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To accomplish great things,
we must not only act,
but also dream;
not only plan,
but also believe.
Anatole France
 
Levels
of Accomplishment
Before we discuss
the factors that come into play that account for great accomplishment in life, let's discuss different level of accomplishment that an individual can accomplish at. From our
experience we have observed that there are 4 fundamental levels that an individual can accomplish:
Survival: One has a conscious or unconscious desire to remain at the current level of achievement in life.
No attempt is made
to rise above one's current achievement, nor is there an effort to raise one's own personal capacities. There's neither a
quantitative expansion at one's current level of life, let alone a qualitative movement to a potential higher level.
A real world example of accomplishment
at the level of survival is:
An instructor who has achieved a degree of success that keeps him comfortable, has a defined set of skills and has no desire, makes no effort, to acquire more work or perhaps even update his skills to be current to the present needs of his students.
Growth: Growth, is an expansion of one's current level
of achievement. i.e.
- Expanding knowledge in a
field or another field at the same level
- Earning more through greater
effort
are each expressions of growth. You're accomplishing
more, but it's more at the same level. It's a horizontal
expansion at the same level of capacity and achievement; i.e., an expansion
of one's current level of achievement.
To accomplish at the level of growth the instructor
would learn the latest versions of the current programs he is teaching and seek out work with other companies to teach the
same things he's been teaching in the past. He'd be aspiring for more of the same work.
Development: is an expansion to a higher level of achievement.
One may:
These are all expressions
of personal development. In all these instances you're accomplishing at a higher level, not merely more at the same level. This is a vertical expansion to a
new level of capacity and& achievement.
In our real world example
at the level of development our instructor could have:
- An aspiration
to teach whole new subjects that are outside of his normal curricula
- Make contact with new types
of clients so he can teach these courses
- Write a book on the topic
of this new area
- Decide
to more fully implement in his work a value that he already cherishes, such as the value that students should come away with real knowledge in his classroom, rather than mere satisfaction of the experience
Evolution: is an elevation of one's being to a whole new higher plane of consciousness and status
of being. i.e.
An emotional
individual could shift from the state where his desires and attachments predominate to becoming a person of more refined or higher emotions or move from being a predominantly emotional person to becoming a more mental and thoughtful person whose life shifts from one of emotional intensity to thoughtfulness. Perhaps the individual to acquiring spiritual capacities, such as the ability to experience knowledge as illuminations of light or intuition, or to find his personal evolving soul.
In these instances you're
accomplishing from a higher plane of consciousness than you were from before. It's a vertical
leap to a new plane of capacity and achievement; an elevation of one's being to a whole new higher
plane of consciousness.
In our real world example
of accomplishment at the level of evolution our instructor could:
- Change from being a person who competently performs his courses in an orderly and efficient manner to
an individual who's passionate about teaching and emotionally involved with his students.
- He may also develop whole
new theories of instruction based on his new level of consciousness, rather than merely being a teacher of existing ideas.
- His
overall attitudes toward his work have completely changed to the positive.
- He might move from emotional
interaction with students to a true knowledge; even utilizing spiritual methods as a foundation for his work.
Individual's Capacities and
Character
Accomplishment is
to a large extent determined by the individual's capacities, which in total are demonstrated in life as the person's character.
Our
individual capacities in life are made up a combination of a number of factors including:
-
Our skills and knowledge in the world
-
Our
attitudes about ourselves, others and things
-
-
Our
endowments (such as the role our parents played in motivating us and what
they provided us and the influence of the society we live in)
-
Our personal values (such
as a belief in being practical or being results-oriented)
Together these
skills, knowledge, attitudes, attributes and values constitute our capacities to function in the world.
The degree to which
we have them determines our abilities to accomplish in life. Any
effort to improve ourselves in any of these areas will surely go a long way to improving our ability to accomplish in life.
Results,
accomplishment, success in life are determined by the right intensities of these aspects of our being.
Below are some
lists of sample factors that determine our capacities and character in life. The factors are grouped into 5 categories:
-
-
attributes
-
skills
-
endowments
-
Review the
lists and determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
Pick out a few
factors within each of the categories that you think you might be lacking in and think about how you can uplift yourself by making an improvement in those areas.
Then come up with
a real plan to improve yourself in that area.
Carry out
the plan with great determination. You're sure to see great improvements in your life, including greater accomplishment, achievement, success and happiness.
*Note: Some items one cannot readily improve
on, especially one's endowments, because they may have taken place in the past or other impossibility. One can perhaps still
learn to compensate, such as changing an emotional problem left over from the past.
Example Let's
then turn to the instructor and note his positive and negative capacities to accomplish. On examination we determine that he is:
- intelligent
- creative
- resourceful
- diligent
- faithful
- cheerful
- has goodwill
- is sincere and frank
- has aspirations for improvement
These tendencies
will help in his initiatives for accomplishment.
On the other hand,
he can be:
- close-minded
- aloof
- hunger for attention
- be unresponsive to opportunities that appear
- be lacking in physical energy
In summary, the cumulative
capacity, energy and force of being, i.e. character, largely determines one's ability to accomplish
in life.
One can at any
time make the effort to improve in any of these areas, especially where one is lacking, which will surely dramatically increase
one's abilities to achieve and succeed in life.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: Examine the factors above and pick 1 or 2 items in each category where you THINK you're lacking. Then make the sincere, concerted and unflagging effort to improve yourself in that area; in any aspect of your work, career, or other parts of
your life.
You are allowed to have fun once in awhile! click here to play around with what people have accomplished
at a certain age!
Creating a Sense of Accomplishment
by Kevin Stacey
Š 2003 TrainRight, Inc.
http://www.time-stressmanagement-training.com/
One of the biggest producers
of stress is going to bed feeling like you accomplished nothing all day but spin your wheels. Anxiety is sure to arise after an unproductive day where tasks are beginning to accumulate. When that
happens, it's almost impossible to relax and shut off the world for the night.
