I do not always look forward to the "Back to School Night" ritual that happens each year in our schools. As an involved parent I appreciate meeting the teachers, but have come to believe the format is stale and does not often provide any new information (it is the same agenda my parents had when I was in school).
Last night I was blown away by how excited I was about my high school freshman's teachers, school, and what this means for her future. She attends a public magnet school program for math and science. The expectations and culture are very different my high school experience, and I enjoyed hearing from each teacher. I was inspired by the challenges and opportunities she fill face this year.
The highlight of the night was meeting the "Sci-Tech" teacher and learning about this unique program. It a mechanical engineering class required of all freshmen, and the students will work on a variety of projects throughout the semester that will engage them in ways I never imagined in school.
My favorite part is the journal they must keep in this class. Each day every student must answer (in detail) the following five questions:
1. What did I do or learn today?
2. What will I do or learn tomorrow?
3. What is my current progress: short term and long term?
4. What environmental factors or people influenced my productivity today? (identify setbacks or problems).
5. What did my teammates do today?
Think for a minute if grown-ups in real jobs had to reflect each day on our successes and failures in such a manner. I am not talking about a typical HR annual review, but a focused reflection on each day. WOW. What if these young men and women learn from this experience to be this introspective about their progress for the rest of their lives --- I imagine the sky would be the limit. I wonder what more I might have accomplished if I had experienced these lessons when I was 14-years-old.
I did not show up at Back to School Night expecting to be impacted. I have not been able to stop thinking about the power in these questions for the business professionals whom I train and consult. This morning I worked these five questions (giving full credit to the high school Sci-Tech program) into a speech to twenty people from a variety of careers. BOOM!, they were all captivated by thought of the results that would come if they had the discipline to ask these questions every day.
What do you think?
CHALLENGE:. Purchase a small notebook and write these questions on page one. Everyday for the next month end your workday by pondering your experiences and recording the answers to the five questions. I imagine if any of us really did this we would see more productivity and creativity spark in our lives.
Have A Great Day.
thom singer
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Seeking Change In 2009: Then Do Something To Create The Change You Desire
If we all want change in 2009 we need to take action. As a society (not just Americans, but people all over the world) we have been calling for change for a long time. It is easy to look at history through our short term memory and point fingers at those in political power, while pretending the world was utopia in days of yore. But the change we seek goes deeper than just Barak Obama coming along to follow the Bush Administration.
While a small percentage of people are high achievers, and another small percentage are stuck in failure (sorry).... the majority are seekers. We seek more for ourselves, and our children, while working through our day to day lives. America was founded by generations of those seeking a better life.
Being a seeker is not a bad thing. It is great. It beats just sitting on your butt and accepting whatever comes along. But to seek we must do more than wait or hope that "The Law of Attraction" will magically bring us the goods. While I believe in the power of goal setting and visualization, we must take actions in conjunction with those things. This is true both individually and collectively. If we are "Waiting for Godot", Godot never comes. (There's a reference I wonder if anyone will get!).
Maybe I am missing it, but many people seem to just be talking a lot about the economy, the environment, health care, corruption in politics and corporations, employment / labor issues, human rights, and dozens of other issues.... but they are not doing anything.
In the course of this blog I cannot speak to the society as a whole about how to tackle the BIG issues of our day. That takes more than the views of some yokel blogger to digest. But as an individual I do know first hand that you can do the things that will bring you the change you seek in the new year - regardless of all the other stuff happening in the world around us.
Here are five suggestions to jump-starting your change:
1. Don't listen to the media. If you listen to the mainstream media then this is the worst economy since the great depression. OH? Go to a restaurant on a Friday night and look at the full parking lots. That was not the case in the 1930s. Yes, we have problems and yes many families are hurting right now. But the sky has not fallen. Accept that there are worldwide financial concerns and then go micro. Look at your own situation and make smart choices with your personal economy. You cannot change the whole planet, but you can take actions that effect your family.
2. Know what you want. If you do not know what success looks like, how would you ever know if you won? Olympic athletes know the goal - The Gold Medal. They visualize it. They practice for it. They make choices in their diet, health, sleep, etc... that lead them toward victory. They sit quietly and see the race in their heads. They visualize. Then they go out and try as hard as they can. No, they do not all win, but everyone of them tries hard -- and they are better off for it.
3. Connect with the right people. Yes, it all comes back to networking. The people you build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with will want to see you succeed. Seek out the people in your industry who have the knowledge. Be a resource for them and together you will both accomplish more. But never be selfish. If you look at them as just there to help you they will discover you as a "Taker". Takers get passed over.
