The Power of Words

Tom Petty said is well — “The Waiting is the Hardest Part“.  It’s also one of the most necessary —  and most prudent — parts.  Now mind you I’m not advocating a “sit on your backside and do nothing approach”.  You definitely need to take action if you’re ever going to make progress.  However, part of the action is to take the appropriate time to reflect, weigh the potential outcomes, and ensure that the decision you’re about to make is appropriate.

So while Mr. Petty is right about waiting being the hardest part, it’s good to remember that sometimes the best things are difficult.

 

Back to our old friend Mr. Webster today.  For realize he shares two alternatives:

• To become fully aware
• To cause something to happen

These two, in my mind, are directly tied together:

• The “become aware” side deals with the transition from ignorance to knowledge.  It’s that moment when you truly comprehend the situation you are faced with — “he realized the magnitude of the challenge in front of him”.
• The “cause something happen” side deals with the action steps that take place afterward —  “her actions allowed her to realize her dream”.

Realizing is about recognizing the situation you are faced with and having the resolve to take the necessary actions to get to the desired end state.  It’s rarely easy, but almost always worth the effort..

 

Credit for the topic today goes to my son Alex.  We were just chatting at 5:00 in the morning — me just getting going with my day, him still up after pulling an all night study session for his Calculus exam.  I told him I was about to start today’s post and asked if he had any ideas.  He suggested “envision” and that’s how we got here….

Steven Covey captured the essence of envision with his quote “All things are created twice.  First mentally, then physically”.  This one’s been with me for over 15 years and has proven invaluable.  For me, when I start to think about goals and objectives, I always envision the end state.  In the process of envisioning I try and include as many details as possible.  Details that register with all of my senses:  how it looks, how it sounds, how it feels, how it smells, how it tastes. The more that I can appeal to all of my senses, the more the envisioned future becomes real.  Recently I picked up a technique where I also try and incorporate my motivation for why I want to get to the envisioned future.  What’s my internal drive / why is the envisioned end state so important to me?  Combining these two elements — a clear mental picture that appeals to all senses and a solid understanding of the “why” behind the envisioned end state — helps to cement the mental image.  That in turn makes the physical manifestation of the end state much more likely.

 

 

It would be great if the stars were always aligned and you never had to deal with any situation involving conflict.  Unfortunately that’s not reality.  And you are going to have to face tough situations where conflict is involved.  Sorry, that’s just a fact of life that you need to recognize and accept.

At the risk of sounding like an “old guy” (which I’m closer to than a young guy with each passing day!), I would offer the following:

• When you are facing a situation that will involve conflict, address it quickly and decisively.  No amount of procrastination will either make the situation easier or make it go away.  Deal with it and move on.

Think about it for a minute.  Is a magical genie going to appear and grant you three wishes that will make the problem go away?  By NOT addressing the issue how much mental energy are you expending?  The reality is the pain of NOT acting is often greater than the pain OF acting to resolve the conflict.  Now mind you, facing the tough situation is normally neither pleasant or easy.  However, it IS necessary; AND, I would offer that the momentary pain experienced during the actual conflict is much less than the ongoing pain of avoidance.  Sometimes the medicine (conflict) is necessary if you would to improve your health (peace of mind).