On the other hand, when we
end the day with a sense of accomplishment, we can exhale, breathe deeply, relax and sleep soundly. Our minds are free to focus on other pursuits and we wake up feeling re-charged, in balance and ready to face another day.
By implementing a few simple
time management strategies, you can create a sense of accomplishment
every day, no matter how often you are interrupted or side-tracked by other people:
- Divide your daily activities list into 2 columns: offensive and defensive. The
items on the offensive side of the column are tasks on your to-do list.
They may be projects with a looming deadline, or they may be usual, predictable activities. The items on the defensive side of the column are reactionary tasks, such as responding to crises, interruptions,
voice-mails and e-mails. Your lists will vary greatly according to your industry and how much autonomy you have in
planning your day and allocating your time.
- Review your list of offensive items.
Ask yourself, "What is one task that I can complete today, or make significant progress towards completing, that will make
me feel better about myself, my day, my job, or my work ethic? What achievement would make this day a success?" This task may not be the one you want to do. In fact, it may be the one you have been procrastinating on the most.
- Commit to spending a defined amount of focused time on the item you selected. If it’s
realistic to complete the entire task that day, firmly resolve to work on it for the entire day until it's finished. If it’s
a long-term project that you can’t realistically complete in a day’s time, give it a minimum of one hour. Spending an hour on offense is an hour more than nothing!
No matter how much time you allocate, make sure you fulfill the commitment. Use a stopwatch to time yourself and turn it off every time you get interrupted. You'll quickly see how fast your
offensive work becomes defensive reacting.
- If you can, leave your workstation and "hide" in an empty cubicle
or conference room. If you’re uncomfortable saying no to others and cutting off interruptions at the start, try working in a place where you can’t be interrupted
during your offensive time. If that’s not possible, turn off the phone, close the door, shut
down your email or put on headphones to give yourself some uninterrupted work time. When you have to push others away in order
to get your work done, remind yourself that this will help you relax tonight and feel like your day was a success.
Almost everyone can go on
the offensive for at least some part of the day. Some of us may have to arrive earlier or stay later when there's no one else
around.
Others may have to take more
drastic measures like making themselves scarce in an alternative location, or directly telling co-workers, "I’m trying
something different and I’m not going to be available from 10-11 am. Thanks in advance for your support."
Many people will feel some
initial discomfort when they stop acting defensively and start proactively managing their time. But remember,
it’s only when the pain of the old way supercedes the discomfort of the new way that change happens. However, if nothing changes nothing changes. So, what are you going to change?
About the Author: Kevin
Stacey helps companies & professionals achieve maximum productivity and effectiveness thru stress management & time
management training. He's available to speak on these topics. For more information visit http://www.TrainRightInc.com or call 1-800-603-7168.
Š 2003 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as
the paragraph above is included & contact information is provided to reprint@TrainRightInc.com Thank you.
The Art Of
Accomplishment: A
Practical Approach To Achieving Success In The 21st
Century Prasad Kaipa, Ph. D., The Mithya
Institute for Learning
Success is seductive and addictive.
Once we succeed in anything, we want to repeat it, some times, at any cost. Over a period of time, we may find ourselves focusing
only on results while not making corrections based on our previous experience.
When we can learn from our
failures, invent and create new products and services that take into account our capability as well as the market needs, we not only become successful but also feel accomplished and maybe, even fulfilled.
As the product cycle times
become shorter and shorter, organizations will be hard pressed to continue to innovate new products and market them in a successful way. For innovation to occur in a repeatable and predictable way, companies have to pay attention to building capacity in both the organization and its people.
When people are passionate, they don't need external reasons to do what they want to do. They begin to tap into their intrinsic motivation and live to fulfill their own dreams and aspirations that intersect the organizational vision and aspiration.
Hence, In the 21st. century,
the word 'success' has to include a feeling of accomplishment and a sense of
fulfillment to repeat itself.
Organizations, focusing on
becoming successful on a repeatable basis, have to concentrate on building capacity, competence and collective intelligence in
the system in addition to hiring people with suitable knowledge and skills.
The article 'Building competence
and capacity in 21st century organizations' (you can get a copy of it by e-mailing the
author) addresses competence and capacity development from a larger perspective.
This article is intended to give suggestions and principles for the readers to apply in their own lives and organizations. We discuss 6 key core competencies
that need to be developed in people and organizations that brings a feeling of accomplishment which,
in turn, will drive successl.
Hence we call this article the art of accomplishment.
About
6 years ago, I began to think about how self-mastery or personal mastery (one of the 5 disciplines Peter Senge addresses
in his book "The Fifth Discipline") is the key to accomplishment and how
the organizational equivalent of self-mastery is never addressed by anyone.
Since
that time, I've been exploring the role of capacity and competence building, organizational intelligence, tacit
and explicit knowledge of organizations and their interrelationships.
Finally,
this article emerged in a conversation with Chris Newham in June 1996. Here when we address accomplishment,
it's equally applicable to organizations as well as individuals.
You can also read another article that elaborates
on the same 6 components of accomplishment but connects it to individual and leadership more directly. That article also explores how we arrived at the 6 principles described in
this article and connects them to wisdom literature from India.
Chris and I use
a particular process to engage with each other that allows us to simultaneously come from a systemic perspective and detail
that's required for us to take immediate action.
We started with
identifying 4 key cornerstones for accomplishment and
settled with:
- capacity
- competence
- intelligence
- knowledge and skills
We examined each
of our assumptions around the 4 cornerstones and made sure that those are distinct and still
connected with each other and are necessary ingredients for accomplishment.
Then we examined
interrelationships between 2 cornerstones at a time and we came up with key phrases or words
that satisfactorily describe the connections.
Then we examined
the interrelationships between 3 cornerstones at a time and identified words or phrases
that included and transcended the connection.
