Beyond Fear: Hope for 2010

Last January when Jim Cahill and I began work on our How to Thrive in Chaos workshop , a new skill emerged and I continue to benefit from it each day.  The skill is a keen interest in behaviors and situations where thriving is evident.  And situations where thriving would be possible, if something changed.  As I prepare for the extended Christmas break and do my best to wrap up 2009, I thought I'd share a few of the big ideas that surfaced this year.

#1 No more "Show up and shut up".  As institutions fall into chaos from the economic downturn, ripples of fear are washing through organizations.  Bloggers who don't blog and emails that go unanswered because no response is the safest path.  Hunkered down to hopefully survive the next round of layoffs has many folks silenced.  Enough already. 

My hope for 2010 is that we all wake up to our personal power.  The visionary leader has arrived and it is you (and me).  Let's unleash our excellent minds to solve problems and share our strengths and talents with the world.

#2 Tune out the noise-makers.  So much progress can be made if we make the simple shift of ignoring what is said and instead observe what is done.  There's plenty of talk and the information channels are overloaded.  In 2010 let's see how many problems we can solve from action.  Let us all take the focus from our mouths and instead use our ears and hands.  Our ears to listen to others and our hands to create solutions.

#3 What is it that you need? Seems like an easy question but many times the answer isn't clear.  Fears are high when basic needs are threatened.  Foreclosures take away shelter, job loss raises the crowds of hungry and the hours of sleep lost to worry are real.  The most important aha moment for me is this: the question of "What is it that you need?" isn't the problem it is the delivery that matters. Let me explain. 

"What is it that you need?" spoken to another is really good.  "What is it that you need?" racing through my own thoughts is chaotic and disturbs my peace.  My hope for 2010 is that we each experience more times when we realize our own blessings and have the courage to ask others "What is it that you need?" Let each and every one of us experience the joy of providing the answer through service to another.

We're in this together.  Have a safe & happy holiday season!  Together is a great place to be.

Comments

[Aaroncrews]

Deb, thanks for the inspiration.

I think everyone's well worn out from this tough year, and they're ready to be happy. Hopefully some of us like yourself who have spent this year getting primed and strengthening themselves will be able to use that to step up and lead the way, giving permission for everyone to relax, produce, and thrive.