What Box?^®

General George Patton, said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn’t thinking.”

Why is it that we are raised to think so much alike?

How can we learn to Think Differently? To think for of ourselves?

Each of us has our own unique gifts and an ability to see the world from our own point of view. These gifts and talents along with an ability to think for ourselves are needed to support the whole, our family, our community, our nation, our world. We all have the potential to offer our thoughts and gifts to influence the well-being of the whole.

We are not asked to give another person’s gifts or insights that we are not easily capable of contributing. We are only asked to give our own gifts and unique perspectives. This we can do. The world needs these from all of us and we need each other. We need to learn how to value our own gifts and each other’s gifts so that we can learn to work together in a complementary and cooperative way for the benefit of our whole living system.

The gifts that each of us has to offer is our ability to see the way things are from our unique perspective. We cannot see the total reality with which we are faced with, but we can definitely see it form our point of view. Our perspective added to that of others contributes to a clear picture. It’s like putting together a puzzle. If a piece is missing, there is no way to really see the whole picture.

How can we learn to be open to different people’s perspectives and see a larger picture?

When we are not thinking for ourselves and sharing our unique gifts we loose our creativity, our ability to innovate and, worse yet, we don’t contribute our piece to the puzzle. When everyone is thinking alike we tend not to question things. We follow like sheep. We succumb to our fears, fabricated or real. A homogenized world is a very boring place in which to live. Maybe this is why depression and other psychiatric disorders are reaching epidemic proportions.

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” Friedrich Nietzsche

In order to Think Differently and share our gifts we need to let go our fears of the unknown, what people will think. That fear, for many of us, is not receiving the approval of others for what we think and share. We need to believe in something greater than ourselves so that we feel free to express what we are thinking. Thinking Differently means that we will make mistakes as we take risks to search for a greater understanding of what is possible. Thinking Differently means questioning everything and not being afraid to express those questions. Thinking Differently means letting go of judgment and being open to new possibilities, new perspectives, and greater diversity. Thinking Differently is definitely not easy. But it is worth the effort.

What is holding you back from Thinking Differently?

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean
I have been thinking a lot about creating balance in my life. No matter how hard I try I keep falling back into the mode of “doing” and not “being.” I’ve re-read the chapter in your book on Being Versus Doing. It makes sense, but changing my patterns is really hard. Any suggestions?
Help on Monkey Island!

Dear Help,
Changing patterns created over many years is some of the hardest work one can take on. We have been programmed to be active and “doing” things since childhood and in some cases our identity can even be tied to these actions. You are fortunate to live in a special place where “being” can be a lot easier than others. Here is what I would suggest. Find a nice quite spot overlooking the lake, the vistas on Monkey Island are some of the best, and find a place to sit. Relax and start breathing in and out for ten times focus your mind on releasing negative energy when you breathe out and embracing positive energy when you breathe in. Sometimes it helps to do this exercise two or three times. Once you are in a totally relaxed state. Spend the next half hour focusing on the lake, the birds, the sounds, and the air. The key is to try and focus your mind on nothing but the exact moment you are experiencing, no past no future. When you come out of your state of being notice how good you feel and how clear your mind is. Hold onto it for as long as you can. Then here is the hard part practice just “being” half an hour every other day at first and then attempt to do it everyday. The results will astound you, increased creativity, greater decision making ability, calmness through the storms, and a greater connection to nature. Let me know who it goes.
Keep On Keeping On,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

Nature is a powerful place to gain inspiration and insights into the true essence of what it means to be a human being on this planet. Taking walks in the woods, listening to the wind singing its songs through the leaves, or just sitting on a rock taking in all the life that surrounds you has a very pleasant way of connecting you to something greater than yourself.

In our world of high performance, we lose touch with nature and instead focus on those things that are man made: cars, houses, furniture, art, boats, buildings, roads, computers, television, and the Internet just to name a few. When we focus our energy exclusively on those things that are not natural we start to disconnect ourselves from our true essence and we become susceptible to depression, anxieties, and increased stress.

Just think about this for a minute. One hundred years ago, 1907, a majority of us were living in the woods, farming, blowing out our candles when it was dark, and awakening to the rising sun. A hundred years ago people were more in touch with the cycles of nature and life in general and therefore more connected to and appreciative of nature. Now I am not saying I would trade my air conditioner or classic cars to go back one hundred years. What I am saying is that being in touch with nature helps us to be more relaxed, to make better decisions, and to embrace and act upon our unique creative talents.

So how do you connect with nature in a more meaningful way?

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”  Mark Twain 

One of my favorite ways to connect with nature, no matter where I might be, is by focusing my energy on the power of clouds above us. Clouds speak a different language, a visible yet hidden language. Clouds inspire us to use our imagination and tap that creative side of ourselves that sits idle when we focus too much of our energy on the man made world and not nature.

Wherever you go there are clouds, and those clouds are trying to tell you something, inspire you to achieve something more, and awaken within you something greater than what is.

The power of clouds is that they are constantly moving and changing shapes. Look up at the clouds. What do you see; a sailing ship, a tiger chasing an elephant, or could it be an image of Abraham Lincoln or Benjamin Franklin? Perhaps you are seeing something you have never seen before, something that can open a door for you to perceive new realities.

