Change implementation

New year, new life. Right?

Not so. I have never heard stadistical data, but I am sure 90% of New Year's resolution does not pass the February limit. Probably more.

But, don't worry, you are not guilt for that. It's just a case of change implementation. Bad change implementation.

That is a whole subject in companies around the world and, in a way or another, in societies, families, political parties, etc. Change is happening all the time, but how to implement it in a way that minimizes the bad impact (losses mainly) and change resistence, and at the same time optimizes the benefits and change agents?

Here are a few points that can help you with those resolutions implemented in your life, or even other changes:

• Know very well the change you are going through. First weapon to really implement any change is knowledge. Most people go through change without really knowing what that means until it is too late, generating desistance or frustration.
• Know the change means to know where you are coming from and where you are going to. Sit quietly and think about your present and proposed future situation. Be honest with yourself in the first, but allow creativity to take over in the second. Understand the different states of yourself and what will be the impact of change in your life as a whole (personality, lifestyle, friendship, etc.).
• For the implementation, you have to think of how. Get a piece of paper and design the various possibilities to go from the present to that proposed future. Try to have as many details as you can without stressing you out.
• The others. Others matter, always matter. A simple exercise is to create a circle as big as your relationships are, it can be on paper, computer or even with plastilin. Now, put yourself in the center of the circle (a point will be enough, with your name or a different color). Think of every relationship in terms of closeness and their impact in your life, and position them just like you (but different enough so that you can make up who is who); the closer to you means not only closeness, but also impact in your life. After that, with post-it or something similar, write the impact of your change in their lives or in your relationship with that person.
• More... Create an itinerary, as if change would be just a trip. Don't forget fail-safes, in case change is not working (for instance, organize a meeting with your closest friends to talk about that and look for encouragement to make decisions). Study as much as you can. Enjoy as much as you can. Smile and laugh, whenever you can, and even when you cannot.

I think that will be helpful, but look at a future post on the changes in lifestyle, as that is an important element in any change you go through. Take care.

How to do it on time?

Time management is, for some, the most successful seminar in the world. At least, for the trainers, consultants, facilitators, teachers, professors, coaches, and the whole bunch of people who teaches, facilitates, and, well, you know it...

However, is it the most successful seminar for the participants?

As we saw in a former post (January 6th.), we are now "time jugglers", and I do feel no seminar, lecture or anything related to human development can solve the problem. It can help - and quite often it helps - but what is needed is something else.

First of all, all of us have to understand the real value of time and the meaning of each minute we pass. That requires reflection and contemplation - don't worry, it will be a time very well invested as at the extent we understand our own time we will use it in a wiser way.

Second, prioritization has to become something we cannot go without it. Many people just allow themselves to react when emergencies emerge, or according to a routine other people have planned to them. However, when we start to prioritize, we really become masters of our own time, we are able to make decisions that can impact our performance, relationships and even our self-esteem.

Third, a change in life style is needed so that the former points can work out their magic. There's one case I appreciate: Ricardo Semler and how he made an extreme decision in relation to his management style - time management was part of it. But, he needed to change his life style too, otherwise that won't work. Waking up early, creating limits to read emails or making up time to catch up with reading - all of that will influence, support and help understanding the value of time and how to prioritize.

Fourth, a constant dialogue with the self helps. It can happen via meditation, writing or simply sitting down so that we can refocus our life. Time management in times like these we are living is not only a procedure, it requires deep thought and deep actions so that we don't feel we are being drowned in a sea of time, but rather than that, we are enjoying the wonders time can make in our lives.

Doing all that and we can easily manage our social lives, where many people's time managements intersected, clash or never meet.

About 30...

You possibly know I am in a spiritual path, with the Brahma Kumaris. And I tell you: in my wild dreams, I couldn't imagine one day I would be following this path... I never even imagined I would be discovering what I really am, and that that discovery would take decades. On the 12th., it is came three decades.

