Fear

As I sit at the computer this morning trying to come up with something profound for our newsletters, it hit me that my procrastination is usually based on fear.

The fear that someone will be offended by what I write, the fear that it won't be "deep" enough or it may be too deep...

Fear, what is it? I have heard it described as an acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real. However those of us who have experienced fear know sometimes it is real. But only less than 40% of the time according to the University of Michigan.

So why do we have these fears? Newborns, they say, have only two fears, loud noises and the fear of being dropped. So what do we do? We smack their bottom with a loud sound after they fall into the hands of the doctor! Doomed from the start are we...

Perhaps during this season as a child, you had the fear of Santa. Watching the movie A Christmas Story last night on the children's visit to the store Santa and seeing it through the eyes of a child makes me wonder if perhaps this is the root of all that fear!

It is not just you and me who have fears, famous people have them too. Julius Caesar was afraid of thunder (and I think later knives), Peter the Great, was afraid of bridges. He was the absolute ruler of Russia and stood 6 feet five inches tall! Barb is in good company for she too once feared bridges...

Have you examined your fears? Perhaps it is time to take an inventory, I am not a big fan of spiders. Sadly my daughters picked up on that fear and now share it with me. I guess it is true, misery likes company.

Why not make a list of your fears and start working on overcoming them. It is said that fear causes procrastination so if you find yourself hesitating on this little project perhaps there is a fear there?

Here is what the pattern can become in some peoples lives from John Maxwell.


Fear breeds inaction;
Inaction leads to lack of experience;
Lack of experience fosters ignorance; and
Ignorance breeds fear.

See the cycle? Break it!


www.dynamics4u.com

Brain cells vs 000's and 111's

A few years ago while on board a cruise ship speaking I decided I needed a new watch. The boutique on board had many different brands and some were very expensive. I looked at Tag, Rolex, and a few others and decided they were way too much money and not nearly fancy enough.

However, we had a great rapport with the store manager and I knew I could get a bargain on a very fancy upscale timepiece. It may not be diamond encrusted or many thousands of dollars but it would look impressive. I was going for the look.

She listened carefully to my exploding ego talk about what was important to me in a timepiece (none of which had anything to do with telling time) with patience and drooled at the opportunity to sell me a fancy looking high tech gadget.

She showed me a really upscale state of the art watch that had enough buttons to launch the space shuttle. Perfect, I thought that is what I need. This watch had auto synchronization to an atomic clock throughout the world, a solar battery that never needs replacing, different time zones around the world, two alarms, pressure tested to 500 feet (I rarely swim below 4 feet of water) a titanium case, and of courser a great look. It is an aviators watch with a special dial around the crown for figuring out navigational numbers like speed, fuel usage etc.. This is all stuff I really need because it makes the watch look better, not because I have ever piloted a plane.

It looked fabulous, had a heavy feel and was a statement of success, I thought...

Well, it has been several years now, the watch still looks great, (that titanium case really works) I wear with a certain amount of pride as a symbol of a sort of achievement. Vanity at it's best.

The reality? This thing drives me nuts!

Every year about this time I have to change the time for daylight savings, and every year I spend a stupid amount of time trying to get the thing to do what I want. And, its not just here; if we are travelling and God forbid we go into another time zone I am lost. It calls for a trip to the ships jewellery store to find a 20's somebody who actually knows how to make this technological sun dial work!

How important is the solar panel to me now? How much do I gain from the auto synchronization to the atomic clock in Fort Collins now?

If I try to set it, I can't see the flipping numbers or dials. Clearly this was made for an aviator with better than 20/20 vision not an old guy who needs reading glasses.

After 30 minutes both online and with the manual, (I keep the manual right on my desk because I know next Spring this is going to happen again) two cups of coffee, several expletives, the time is now correct.

I think... it may be set for pm rather than am, again, I can't see the darn dials. I will know that tomorrow, when the date is wrong and the whole thing has to be done again...

I am almost to the point of making it my desk paperweight. Either that or re-gifting it to a son or son in law who can still see the dials.

So the moral of the story? While I love technology, I have to watch out for ego, vanity, not to get in the way of making a sensible purchase.

Now about, about that new Ipad 2.....

Still, it looks pretty.... and it was a bargain... justify, justify it...

Tracking Progress

Late Monday I ordered some product from the US.

Now, as many of our Canadian readers know, when we order from  the US we have to go through the whole customs clearance procedure. It can be lengthy and costly. In this case the product is SO much cheaper to purchase from the States it is worth the duty and brokerage fees.

One of the things that amazes me when I order this way is how I can track the shipment. I only have to click a number link and voila, there it is, my package winging its way towards our office. This is fast, efficient and modern.

So, what is the point? The point is sometimes don't we wish people had a "tracking" number for their progress in life?

What if you could click a button and see if they are still reading, growing, and learning, or are they just in a vegetative state letting life pass them by glued to the boob tube?

If we were to click your number what would it say? When was the last time you read a book on self improvement, attended a seminar on learning a new thing, listened to an audio that gave you a different perspective?

Something to mull over during the upcoming holiday season and the dreaded New Year resolution activity huh?

Why not set a goal to read more and watch TV less.

You won't be disappointed.

I know I am going to and now I am accountable to you!