One Step At A Time, PLEASE?

One Step At A Time, PLEASE?

Very true, if we had our way, everything needs to move at the speed of light.  Oh Oh Oh, that wisdom of taking life ONE STEP AT A TIME often gets overlooked.  In the rush to achieve our goals and keep up with the frenetic pace of life, we might even find ourselves burning out and losing sight of WHAT truly matters.  After all, we have been trained to cherish being busy.  BUT as the song lyrics go, can we take One Step At A Time?  Quite confusing but recent studies show that slowing down and taking time for oneself facilitates a more fruitful experience of life📗📙📘

So, are we slowing down to speed up?  To emphasize the importance of embracing the journey and learning from every step and finding inspiration in the unexpected.  Looking back, however, WHILE sometimes we might feel the need to speed up and do everything at once due to that FEAR OF MISSING OUT and pressure from other people, we actually must cherish rest time and periods of being still.  To quote psychologists, for in those moments, 'MAGIC IS BORN'.  I remember this story retold a zillion times over and over again, that rare encounter between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, two legendary martial arts icons, with Norris telling Bruce Lee that he was moving too fast, that his whole timing is OFF and that he needs to slow down.  Apparently, that interaction did hold a profound meaning beyond the realm of combat as Norris recognized that in the pursuit of greatness, sometimes it's essential to take a step back💥💥💥

WHY is it sometimes we do need to take a step back in life?  Obviously, we need to reassess things.  For so many years in our workplace, our favorite verb was to CHECKPOINT.  And till to date, that has become a household name in all our calls.  And it's even 'music to the ears' of our clients.  WHY?  Simply put, by CHECKPOINTING, we do reassessments of that journey to date, WHERE we stand now, HOW things stand now and WHAT's in store for us over there in the horizons.  In short, life can't be akin to the F1 Race where the rule of the game is to speed up at break-neck pace.  Life is altogether different.  People that pressure others to speed up simply have something inherently wrong with them💧💧💧

In the wild goose chase in our daily life, we would hear INNER PEACE, CALM and a QUITE MIND as topping the high priorities of WHAT we want in life.  However, ever since I entered the workforce, I have always constantly observed that most things move at the pace of the particular industry you are in, NOT in the pace of one person.  And being raw straight out of university during those years, I was telling myself that I got only one option and that option was for me to adjust and to align to the realities❗❗❗

Our takeaway:  This is neither a choice nor an option.   By slowing down, we will allow ourselves the opportunity to reflect, learn, and adjust our course WHEN necessary.  This deliberate approach NOT only prevents burnout BUT also ensures that each step we will take is purposeful enough and more importantly, meaningful enough.  Taking life ONE STEP AT A TIME is about making deliberate and informed choices that contribute to our long-term success.  WHERE to, dude???

Clean Up Your Mess, PLEASE

Clean Up Your Mess, PLEASE

Clean Up Your Mess.  Can you remember the first time you heard someone [probably your mom] say this to you?  OR for that matter, can you remember another one loudly instructing CLEAN UP YOUR MESS?  I can share some first-hand testimonials WHERE someone screamed this repeatedly to a subordinate [at work].  And initially, it was like a rough and tumble game wherein either party just WON'T budge.  BUT at some point, someone did cave in and realized his MESS📗📙📘

As awful as that experience [even if it is not that traumatic] can be, I can bet that that can be the turning point, that tipping point of realization, WHERE someone can become a version of someone more orderly.  True, fear and humiliation can be a great teacher and motivator BUT frankly, I am more inclined for a gentle, diplomatic approach [WITHOUT being accused of disciplining via a SLAP ON THE WRIST.  Looking back, I did experience moments in the past WHERE I was guilty of messes I was culpable of.  And I had to CLEAN UP those MESSES and had to learn and even re-learn old habits that somehow died down in the past💦💦💦

Sometimes, the tough LESSONS LEARNT came with the help of others and sometimes born from an inner stirring that nudged me into something better.  YES, it takes constant vigilance to CLEAN UP all the MESSES.  And BTW, be on the lookout of a good habit WHICH might die a natural death.  It did happen to me in the past and it was tough man, tough to reintroduce such good habits back into my system💧💧💧

So, WHAT are those messes in life?  A lot AS IN a lot.  Rather being on defensive and resisting to CLEAN UP the MESS, WHY DON'T we take it as an opportunity for us to CLEAN UP with a much lower humiliation factor.  So, WHERE's your MESS?  Is it on your physical health?  Your financial health?  OR are you involved in some MESSY stuff with regard your work performance?  Either way, as the old cliche goes, WHEN you're down, there's NO other way to go BUT UP.  So, HOW do we approach the CLEANING UP of a MESS?  First off, define your problem OR MESS that needs some CLEANING UP💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  Dissect the issue into small, smaller components so that you can clearly understand the severity of your MESS.  And then, direct your attention to the fixes.  WHAT do you need to do today or the next day to CLEAN UP your mess?  Sadly, as adults, we are really good at telling children, students and co-workers to CLEAN UP their messes.  YET, WHEN it comes to our own internal orderliness, we tend to ignore OR miss them due to our own blind spots.  So, to CLEAN UP your MESS is NOT a pleading.  This is a MUST-DO dude❗❗❗