And be sure to acknowledge those who help you and say "thank you". This is often overlooked when people reach their goals.
4. Get knowledge. Never before in human history have we had more access to information than we do right now. Invest the time to become educated on a variety of topics. Read books and blogs, attend seminars, take classes, participate in online communities, etc... Get knowledge, but with all your getting, get understanding. To only know something is not enough. You must understand it on a deeper level and realize how it impacts the greater community.
5. Be a voice for good. If you want change you cannot just observe the world as it goes past. You must take a stand for something. Support a local cause that can impact your community. People listen to those who make a difference. Too often people want others to listen to them, but they have no history of ever saying or doing anything significant. Thus when they do speak up they are just part of the noise. Rise above the noise by consistently being vocal about things that matter. This does not mean being pigheaded or disrespectful to those who have differing opinions. Instead it means finding ways to bring a variety of points of view into the discussion... and being the level headed one who stands for good.
Change is coming. We have started the ball rolling and cannot stop it. The question is what will that change look like? If you are one who seeks change, help shape that change.
Have A Great Day.
thom
While a small percentage of people are high achievers, and another small percentage are stuck in failure (sorry).... the majority are seekers. We seek more for ourselves, and our children, while working through our day to day lives. America was founded by generations of those seeking a better life.
Being a seeker is not a bad thing. It is great. It beats just sitting on your butt and accepting whatever comes along. But to seek we must do more than wait or hope that "The Law of Attraction" will magically bring us the goods. While I believe in the power of goal setting and visualization, we must take actions in conjunction with those things. This is true both individually and collectively. If we are "Waiting for Godot", Godot never comes. (There's a reference I wonder if anyone will get!).
Maybe I am missing it, but many people seem to just be talking a lot about the economy, the environment, health care, corruption in politics and corporations, employment / labor issues, human rights, and dozens of other issues.... but they are not doing anything.
In the course of this blog I cannot speak to the society as a whole about how to tackle the BIG issues of our day. That takes more than the views of some yokel blogger to digest. But as an individual I do know first hand that you can do the things that will bring you the change you seek in the new year - regardless of all the other stuff happening in the world around us.
Here are five suggestions to jump-starting your change:
1. Don't listen to the media. If you listen to the mainstream media then this is the worst economy since the great depression. OH? Go to a restaurant on a Friday night and look at the full parking lots. That was not the case in the 1930s. Yes, we have problems and yes many families are hurting right now. But the sky has not fallen. Accept that there are worldwide financial concerns and then go micro. Look at your own situation and make smart choices with your personal economy. You cannot change the whole planet, but you can take actions that effect your family.
2. Know what you want. If you do not know what success looks like, how would you ever know if you won? Olympic athletes know the goal - The Gold Medal. They visualize it. They practice for it. They make choices in their diet, health, sleep, etc... that lead them toward victory. They sit quietly and see the race in their heads. They visualize. Then they go out and try as hard as they can. No, they do not all win, but everyone of them tries hard -- and they are better off for it.
3. Connect with the right people. Yes, it all comes back to networking. The people you build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with will want to see you succeed. Seek out the people in your industry who have the knowledge. Be a resource for them and together you will both accomplish more. But never be selfish. If you look at them as just there to help you they will discover you as a "Taker". Takers get passed over.
And be sure to acknowledge those who help you and say "thank you". This is often overlooked when people reach their goals.
4. Get knowledge. Never before in human history have we had more access to information than we do right now. Invest the time to become educated on a variety of topics. Read books and blogs, attend seminars, take classes, participate in online communities, etc... Get knowledge, but with all your getting, get understanding. To only know something is not enough. You must understand it on a deeper level and realize how it impacts the greater community.
5. Be a voice for good. If you want change you cannot just observe the world as it goes past. You must take a stand for something. Support a local cause that can impact your community. People listen to those who make a difference. Too often people want others to listen to them, but they have no history of ever saying or doing anything significant. Thus when they do speak up they are just part of the noise. Rise above the noise by consistently being vocal about things that matter. This does not mean being pigheaded or disrespectful to those who have differing opinions. Instead it means finding ways to bring a variety of points of view into the discussion... and being the level headed one who stands for good.
Change is coming. We have started the ball rolling and cannot stop it. The question is what will that change look like? If you are one who seeks change, help shape that change.
Have A Great Day.
thom
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