Power-Ups

Our lives are affected by the decisions we make, which are influenced heavily by the knowledge that we have and the feelings that we feel. As we spoke about last time, philosophy deals essentially with the logical side of life (information and thinking habits) while attitude focuses primarily on the emotional issues that affect our very being. What we know (knowledge) determines our philosophy, while how we feel about what we know, determines our attitude. It is our emotional nature that governs most of our daily conduct professionally and personally.  It is these emotional experiences that determine our behaviour. How we feel about things will freeze us or inspire us to take action each given day.  Like thoughts, emotions can propel us either way. Note: how we feel about the areas of the wheel of life (including people, our work, our homes, our finances, and the world around us) form our attitude.  (look up Wheel of Life in our blog) With the right attitude, humans can m...

I would like to start a series on the Principles of Success. In starting this journey, we must start with our personal Philosophy. A major factor in how our lives turn out is how we think. When we combine what we know with the process of how we came to know it, we start to create our personal philosophy. Many sources contribute to this philosophy, and as adults we filter all information through this lens we have created over the years. So anything that contradicts our beliefs is often quickly rejected. Our beliefs determine our value systems. Our beliefs lead us to what we believe is valuable and how we spend our time, money, and energy is based on these values. Our personal philosophy is like the large sail on a sailing boat. The main thing that sets our sail is how we think, and that determines where we arrive. When the winds change, so must we. How we think and then how we respond is what creates change, positive or negative. Every experience is etched into our brains, so we need to...

Jeff had worked as a support worker for 8 years. He really wanted to work as an Adventure Therapist and as a mentor to young people wanting to get into the Australian Football League (AFL). As we explored the factors holding him back from this, it came down to fear holding him back and his strategy: Procrastination! Jeff wanted support in working out how to overcome procrastination. So let’s look at what is procrastination? The etymology of the word  procrastination  is derived from the Latin Verb Procrastinate: ‘to put off until tomorrow’. Procrastination is the avoidance, delaying, or putting off a task that needs to be done. Neil Fiore, author of The Now Habit, defined procrastination as “a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing a task or decision.” It is good to write down what you will have achieved once you have completed the task that you are procrastinating over. People procrastinate for all sorts of reasons. The 4 most common reas...

Lots of people treat their bodies  like a woodshed. That is to say that they force it to function, make it work when they need it to (even if it's rundown), throw things in it without respect, and don’t take care of it. They then find that a few years down the track their shed is messy, falling down, cobwebs, spiders, and snakes all over the place and it is unsafe. Often it is at this point, that they then start to take care of it. Spending a little time regularly to maintain the woodshed is much wiser, easier, and financially cheaper, and saves the risk of it falling down or putting time and money into trying to fix it. Abbie-Lea Verco

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven  37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. Y...

Ever watched in awe as a flock of birds  fly in a ‘V’ formation? The Flying Geese Story Reference:  Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes, ARCS NEWS, Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1992 Next autumn, when you see Geese heading South for the Winter, flying along in V formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:  as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are ...

The path that led me to teaching was a twisted and windy one. I didn’t set out after school to get a degree in education, mould young minds, and change the world. Finding my purpose as an educator  was a long process, one that didn’t fully emerge until after more than a decade in the classroom. In high school, I took two classes that immediately defined what I thought I wanted to do with my life, Journalism and Business. I was going to own my own theatre company and be a playwright and then have my own column in a local newspaper, and I would speak to the world. Now, there are people who are sharing inspiration through writing and theatre with the world, but it’s a hard world to crack into, and theatre and journalism can be daunting for a 20-year-old with a baby son, and high values on ethics and respect. I found the theatre became about making money and creating a “product” and I never did follow through with my journalism dreams. I didn’t feel like I was making a difference, and ...

And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. - HARUKI MURAKAMI It has been a brave journey and you have claimed your reward. All that is left at this point is to return to your ordinary world. On return to your ordinary world, it is evident that you are not the person you were when you left. You’ve been strengthened, shaped, and moulded by your journey. The New World is now a terrain you know well and have positive experiences with. You are now a dual citizen, able to live in the old world and live within the new. When I was looking at going overseas for the first time, I certainly felt like the ‘new world’ was unknown. I was a little nervous and not sure what to expect. But the more we ventured, the more comfortable I became and that form of traveling is now some...