What I have found about myself in all this time it has been a wonder. It was like a veil being removed and the truth being revealed. After a time when I believed I was good for nothing, the depth of this path has helped me to find out I am not only good for everything, I am excellent.

Yet, before that wonderful day when I started going through my path, I used to do... things. I've read the first five books of the Bible, and most of the Old Testament; particularly, I've never felt attraction for the New Testament. I read the Bhagawad Gita and a small book used in the Sei-Cho-No-Ie. I never stopped really believing in some spiritual aspects of life, like God or reincarnation, but they were not in the spotlight of my existence. I always believed that a new era was to come, and not only that but I researched on it, and yet that did not change the route of my life.

30 years in a different path, chosen by my own will and decisions, have made a powerful impression in my life, moulding it and transforming it completely. The first impact was - and still is - about the essence of who I am. Not the body, not the person who was educated in such a such a way, but a soul. A free and complete soul, with all its capacities and powers. In fact, from time to time I still discover more and more aspects about who I am. It is fascinating and challenging to see my life changing not because something else is doing it, but because I am doing it.

30 years in this path has enabled me to rebuild my relationship with God. I believe every human being is not only a child of God, but his or her link with God is eternal and imperishable. However, all of us can lose that link at some point, so getting whatever you receive from that turns to be impossible. That was my case; God was an unknown figure in my life. It was so incredible how easy He came back into it. How I have learned to talk to Him again and to experience that eternal link, that eternal love. Everyday, I talk to God. Everyday, He responds to me. It is not a side relationship, it is the core part of my life as it is.

30 years in this path and I have seen obstacles melt in front of my eyes. Things I couldn't imagine I would be doing, I am doing them easily now. Melt is perhaps not the right word - I faced the obstacles using what I am receiveing from this path: knowledge, inner power, a new understanding, wisdom and a network of people who is always there to support me. I feel I am always victorious, because even when something does not happen as it should, I still learn and change.

30 years... and I have you in my life. Somehow, you have entered and you are sharing my feelings and thoughts. I welcome you and I thank you as you are part of it. You have taught me many things and I am sure there are still things to share with you in this path. Hope you can come also to your path. If it is the same as mine, I will be pleased. If it is not, I will be curious and glad to know you have found it. Because I wish one day you will also be 30 years in this path of yours. Even more...

Ah, did I tell you I am also having my birthday...

Thank you to be there.

And I thank myself to have accepted this opportunity.

The time we begin...

Time is something that does not exist in itself, and yet it moves the world.

It is not easy to keep track of time, which is something that also takes time. Besides, there are activities that look like a lot of time was spent on them, while others seem to have lasted so little, and yet both have consumed the same amount of time in your watch.

At present, we are more like jugglers trying our best to not lose focus while having too many things to deal with. And the effect on the economy and the society as a whole?

It is not clear on how time, and the way we are using it now, is affecting economy or society. Time is invisible, but we can see employment, hospital and hotel occupation, etc. There are some signs of that effect:

• Time overlapping. By "overcrowding" yourself with activities you probably won't be able to fulfill at your maximum potential, you generate false expectations in your clients and providers, feeding into a chain of other people who are doing the same. An example of that is seeing when an economy starts to recover and people were already employed in something else. When they go back to their "proper" profession, they just letting all other jobs go, provoking salaries going up or down.
• Time misuse. That is a classic: a team is the favorite to get a golden badge in a competition, with all the training, good coach and good players. But the night before they go out to have fun, arrive pretty late and their bodies are unable to recover enough. SILVER! I think the effect at least on the society is obvious... less encouragement related to that sport, tendency is to get silver or even less next time, and the effect in the economy related to it cannot be overseen.
• Time freezing. There are many ways it happens. For instance, a student can "freeze" himself or herself in that student attitude, not looking for a job or trying to create a career. That means many skilled professionals don't come to the professional field by waiting for the "right moment".

How to solve this "time puzzle"? How to keep pace with the society and others' time, and yet avoiding a negative impact? See next post...