At that time we
created what we call a 3 dimensional 'pyramid' which, mathematically, is a tetrahedron. This 'pyramid building process' allows
us to explore our collective knowledge and generate a shared meaning and a language to describe our discovery.
[This
process has been used effectively to create a systemic model (literally a 3-D model) that incorporates different view points
and bridges paradoxes and contradictions in the group for Boeing, Pacific Bell, Xerox, Mastek and Ford].
You can look at and
print pyramids and articles that use pyramids by selecting pyramids section of this website.
We identified 6 core competencies,
that when mastered, can enable us to bring accomplishment to bear. Those are:
- Clarity of intention
- Awareness of what's going on around you
- Empathy for one another
- Appreciation for one another and for what you received
- Stretching beyond your own
limits
- Letting go of what doesn't work and old mindsets
Let us explore each of the core competencies in more detail.
Clarity of Intention
Most of us know, at some level, what we're going for. Many a time, though, we don't have
a clarity of our goal. Or our deeper intention behind our actions and goals isn't clearly understood or prioritized.
In those circumstances, many times, we end up compromising our efforts and that's never a satisfactory solution.
It may be important for us to ask ourselves the following questions to gain clarity:
- What is it that I'm going after?
- How important is it for me and what am I willing to give up to achieve it?
- If I have more than one intention, which one should I go after first?
- What am I really curious about?
- What motivates me?
These questions bring
to surface some of our assumptions and help us prioritize our actions before we initiate them. If all things are equal, we
should go after what gives us energy and what we're really curious about to explore and learn.
Without a crystal clear intention, we rarely experience a sense of accomplishment even
if our intentions are fulfilled. Once we know what we're going after, we can build a team or work with the team members to focus on what they bring to help
us accomplish our goals.
Of course,
to work together effectively, clear intention alone isn't enough we need to be aware of what's currently going on and build an empathetic partnership with one another.
Organizations have to examine their strategic intent regularly and see whether they're moving in that direction. Hamel and Prahalad discuss how strategic intent is the key and once we have the key, we can examine our core competencies that allow us to fulfill the organizational intent.
Without this step, companies will be continuously examining what they can do with their core competencies
and never move ahead competitively.
Awareness of what surrounds you
We don't live in a vacuum
either personally or organizationally. I'm conditioned by my family, my culture and I'm continually being shaped by the environment
that I live in.
I use the word 'environment'
to include everything that's outside of me and that could influence me. The more I become conscious of what is influencing
me, the more I can exercise my judgment and choice.
I can choose to change my intentions if the environment doesn't allow for it to happen or move to another supportive environment where I could fulfill my intentions.
If I'm not even aware of my surroundings and their influence, my intention alone can't carry me through to accomplishment.
Let us see how this applies to organizations.
IBM is trading its stock on Dow Jones. IBM stock may drop along with other technology stocks if the index itself is dropping.
IBM's
stock may gain if the index itself is going up even though IBM itself hasn't done anything to affect its stock
price. So one can say that IBM operates in a 'field' (technology stocks & even the
Dow Jones index) and the more we become aware of that field, the better IBM can respond to what is going on.
To
be successful, a company needs to be continually be aware of what's going on with its customers, competitors and its employees. When my company is aware of my customer needs, how other employees feel, how the market's responding to our competitor's product, there's more of a chance
for us to come up with a successful product.
We have
to remember though, awareness is about now - not about yesterday or about tomorrow. If not, I may end up building services based on yesterday's needs (market has moved beyond my service offerings) or tomorrow's aspirations
(market isn't yet ripe for my product).
In the personal context, awareness without empathy could lead to arrogance and could be a foundation for breakdown in relationships. We feel valued when we receive the gift of deep listening when somebody else is aware of our situation.
Empathy for one another
Awareness and sensitivity are the foundation for empathy and mutual respect.
When I begin to be sensitive to body language, the unsaid and motivation behind, that might allow me to inquire further. Once I'm sensitive to where you are and what you want, in other words be open, I begin to see new possibilities that I haven't seen before.
Openness, mutual respect and trust are ingredients for a lasting relationship and of course, for a meaningful conversation.
Deep listening, not just to the words but the meaning behind the words, is the foundation for empathetic relationship. When I can empathize with you for the decisions you made, (even those decisions that affect me directly)
it's possible for us to learn from each other and work together towards a common goal.
Empathy, I found, begets more empathy and is the source of a creative partnership.
Passion, while extremely important to accomplishment, can also make us blind. Empathy comes from the heart and engages w/the spirit of the relationship. Empathy is the seat of passion and when mastered, leads to compassion.
Acknowledgment is a path to demonstrate empathy. It's important to let you know that I noticed what you did and such acknowledgment brings each other to higher state of functionality and vice versa.
When you acknowledge me, I become more sensitive to noticing what I can acknowledge in you. It builds a deeper relationship when it is done authentically. To be authentic, I have to become sensitive to what's going on around you. As you can see, it goes in a circle.
What does empathy mean in an organizational setting? How can one establish partnerships with customers, stockholders and suppliers without
empathy?
Appreciation for each other and what you receive
It's always easy for us to
find fault with each other and see what's missing or wrong. Unfortunately, focusing on what doesn't work only leads to unleashing failure around us.
Research has found that catching
somebody doing mistakes leads them to make more mistakes whereas catching them doing something right encourages them to be right more often.
Appreciating a person boosts their morale and makes them feel good that somebody is paying attention to them and hence they continue to do what brought them appreciation in the first place.
Unfortunately,
most often, we grow up discovering our limits by being told what not to do and what doesn't work more than being encouraged to explore what's possible.
We have to 'unlearn' our patterns
of identifying what doesn't work and intentionally concentrate on appreciating what works however minute that may be.
Appreciative inquiry, developed by Case Western Reserve University researchers, is being hailed as a powerful methodology for organizational development as it's producing results where none were expected.
Cooperrider,
the main proponent of appreciative inquiry methodology, is discovering that appreciative inquiry works in diverse cultures, diverse organizations and boosts energy of the participants and interviewers.
