It's a small world after all

I train or more precisely new facilitators come to my workshops to watch and learn, I hope what they should and should not do. Most of the time I hope they see how they should approach the workshop not what they should not do in the workshop. Don came to a workshop I was giving on Personal Planning and at the beginning introduced himself and gave me his card, I glanced at it and put it in my pocket as I had still not quite set up the equipment.

The workshop went well, but it was a bit longer than normal and after Don and went for a coffee, to debrief. As we were talking I took out his card and actually read it. I was impressed, on the card it gave his name and the following information: World Citizen, Educator, Traveller. I asked him and he told me he had taught in China, worked in Africa, and traveled to many, many countries so when he retired he thought he would make this card. 

We had a great conversation about his travels, his teaching experience and the fact he was raised very close to where I now live. The world is small and we all have much in common when we take time to talk and to listen to each other

Walk the walk, talk the talk

"There is a difference between knowing the path & walking the path."

This is a modern version of a very old quote. The basics of the quote are twofold. It is one thing to know the path to take. It is another thing to actually walk that path. Knowledge and Action are two different concepts. One of the keys to understanding this is to realize that if you know the correct path, it may take courage and integrity to actually walk the path

Integrity is defined as “Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” Also, it can be defined as “The state of being unimpaired; soundness.” And finally, it can be defined as “The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.” All three apply to the quote.

How often do you find yourself in a situation where you know what you should do (or at least you have a plan), but you just can't seem to do it?

Maybe you just can't get started. You're falling into the "tomorrow is a good day to start" trap.

If this is the case, then your situation is described by the quote above. You know the path, but you're not on it. It's a question of integrating the path into your life.

Or maybe you've started a million times but have a hard time staying on track and sticking to it. Somehow, you just keep sabotaging yourself.

In this case, you get on the path - but you're not properly aligned with it, so you'll eventually stray from it. We need to get aligned and make the necessary adjustments to stay aligned.

Two simple, steps:
Know the path 
Walk the path 

Simple, but not easy. No one ever stays on the path all the time. We all wander off from time to time. The trick is to notice when you’re off and work on getting back on as quickly as possible. 

What can you do to help keep track of how well you are staying on the path? The sooner you detect that you’re off, the sooner and easier it is to get back. 
Not easy, but totally worth it.

Have you ever broken a promise to yourself?

Was there was a commitment you made to yourself and not followed through with?
Maybe about your health and fitness 
Maybe around your job or in your family life 
Maybe around a habit, you'd like to change 

Soooo?

Well, have you thought about why?

If you didn't... how did you will feel about that?

When we make a commitment to someone else we usually if we can follow through. However, if it is a promise to ourselves we do not always follow through. 

Well, a commitment is a commitment no matter to whom it is made. When you make a commitment there should be no difference in your desire to keep that commitment. it's not about keeping a commitment that you gave to someone else.  

It's about keeping a promise you made to yourself which is just as important as that commitment to the other person.

What can you do with a 30 minutes?

An interesting question is it not?  Many of us complain we have no time, but I bet you could find 30 minutes in a 24 hour period which has a total of 1440 minutes. 30 minutes is only 2% of your day. So what can you do in 30 minutes?
If you want to be healthier, maybe you go for a 30-minute walk. 
Or you could spend 30 minutes making some phone calls in order to move forward with a project that you're working on. 
Or maybe you spend 30 minutes writing a few paragraphs towards that book you've always wanted to write. 
Or you could spend 30 minutes reading the best seller you have been meaning to read
Or you could spend 30 minutes talking to a friend, a loved one
Or you could spend 30 minutes starting to clean out the garage
Or, or, or you fill in the blanks

Where would spending that 30 minutes get you?

The answer, of course, is that you'd be 30 minutes closer to where you want to be.

So what can YOU do this week that will move you closer to where you want to be?