in a huge increase of the information that each of us is exposed to on a day to day basis. It can be overwhelming! Some folks advise that you “switch off”. Others fall in to the seductive trap of spending hours on line looking at content that is often of marginal quality.
For me, focus is the key. As long as I start the day with a clear picture in my mind of what I want to accomplish, establish time parameters around the required tasks, and march consistently through the tasks at hand, the end result is (normally!) positive. When I don’t lock in my focus, I get distracted, often wander aimlessly, and wonder where the day went.
What’s your focus at today?
As always, thanks for the time.
Friends
They come. They go. And all too often we wish we’d taken the extra time to let them know how much they mean to us.
Have you taken the time to say thanks to yours?
As always, thanks for the time.
Health
If you head over to Wikipedia and check out “health” you’ll find a very interesting definition from the World Health Organization (WHO) –from 1946 no less!:
“A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
All too often when we ask someone about their health, the conversation turns to the physical aches and pains. I’m a HUGE proponent of the “healthy body, healthy mind” concept and try and focus regularly on my physical well being.
However, as the WHO points out, there are two other critical dimensions that are required to be in a state of good health. Mentally you need to comfortable with the life choices that you make; and, socially, you need to make sure that you integrate with others in a manner that is comfortable for you. All too often people fail to take the time to assess these two critical dimensions.
So how’s your health?
As always, thanks for the time.
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