I can only appreciate others to the extent that I appreciate myself. So appreciation is also about self acceptance. We rarely appreciate who we are and what we receive because of our conditioned expectations.
It's possible for us to come
from an attitude of 'never enough' and such attitude is quite transparent to others even though we might be blind to it ourselves.
By the
way, appreciation doesn't mean that one should accept everything and everybody and be inauthentic about it. Inauthentic appreciation is picked up very quickly by others and it damages relationships instead of building them.
Authentic appreciation, on the other hand, allows people to go beyond their own limits.
Stretching beyond your own
limits: We operate mostly in 2 modes:
- creative mode
- the 'take it easy' mode
Many people are quite comfortable with who they are and what they got and never explore beyond their own comfort zone. In such cases, they may never discover their personal boundaries and depend on others to tell what their boundaries are and don't participate in anything that makes them uncomfortable.
We can operate as catalysts
with each other to identify our self-imposed limits and examine the appropriateness of those limits in he current context.
Curiosity, empathy and appreciation provide the impetus for people to engage in an activity that is personally challenging and hopefully, discover their own untapped potential.
Such exploration can only
be done in supportive environments and appreciative relationships. While nobody can change anybody else, an empathetic, appreciative person who is aware of my circumstances will definitely make me think again about my mindset and I'd be willing to stretch a bit beyond my comfort zone to explore what is out there.
Letting go of what doesn't work and old mindsets
While 'unlearning' is a more appropriate word for the new millennium, it also raises our antennas regarding what to
unlearn.
Letting go is, in that context, a very powerful competence to develop. Letting go is equivalent to giving up.
It's continuing to engage
in the game without worrying about the results. The best example I can think about comes from basket ball NBA finals this year.
When Chicago Bulls led 3-0
over Seattle Sonics, Sonics didn't give up. They let go of the focus on the results and played to win the next 2 games. Of course, Bulls won it 4-2 but Sonics were respected a lot for their fighting spirit.
At that
time, they had to play for being in the game and not for winning (letting go of the intention of winning NBA title). When combined with a clarity of intention, deep listening, awareness and appreciation, letting go is a natural next step.
Even though I came with a
strong intention, I should be willing to move on to what works gracefully and let go of my old mindset. Otherwise, I'd be left with resentment and anger or frustration instead of accomplishment.
A good,
creative person knows what to hold on and what to let go and when to do what.
Letting go is also about flexibility and good judgment. When I know what to let go, I can take responsibility for what I can hold onto. When I don't have the freedom to let go, I can't take accountability for anything. Unless we learn to be flexible, it's going to be difficult to compete in the 3rd
Millennium.
These 6 competencies are a
good beginning and give you a sense of accomplishment
though they may not necessarily include all you need to be successful all the time.
While we may think that just by knowing about these competencies, we pick them up, it requires awareness and periodic self-inquiry on our part to make these part of our lives.
One approach I use is to ask myself
the following questions and reflect on them. The questions are:
- What core competencies do I have right now?
- What core competencies am I currently interested in developing?
- What structures and practices am I willing to set up to help
me develop those competencies?
- What is the best way you can give me feedback so that I can
listen to you?
In addition
to self reflection, I also find it useful to become part of a group or support community that's also interested in developing these competencies.
In a community
each of us can develop, assess and give each other feedback regarding the progress and it's a lot more fun to learn together.
Through regular practice, you begin to notice that not only competence has gone up but your capacity to act also has been
impacted.
In addition, you begin
to discover that your ability to accomplish has shifted into high gear.
Bringing
Accomplishment into Your Life
Accomplishment
is about results and a sense of completion and sometimes a feeling of fulfillment. I like to imagine accomplishment as a cyclical process and the cycle has the following
components shown in the following diagram.
Accomplishment cycle has 4 components:
- passion
- possibility
- creativity
- discovery
All the 4 components play
a role in keeping the accomplishment cycle turning. I gain insights into myself whenever I use questions to reflect with and to see what I'm caught up with and how I could explore other components of
accomplishment:
- Which word attracts me the
most on the accomplishment cycle?
- What do I see as blocks to
moving through the accomplishment cycle?
- What am I /my team passionate about right now? What do I /my team have energy for, or get excited about, right now?
- What new
possibilities do I see that I/my company can take advantage of?
- What will unleash creativity
for me? What creative actions and generative steps that I can take to
ground one possibility in my life/work?
- How do I reflect on my discoveries? And did any of my discoveries stimulate more passion for me?
Connecting Accomplishment Cycle To Core Competencies
Whenever I have difficulty
with my passion, I begin to pay more attention to the cornerstone 'Intelligence.' Passion sometimes blinds me and I have to work hard on paying attention
to what's going on and to listen to what others are saying.
In addition, whatever I'm
passionate about, I should be willing to let go to really be open to other alternatives.
So Intelligence can be brought
to passion when I develop and use the following core competencies:
Whenever I feel stuck while working on a problem and don't see many possibilities or options to take action, I begin to question my Competence. In other words, even if I see many possibilities, if I don't feel competent to explore them and
build on them, none of those possibilities ever become a reality, at least in my life.
As I practice the core competencies,
I'm learning to focus on what my intention is and become clear about it, listen and pay attention to others on the team and be willing to go outside my comfort zone and these steps seem to help me see more choices and possibilities. So Clarity of Intention, Empathy and Stretching are closely connected with the development of personal Competence.
There are times when I go
in a circle and have difficulty coming up with creative alternatives. Then I pay attention to my current Skills and Knowledge base and see whether I can update them. If I can't implement my own creative ideas, then
who else can?
So I need prior experience and knowledge of the subject matter to see whether ideas I come up with are worth following up and may result in an invention. While developing Skills and Knowledge, I found concentrating on the following
core competencies help immensely: Clarity of Intention, Appreciation and Letting Go.