“I think the world really boils down to two types of people – those who see shapes in cloud formations, and those who just see clouds.”  Danzae Pace

Using clouds to fuel your imagination has many positive affects. You have the potential to develop any number of solutions to a challenge you may be facing. You can get out of a funk that is holding you back from manifesting what it is you want to create in your life. You can gain the inspiration to create something that has never been created before. You can just relax and concentrate on change, focusing all your attention on the clouds.  Imagine all the possibilities. In the moment when you least expect it you will be totally present in the now: nothing in the past, nothing in the future, just the exact moment when you are connecting to the power of clouds.

Have you ever notice that the clouds in Portland, Oregon are different than the clouds in Manhattan? Or that the clouds in the Grand Lake area are different than the clouds in Eureka Springs? The clouds in the Lake Tahoe area are some of my favorite clouds to study and connect with. They just seem to create shapes and symbols that get my creativity juices going and new ideas and solutions seem to flow as an outcome of being connected to nature in a different way.

Like so many of us, I just do not spend enough time in nature or with my head in the clouds. Instead, I am off to my next meeting, facilitating my next strategy session, or conducting my latest Think-A-Torium in some far off place. With practice over the years, I have learned to remind myself to slow it down, take it easy, and to connect with nature and the meaning of life. It is going to take the rest of my life to get the right balance of connecting to something greater than myself and being in the mode of doing. It might take the rest of your life as well. It is worth it.

“As you sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest, or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream, the great door, that does not look like a door, opens.”  Stephen Graham, The Gentle Art of Tramping

When was the last time you had your head in the clouds?

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean,
In your Food For Thought article the other week you said that fear keeps us from taking risks. How do you move past the fear?
Fearful in Claremore

Dear Fearful,
We all have felt fear’s powerful influence. Sometimes it takes us over suddenly and other times it is a slower lingering experience. Either way life is better when we can learn to overcome and embrace our fears. One of the most powerful ways I have found to overcome and face my fears is to write them down. Take out a piece of paper and write down what it is you fear in a short sentence. Write down what you are afraid of. “I am afraid of . . .” Write your first thoughts and feelings. Do not over think this. Instead let it become a flow of consciousness. After you have written as much as you can, read it out loud to yourself a few times, breathing in positivity and breathing out negativity. You cannot overcome what you fear unless you understand what it is you fear first. This exercise will support you to take positive steps to over come and embrace your fears.
Keep on keeping on,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.

How well do you know yourself?

Sounds like a silly question really doesn’t it?

Yet, your ability to know your true-self and become conscious of your thoughts, emotions, actions and core essence are a key to reaching your full potential.

When you have self-knowledge of who you are along with an understanding of what your unique talents are, you will have embarked on a journey of becoming the best you can be and have the potential of making a significant difference in peoples lives.

“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” Richard Grant

The world is filled with people who have no clue as to who they truly are. They go through life unaware of their great potential, of their unique talents, how they live their lives, of the powerful person inside of themselves wanting to be set free. More and more people avoid seeking self-knowledge and instead focus on the distractions of our man made world.

Acquiring self-knowledge is not an easy task this is for sure. We probably won’t like some of what we find when we take a genuine look at ourselves, a hard look.

Self-knowledge might mean that we have to look at the anger we have towards the world. It might mean we have to look at the fears we have about not looking good enough or how we use control and manipulation to get what we want from people. It might mean we have to look at the negative behaviors we continue to play out in our daily lives. Just like the vinyl LP’s of yesterday, the more you repeat the same patterns in your life the deeper the grooves of repetition become. Some of these grooves are beneficial and others do not serve us well. If we take in who we really are, we will have to work on changing those behaviors that are part of our entrenched grooves, and do not serve us today.

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” James A. Froude

Changing from the person we are to the person we were meant to be can be a scary thing. Holy smokes! I might actually succeed in achieving my dreams. I might actually be able to live the life that I have always thought was impossible. I might be able to secure that dream job, the one I wake up to every morning and can’t wait to go after it.

Self-knowledge will support you to achieve what ever it is you want to create in your life.

How well do you really know yourself?

I have been working on increasing my self-knowledge consciously for over nineteen years now and I still have a long way to go. What I have learned in these nineteen years is that gaining self-knowledge gets easier as I become more aware of my true-self, my unique talents, how I think, how I interact with people and how I respond to adversity.

It is through introspection that I have been able to learn from my mistakes, to learn how I interact with people, to learn from my fears, to learn how to motivate people and teams, to learn how to embrace the unknown, and to learn how make a positive difference each and every day.

Do I slip up? Oh, you know it. I slip up almost daily. The difference is that because I have put myself on a path of self-discovery I am able to identify my actions or thoughts in the moment and consciously adjust whatever requires adjusting so that I can be closer to my authentic self.

Self-knowledge will empower you to make better decisions in your life. You will know what you want and you will make decisions that will support you in achieving and manifesting what you want. Self-knowledge will support you to act upon your unique talents, talents that only you have. Self-knowledge will support you to act upon your passions. Self-knowledge will inspire other people around you, because they will feel your positive and motivated energy. Self-knowledge will increase your confidence and empower you to be the best you can be.

“Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality.” Erich Fromm

Very little in your life’s journey is more important than gaining the self-knowledge of who you really are and what you are really put on this planet to achieve.

How well do you really know yourself?

There is no time like today to start finding out by putting yourself on the path of self-discovery.

Let me know what you think.

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.