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." For as long as I can remember, I have set New Year’s Resolutions that I have (surprise, surprise) not been able to stick with. Things like losing 20 kilos or cutting out caffeine. This time around, I thought I might take a different approach. Again on January 1st, I made 13 resolutions, that I will endeavor to work through, however, already just three weeks later, I realise how hard it is to get these larger goals into play. So today I have started to break down my resolutions into mini-resolutions.  I took a photo, which is a habit I’m trying to start (I want an album with the whole year in it). Rather than saying that “I am going to cut out caffeine”, I have made the commitment at the beginning of each day to give up caffeine for ‘today’. Today I made a commitment to make my bed before I started any work. I made this goal and felt good about it. So again, as my partner would say: start light then slowly build to a...

The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind. As a teacher, I learnt very quickly that times tables and repetitive learning of information would not catch the attention of my students, and I decided to adopt the lost art of storytelling back into my lessons.  I was filled with joy to see the students sitting forward listening in their chairs asking questions and pondering some of the very important questions of life. This taught me very quickly that there is always more than one way to look at a situation and sometimes it is worth looking outside of the box to get the answer that we need. Often life can seem like it is moving very quickly, with lots of decisions, yet very few real options. This is where we really must take the time to take a few deep breaths and in fact, give ourselves the space and time to reflect on the important aspects of life. When thinking about the Mind and Meaning Pillar of Life, to find what...

S.Y.S.T.E.M. Save Yourself Time, Energy, and Money A Roman Catholic priest, an Anglican priest, and a Baptist preacher were standing near a river conversing when the subject of which church was nearest to the teaching of God arose. The Roman Catholic priest said that of course there was no argument that the Roman Catholic Church was. They were descended directly from the Apostles; in fact, Peter was their first Pope. He said in fact so close are we that I can even walk on water like Jesus and he preceded to walk on the water to the other side.   The Anglican Priest said the Anglican Church was very similar in origin to the Catholics and he too demonstrated his ability to walk on water like Jesus Christ. The Baptist preacher said that he could not care where their origins were; he studied the word and preached it purely and without any embellishments. Since they could walk on water he should be even better at it. He took one step forward and sunk knee-deep into the river. The R...

"The secret of getting things done is to act!" I personally like to keep things simple. If the process is too long, I won’t tend to get through it. So often with self-help guides to getting things done, they have so many steps that by the time I have spent an hour working out what I need to do, I really don’t feel like doing anything with it. With this in mind, I thought I would share with you the 5 steps I take when I want to get something done. Get A Routine –  Get into good routines; over time it gets easier. Think about what you need to achieve in a day. Reward Yourself  – My philosophy in life is to work hard and then celebrate a job well done. Reward yourself when you achieve each small step, even the easiest ones, such as calling a gym to check the prices, or making your bed. Plan For Fun –  You won’t be able to stay motivated if your life is all about work and no fun. In your timetable, make sure you commit to doing things you enjoy, whether it be taking a dance l...

"Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror." - Colin Powell Driving a car looking in the rearview mirror is a recipe for disaster. Likewise, driving backward or reversing is dangerous. It is important to work on changing the directions of the front wheels and the back wheels will follow. Imagine you are about to go on a road trip from Western Australia to Sydney. You have packed the car and filled it with petrol and you and your passengers are ready to head off. You have chosen to start this trip in the evening so that there will be less traffic on the road. You have many decisions to make regarding your trip. The first thing you need to think about is what setting you to have your headlights: 1) Sometimes we have our headlights turned off and we can’t see the road or we get off course or hit a roadblock. 2) Sometimes we have our lights on low beam, so we can see a little way ahead, but it is a slow journey and we don’t see all the signs or the best path ...

The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. - Morrie Schwartz The beautiful thing about any relationship (friendship, intimate partnership, acquaintance, etc.) is that it provides a context for you to get to know yourself better. You might say it is like a mirror; in that, it shows you yourself. Are the benefits of friendship solely selfish? Ponder this: to the degree that you don’t be yourself, know yourself, and love yourself may be the degree that there will be friction and sizeable opportunities for learning in the relationship (a.k.a. challenges!). Building a network of healthy relationships (through small, frequent actions over time) is the ultimate support. When your life moves through a chaotic patch, or your roots are shaken by a storm, it most likely won’t be your work that supports you through it! At the end of the day, all you have is yourself, family/friends, food, and the earth. ‘Prune’ and ‘grow’ these things regularly. Other...