Discovery is closely connected with Capacity in the system. Whenever capacity is lacking in my workplace, we're overwhelmed and overworked and don't have time to reflect and see the validity of our actions. We might come up with creative ideas but rarely put them
into practice because we have no time or resources.
When we become aware of what surrounds us and listen to our customers, employees and stockholders with appreciation and stretch to fulfill their needs, we find that discovery and capacity are happening together.
Following core competencies
build Capacity in the system: Awareness, appreciation and stretching. You can see that the 6 core competencies from the first section are closely
connected with success and mastering the art of accomplishment.
Finally, till the fear and helplessness is removed from the organization, it isn't possible to bring accomplishment into it.
Desperation makes the brain downshift to fight or flight mode and that mode is only useful for survival
and not accomplishment. You can't build accomplishment
on the foundation of people's fears.
While we did discuss some of these issues in Building Capacity &
Competence in 21st Century Organizations & Creativity, Empowerment & Leadership articles, I do plan to address fear
& helplessness issues in detail at some other time.
I thank Chris Newham for his partnership & the ideas in this article
are a reflection of many conversations w/him. Paul Gleiberman & Annabel Jinkins read both the drafts & gave me valuable
suggestions: Thank you!
Prasad Kaipa is the founder & the managing director of the Mithya
Institute for Learning & Knowledge Architecture.
Accomplishments - Did We or Didn't
We? - By Miami Phillips
Does
it sometimes seem like no matter how hard you work, little gets done? It does to me.
Last
week it seemed like every time I looked around we were either having to redo something or some new semi-crisis would
present itself. All work towards building the barn got put on hold to fix a broken water main.
The leveling
had to wait to get the laundry sink finished. The sink couldn't be done until the new water shutoff was installed. I have
to admit…I was frustrated. However, as always, something happens to remind us that there's always another side to the story!
Friends who had been visiting professed envy because we seemed to get so much accomplished! Then that conversation somehow got on the
internet email chat board used by our home-schooling group.
Messages
were being sent back & forth about how good the Phillips family was at getting things done! Here was another wake up call
for us. We realized how grateful we were for this reminder that although it may not seem like it, all the baby steps add up to some mileage down the road!
As a coach/consultant to a residential building company, I am involved this week in a mission
/ vision seminar for the management group of 10 people. One of the exercises we did first was to list the accomplishments of the last year on an easel tablet & post them on the wall.
By the time
the group had finished, there were 6 pages of accomplishments! The positive change in the atmosphere of the room was measurable! Simply by spending the time to look back & take stock of what had been
accomplished gave this group a feeling of pride & ownership in what they had done.
We all need to do this exercise on a regular basis. Simply take the time to gather your family,
or your work group together. Provide everyone with writing tools and paper and ask them to list all the accomplishments that
they can think of over the last year, half year, month - whatever time frame you choose. Time the exercise so that there is
a sense of urgency - say 5-10 minutes; then go around and have each person read one or two items from their list out loud
until the list is as complete as possible.. Write the list on a board or easel so everyone can see it. These accomplishments
can be individual or group. The list can include individual growth, overcoming obstacles, physical projects completed or started
or anything else you might be proud of doing.
Post the list in a conspicuous place for
a while. Celebrate your success!
additional definitions
auˇthenˇtic
adj.
- Conforming to fact & therefore
worthy of trust, reliance, or belief: an authentic account by an eyewitness.
- Having a claimed & verifiable origin or authorship;
not counterfeit or copied: an authentic medieval sword.
further reading concerning being authentic.....
comˇpeˇtence
n.
-
- The state or quality of being
adequately or well qualified; ability. See Synonyms at ability.
- A specific range of skill, knowledge, or ability.
Competence is a combination of knowledge, skill,
understanding, ability, application, behavior, aptitude, attitude & performance
deˇciˇsive
adj.
- Having the power to decide; conclusive.
- Characterized by decision & firmness; resolute.
- Beyond doubt; unmistakable: a decisive defeat.
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- is ambitious
- isn't self-satisfied with current
achievement
- has faith in life, in one's self, in others
- is enthusiastic
- has pleasant manners, good behavior
- is cheerful, friendly
- is giving, generous
- has positive relations with others, good will toward others, works well with others, is respectful of others
- is sincere, honest, trusting
- is faithful
- is expansive, open-minded, is able to think out of the box
- is willing to do what life offers, requires
- takes responsibility
- is self-motivated
(doesn't require social approval)
- gives others freedom to act
- is patient
- isn't irritable
(Personal Note: As I researched, read, studied and absorbed the information on this page, accomplishment took on a new meaning for me. Personally
in recovery myself from life trauma, anxiety disorders and depression, (7 years now) the "light came on" for me bright and clear. In these attributes, each one
of them, comes accomplishment in developing each of the attitudes above as well as, the attributes below. If you can say that you're patient, i.e., that's a huge accomplishment to recognize and acknowledge within yourself and celebrate about.
Recognizing each small accomplishment will encourage you to take on the next challenge. In accomplishing the development of trust, the practice of complete honesty with your own self and others and the ability to motivate yourself as well as any of the above attitudes and the attributes below, comes personal growth and ability to take on the greater challenge of accomplishing the ultimate goal you strive to achieve.
Recognize each small accomplishment in a positive manner, for each small accomplishment leads to victory in the end.)
attributes
- can conceive the future, has vision
- has degree of idealism, developed values
- has clarity of goals
- can organize a plan
- is organized in general
- takes initiatives
- is clear headed
- delegates when necessary
- has capacity to lead, manage others
- is punctual, regular, reliable
- has abundant energy
- has robust health and constitution
- has strong nerve, is psychologically strong
- has capacities and willingness
for hard work, make full efforts
- is determined, decisive
- has great stamina, perseverance, courage, sees things through
- is practical, prudent, not reckless, not naive
- is curious
- is aware of opportunities
- is dynamic, enterprising, resourceful, creative
skills
- has excellent skills in unique areas;
exceptional talent in a sphere
- has necessary technical, interpersonal & psychological
skills
- has capacity to judge others
endowments
- parents, grandparents educated, well to do, had significant
occupation or achievement
- had affectionate upbringing
- has had previous success in school, family life
- has supportive personal environment
- education greater than previous generation, than
present levels of achievement
- in field that is expanding rapidly
Develop A Clear Vision
by Brian Tracy
The one quality that all leaders have in common is that they have a clear & exciting vision for the future. This is something that only the leader can do. Only the leader can think about the future & plan for the future each day.
Excellent leaders take the time to think thru & develop a clear picture of where they want the organization to be in 1, 3 & 5 years.
Leaders have the ability to communicate this vision in such a way that others "buy in" & eventually see the vision as belonging to them.
Motivate People to Give of their Best
It's the vision of the future possibilities,
of what can be, that arouses emotion & motivates people to give of their best. The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at & described in terms of values & mission rather than quantitative, which is
described in terms of money & numbers.
Money is Important
Of course, money is important, but the decision & commitment to "be the best in the business" is far more exciting.
Keep Your Cool
Another key
to leadership success is for you to "keep your cool." A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies
look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer.
The study concluded
that the 2 most important qualities required for great success were, 1st, the ability
to put together & function as part of a team. Since all work is ultimately done by teams & the managers' output is
the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility & finally, get the job done, was central to success in management.
Practice - Patience is Everything
The 2nd quality
required for rapid promotion was found to be the ability to function well under pressure & especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience & self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.
People are Watching
The character
& quality of a leader is often demonstrated in these critical moments under fire, when everyone is watching, observing
& privately taking notes.
As Rudyard Kipling
once said, "If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs & blaming it on you, then the world's yours & all that's in it."
Your job as a leader is to have a clear vision of where you want to go & then to keep your
cool when things go wrong, as they surely will.Action
Exercises Here
are 2 things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:
1st,
project forward 3 - 5 years & imagine your ideal future vision. What does it look like? What steps can you take immediately to begin turning your future vision into your
current reality?
2nd, resolve in advance that, no matter what
happens, you'll remain calm & cool. You'll not become upset or angry. You'll take a deep breath & focus on the solution rather
than on the problem.
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Accomplishment
Spiritual accomplishment means:
Your are fully centered in your spiritual identity
You know yourself as a child of God
The present is fully experienced, the past completely finished
and the future clearly understood.
Spiritual accomplishment is received from God
A distracted intellect will not be able to turn towards God,
& receive
It will be too busy thinking, "How?" & "Why?"
& turning to the world for understanding,
which only serves to divert the intellect, even
more
It's a lack of faith
which destroys spiritual progress
So don't be distracted: rather,
Tolerate & preserve
And you'll be able to receive everything that God is giving.
Value Formation & Education
Accomplishment
by an individual in any field of activity depends on the level of skill which the person has acquired.
Skill converts
physical energy into useful productive force for achievement. Before the advent of public education & vocational training,
individual skills were limited to what could be acquired from the family, by long apprenticeship & thru personal experience.
Opportunities for
the individual were similarly restricted by the limited access to skills thru these means. The formalization of curricula enabled society to impart much higher levels of skill to
many more people (e.g. mechanics, engineering, medicine, etc.) thereby
geometrically increasing the opportunities for individual accomplishment & the general
social progress.
Accomplishment
in any field also depends on the attitudes, understanding, decisiveness & values with which the individual acts.
The simple act
of writing depends not only on the physical skill for forming letters & words, but also the attitude of the writer toward the act of writing, the subject matter & the readership. It depends on the writer's understanding
of the subject & decision to communicate.
In addition
it depends on the values with which the writer performs the act of writing. Physical values such as cleanliness & orderliness determine the neatness of the writing & sequence of thoughts. Social values determine how tactfully the writer communicates his message.
Psychological
values such as patience, honesty & humility determine how both the author & the message are received & interpreted. Without the necessary attitude, understanding, decisiveness & values, the act of writing has minimal effect.
Every act
in every field has its own requirements for accomplishment. All these elements are needed in order for the act to lead to accomplishment & fulfillment. Carrying on a discussion requires not only:
Without these other
elements, speaking one's thoughts has minimal effect & can often be counterproductive.
The more
complex, sophisticated & significant the act, the greater is the importance of
these elements in determining its outcome. The act of selling, winning an election, managing an organization, negotiating
an agreement, or leading a group depend more for their success on the person's values, attitudes & decisiveness than on the skills which the individual possesses. Every successful person exhibits these qualities. Every failure lacks them in some measure.
Formal education
& training programs focus almost exclusively on imparting physical, social & mental skills. They place very little
conscious emphasis on the attitudes, the mental understanding & decisiveness & the psychological
values needed for these skills to result in accomplishment & fulfillment.
Therefore,
the overall effectiveness & accomplishments of the individual & the society are
extremely limited compared to the opportunities that are available. If the requirements for success in each field of life are analyzed, most people would be found
possessing only 25% of what's required for high achievement. Thus, the scope for improving personal effectiveness is enormous.
Values represent
the highest & most powerful individual capacity for accomplishment. As skills direct the use of physical energy, values direct the use of the psychological energy of the personality. Therefore the highest levels of
individual & social accomplishment demand very high values.
It's possible
to evolve a formal curricula that does impart the values, attitudes, understanding & decisiveness necessary for achievement & personal fulfillment. In order to do so, it's necessary to fully understand the process of value
formation & the ways in which values are acquired.
concerning attitude:
"Attitude drives accomplishment - Reverence for knowledge, openness to new ideas, flexibility to adapt, and capacity to work with people from other cultures are all assets for regional wealth
creation. In countries such as Ireland this attitude is deeply rooted in the culture and it is rewarding them. In countries such as Germany, where the cultures have not been
as open and entrepreneurial, there is a growing recognition that a societal attitudinal change is necessary."
Engaging the Soul of America
An Introduction
From the standpoint
of spiritual perception, a country is a living being, a field of collective energy that possesses a unique consciousness. Like us, it has an emergent nature & a transpersonal nature.
On the one hand,
it has characteristics that arise from the geography & ecologies that exist within its boundaries & from the energy of that land; likewise, it emerges from the thoughts & feelings of its inhabitants & their dreams, visions, hopes, history, myths & actions.
These 2 might be
thought of as the body & the psyche of the country respectively.
However,
the country as a being is more than just the sum total of all its environmental & human parts. It also has a larger wholeness
that emerges from its connections with the sacred & with the world as a whole & draws its existence from spiritual realms. This is the transpersonal aspect, which might be thought of as the spirit of the country.
Spiritual Destiny
This transpersonal
aspect embodies as well the country’s spiritual destiny. When we think of this, we may imagine an objective or goal, what a country is destined to become, the role it is intended to fulfill, or the tasks it must accomplish.
In other words,
“destiny” may be equated with “destination.” Spiritual perception suggests, though, that spiritual destiny may be better understood as a seed-presence - a “will-to-serve” - that
unfolds & expresses as the unique contributions & spiritual energy which that country & its people have to offer
to the world & its wellbeing.
It might be
thought of more as “talent” than as “goal.” It represents what this particular pattern of land, nature & humanity uniquely embodies & can give to planetary
& human wholeness & evolution.
The Soul of a Country
The soul of a country
is that active intelligence that holds the body, psyche & spirit of a country together & integrates them into a dynamic
wholeness. It expresses capacities for synthesis, love & evolution. It's the custodian of the spiritual destiny. It nurtures & develops that country’s talents. It
seeks to promote the qualities & capacities that are that country’s unique powers & gifts to the world.
If we
think of a country as a collective field fed by energies arising from its geography, its ecologies,
its people & its spirit, then the soul of that country tends that field. It seeks to keep it clear & unobstructed.
It seeks to reduce or if possible eliminate toxicity & dysfunction within that field, particularly as manifested by violence.
It seeks to enhance
the flow & radiant power of love within its field. It enhances creativity & emergence. It promotes & nurtures connectedness, coherency, integrity & wholeness. It works to synthesize its various dynamic elements, such as the land & the people, into a mutually
enhancing presence.
It works to integrate
its field with the fields of other countries & with the great collective field & presence of the planet as a whole
& with the sacredness that underlies all existence.
That's the work of the
soul of a country.
Inner Citizenship
Inner citizenship
is what we do when we take up this work of the soul of our country. When we seek to embody & express its soul to the best
of our capacities, we're being active inner citizens.
We're all familiar
with outer citizenship. As citizens we seek to support the political, economic & civic life of our country. We take on
a responsibility for the physical & social well being of our nation. Depending on where we live, this may entail voting, running for office,
being part of volunteer organizations, supporting public education & so forth. There are
many ways in which we may be good citizens in our outer world.
Inner citizenship
requires us to realize that there is more to our country than just its physical & social dimensions. The country exists
as a field of energy & as a spiritual presence as well. How do we relate to these? How do we act on their behalf?
Inner citizenship
takes place in the invisible realms of energy, thought, imagination, feeling & spirit. In outer citizenship, we may vote, but in inner citizenship, we may pray or bless. In outer citizenship, we
may run for public office, but in inner citizenship, we monitor the quality of mental & emotional energies that we broadcast
into the collective fields of our neighborhoods, towns, our cities, or our nation.
In outer citizenship,
we may serve on a panel to clean up pollution in a city, but in inner citizenship, we clean up toxic energies of anger & violence that we may be holding in our own psyches or that we sense in the atmosphere around us.
Each is important. To truly be partners with the soul of our country, we need to be both outer & inner citizens.
The Soul of America
The Soul of America
has all the capacities & performs all the functions of any other country’s soul, as I discussed above. But what
is the spiritual destiny which it embodies & empowers? What are the gifts that the US has to offer humanity & the
world? What are its talents?
A place to start
is with the “self-evident” truths presented by the Declaration
of Independence: “…that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness.”
These are certainly qualities which the Soul of America
has a destiny to develop & offer:
-
Equality amongst all people
-
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The sanctity of a person’s life with all
its unique potentials
-
The capacity of all individuals to seek their highest
good & to possess happiness in their lives, particularly the happiness that comes with the opportunity to unfold their potentials
-
To accomplish
good in their lives
To these 4 qualities,
I might add:
These are all qualities
that the US, which is itself an invented nation & an immigrant nation, seeks to develop within itself & to offer to
the world. You may think of others that are part of the destiny - the talents - of this country. Feel free to make your own list.
Partnering with the Soul
of America
The simplest way
to partner with the Soul of America is to share its tasks & to express the qualities & virtues that represent its
talents & gifts to the world.
You might ask yourself:
In the realm of civic
discourse, how do I promote civility to ensure good, clear & truthful communication?
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Do I enrich in
some way the emotional & mental life & character of my country, if only in my own sphere of influence?
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Am I hospitable
to those who are different than I & open to the gifts their differences may bring?
-
Do I diminish
or increase the use of violence - whether emotional, mental, or physical - as a means of problem-solving?
In the midst of extremes,
do I find the creative & empowering middle, the Radical Middle, where synthesis & co-creativity may flourish?
-
Do I diminish
fear & its crippling effects in my community?”
Bringing a loving heart, an open mind & a will-to-good in any or all of these matters is an example of partnering with the Soul of America.
Connecting to the Soul of America
If you accept that there's a Soul of America as a genuine protective & nourishing presence & not simply as a metaphor or a projection, how might you contact & connect with this being? How might you invite its energy into your life as a citizen for your blessing & the blessing of those
around you?
There are different ways
this might be done & ultimately you need to find a way that is right for you; i.e., you can invite the Soul of America, its qualities & energies, into your life
thru a prayerful & open-hearted invitation.
Your commitment to live out the best & highest of the qualities & virtues this being represents is another way. You can imagine the
Soul of America as a person, like Uncle Sam, who comes to you so you can have a conversation in your mind & heart with him.
Also, partnering
in the tasks of this being, as I mentioned above, is a means of connection.
In essence, contact
& connection is thru resonance, thru like speaking to like. If you embody in yourself the kind of energy & qualities you imagine the
Soul of America possessing, then you're connected.
These qualities
are its “address,” its “phone number;” you go to that address or you dial that number by actively
expressing these qualities. To contact the Soul of America, be the Soul of America in your own unique way.
A Modest Exercise
Here is a modest exercise
you can do to attune to the Soul of America in your own life. Here you're going to use your imagination to develop a felt
sense of what America is for you. You're in effect recreating the spirit of America within yourself in your own individual
way. This provides a resonant connection with the Soul of our country.
To begin, find
a time & place when & where you can be uninterrupted. Take a moment just to relax & enter into a calming, refreshing inner silence.
You're going to
work with 4 images:
-
your American Self
-
the Land of America
-
Mythic America
-
the Destiny of America
You may wish to record
in some manner any ideas, images, insights, thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations that come to you as a result of reflecting on each image.
1st, reflect on what it feels like for you to be an American. Who or what is your American Self? When you think of yourself as an American, what comes to your mind? What qualities in you do you identify as being American? (They may not be exclusively American; if a quality is generosity, i.e., you can also see this as a human quality - & certainly citizens of other countries can be generous as well. But if you feel that part of being an American is to be generous, then claim it not only as a personal quality
or a human quality but as an American quality, part of your Americanness.) Think of things you do that represent your Americanness to you. How does the spirit of America take concrete shape in your life?
What is your felt sense of being an American?
2nd, reflect on the land & geography of America. How does it influence or affect you? The land of America is spacious, rich, beautiful
& diverse. It had a profound impact on the Native Americans, the colonists, the pioneers, the settlers & the explorers.
Indeed, much of the American character has been shaped by our country’s geography & its vast openness & potential.
How has it shaped you?
Think of all the different aspects of our country: mountains, prairies, swamplands, deserts, forests, rivers, the Great Lakes &
so on. How do these images of the land make you feel? What kind of energy do they inspire in you?
3rd, reflect on the stories & myths of America, the legends & the persons, like Washington & Lincoln, who live large in our
history. Mythic America, the inner landscape of our country, is a powerful force in our lives. Here are the stories we tell about who we are, the images we draw upon for inspiration & the personalities we use for role models.
What myths about America
live for you? What is your relationship to mythic America? How do you draw upon its energy? What myths or stories do
you tell about yourself as an American? Not all myths are useful or healthy & myths that may have served our ancestors may not serve us now, like the myths that underlay & justified the practice of slavery.
What American myths
do you feel no longer serve the Soul of America or even obstruct its work? What myths that you hold help the Soul of America?
Fourth, reflect on the Vision of America, its sense of destiny. What does America have to offer the world? What are its gifts & talents?
What vision inspired the men & women who created this country? What do you think are the spiritual & planetary tasks of our nation? How might it serve humanity?
How does this vision
live in you & influence your own life & actions? What is your felt sense of the Vision of America?
Finally, stand
up. Feel each of these 4 qualities of your Americanness, the energy of the Land of America, the quality of Mythic America
in your life & the Vision of America as if they were 4 presences surrounding you.
Each of them embodies
one aspect of the Soul of America. Imagine them all stepping into you, blending, melding, becoming one, becoming the Soul
of America within you. What is that like? What felt sense arises in you as you imagine this happening? Who are you standing
in oneness with the Soul of America?
As this felt sense emerges
for you, you'll find your own feeling of connection with the Soul of America. May it be a blessing & a partner in your life as a citizen, both inner & outer, of this
great country.
Accomplishing One's Mission in Life
- By Shyam Mehta
What
does Indian philosophy have to say about "self growth"?
First
of all, we all have 4 aims of life:
-
“dharma”,
being honest, upright and doing one's duty to society, to friends and family
In this
way we have a sense of well-being and it leads, in the long-term, to contentment with one's health.
You're
"growing" each day when you take active steps to achieve one or more of these 4 aims of your life. Thus you grow if you strive
to be a good citizen, a good husband or wife or good employee or businessman.
The
first 3 aims are needed for everyone and without experiencing the struggles and achievements involved with adulthood, one can't progress to tackling
the 4th aim of life - liberation. This matter is the prime subject matter of yoga practice.
According to Indian philosophy, each of us has had many lives and had many experiences.
But, there is a primary experience [related to one of these 4 aims of life] that you need to accomplish in this life. You shouldn't at all disregard the other 3 objectives, but
you need to understand which of these 4 aims of life is your true focus in this life.
It's between
the ages of 16 and 21 that you're given a definitive knowledge, by God, of your true purpose of life. You'll have some ideals, but get to know that in order to achieve these ideals, you need to do certain things.
For example,
to do exercise, get married, focus on your work, or develop an interest in spiritual or religious matters. Over time, the emphasis of what you need to do may change, but the goal remains constant.
Here are some examples:
- a boy wants to become a fighter pilot or join
the Navy. He needs, long-term, to focus on his health. In order to do that he needs to become a good honest citizen
- a girl wants to become a nurse. This is a
selfless activity and her real mission in life is to become free and to tread the path of karma yoga - helping others without motive
- a boy or girl is envious of others and wants to be rich. They need in life to work at developing a good standard of living
- a boy is interested mainly in sex, or a woman
is interested in having a family. They both need to focus on marriage and deriving pleasure from their spouse.
Progressing
along one's life towards one's true goal helps one become contented. Once contented, one can move towards one or other of the other 3 goals of life.
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