Provision #590: You Gotta Love It
by Bob Tschannen-Moran
LifeTrek Laser Provision
The US election is over and, whether you are pleased or displeased with the
outcome, you gotta love the expressions of solidarity, hope, and cooperation
that have been expressed by many Americans, on both sides of the aisle, let
alone by many more people and leaders around the world. There are many things to
celebrate in this situation, if only we give ourselves the permission and time
to take a look and call them out. That is, in fact, a pretty good way of
approaching any situation. If you have any doubt or need a little encouragement,
read on to think it through and make it so.
LifeTrek Provision
Since a few readers took exception to last week's Provision, asserting that it
was a rather obvious endorsement of our new President-elect, Barack Obama, I
thought I would start this Provision with a rather obvious endorsement of his
challenger, Senator John McCain.
My wife and I have been on the road this week, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
meeting with clients and prospective clients of LifeTrek Coaching International.
Thanks to the magic of satellite radio in our rental car, we've had the
privilege of listening to far more radio stations for far longer periods of time
than we usually get in our hometown of Williamsburg, VA. It's been fun to listen
to so many stations from around the world. You gotta love it.
For a time we were listening to the BBC as they were taking calls from around
the world about the significance of Obama's election. I will not forget the call
that came in from Nigeria. "What was the best part of the US election?" asked
the radio interviewer. Now I would not have been surprised to hear this man sing
the praises of Barack Obama. But that is not what we got. Not at all.
Without pausing for an instant, this man responded, "John McCain's concession
speech. That is what we need to learn how to do, here in Africa. In Africa,
after an election, the loser is immediately announcing plans to undermine,
destabilize, and even kill his victorious opponent. But that's not we got from
America. John McCain showed us the way of real democracy. He was a true leader.
To so quickly congratulate his opponent and to pledge his willingness to
cooperate in the government was an outstanding example. We must learn to follow
in his footsteps."
You gotta love it. "Country First" was, indeed, the guiding light of John
McCain. And everyone around the world is celebrating the news. I was struck by
one editorial that called into question the concern that Barack Obama was
elected President just because of his race, as if that were a bad thing. Never
in the history of the world, this editorial remarked, has a nation peaceably
turned over the reins of power to one of its most historically oppressed
minorities. America is, once again, leading the way when it comes to the
evolution of the human race. You gotta love it.
That has been the theme of our work over the past few days and since the
founding of LifeTrek Coaching International in 1998. We celebrate the best to
bring out the best in life and work. That's more than just a catchy slogan.
That's how we do what we do and why it works.
Celebrate the Best. This orientation is where it begins and ends. No
matter what is going on, there is always something worth celebrating. We just
have to notice. "The optimist," it's been said, "looks at the glass and calls it
half full. The pessimist looks at the glass and calls it half empty. The
appreciative person looks at the glass and calls it beautiful."
Think of all the things we can notice about that glass! We can notice its
shimmer, its shape, its feel, its arrangement, its color, its design, it
convenience, its utility, its location, and its value to mention only ten. There
are literally no end to the things we can appreciate about any situation. You
gotta love it.
The same thing is true, of course, about the things we can depreciate. There is
no end to the things we can complain about and it is often easier to notice
these things. That's because pain and problems have a way of getting our
attention. When we break a bone it hurts and we cry out until the bone is set,
the healing begins, and the pain subsides. When we lose a file it distresses us
and we search around until the file is found or recreated and the work
continues.
It's easy, in every painful or problematic situation, to start whining about
what's gone wrong. We blame ourselves or others, adding insult to injury. We
pile on with the "could-a, would-a, should-a" rap until we fall prey to the
downward spiral. What we depreciate, depreciates until we have sucked all the
value, all the potential, and all the energy right out of the system.
To Bring Out the Best. Fortunately, the opposite is equally true. What we
appreciate, appreciates. By noticing the things that are beautiful, noble, true,
reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious, and good, we lean into the upward
spiral of realizing our full potential and becoming the best we can possibly be.
It may take discipline to pay attention to those things in the face of
adversity, but it's never impossible.
That's the hope of every coach, consultant, and change process. We want people
to catch the wind of new life and new creation, whether our task is in the
marketplace or in the open space of human development. When we were in New
Jersey this past week, we were facilitating a two-day, off-site meeting for a
pharmaceutical communications agency. As the process went on, and people began
connecting with their best experiences, values, and wishes, I was struck by the
energy they unleashed and the language they were using.
"We want to be refreshing," was a recurrent theme. "By being refreshing to each
other and to our clients we will achieve more than if we simply bear down and
grind out the work." The CEO summed it up this way: "I want us to be a
blessing."
That's not typical language when it comes to the business world, but that's what
happens when we connect the dots between the best of the past and our dreams for
the future. We radiate possibility. When we notice and celebrate the good stuff
we generate both the desire and the design to get even more of the good stuff in
life and work. I know it sounds simple, but I've seen the dynamic over and over
again. And it amazes me every time.
So let that be a lesson to us all. "You gotta love it" is more than just an
expression. It's a way of looking at the world and going through life. The more
we find to love about situations the more refreshed and refreshing we will be.
Coaching Inquiries: What helps you to appreciate the best and the beautiful in
every situation? What reminds you to stop whining and to start rejoicing? How
can you more fully savor the positive dynamics of life? Who can become your
appreciation buddy on the journey? What do you notice right now that you can
celebrate?
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LifeTrek Readers' Forum (selected feedback
from the past week)
Editor's Note: The LifeTrek Readers' Forum contains selections from the comments
and materials sent in each week by the readers of LifeTrek Provisions. They do
not necessarily reflect the perspective of LifeTrek Coaching International. To
submit your comment,
Email Bob.
Thanks for a life changing and life saving
Provision
on the power of the individual to make a difference. Sitting on the sidelines
and letting others decide how the country will be run is the ultimate personal
power give away. Who is in office does matter. The 2000 Presidential
election proved that. A simple act, like washing hands, can literally save a
life. So, too, when it comes to casting a vote.
Your piece on hand washing was very timely. Just on this morning's news from NBC
there was a segment on all the handshaking that the candidates had been doing
and there was a shot of John McCain getting some hand washing solution from one
of his aides.
Thank you for your mention of our conversation about Boston in your last
Provision. It was nice to read along and know that I was with you in your
thoughts as you wrote. I always appreciate your Provisions. They stimulate
thinking in good ways.
From a reader in Bosnia: I wanted to congratulate you the winning of Barack
Obama. I hope he will change things on to better for both you and the rest of
the world.
When my son was serving his second tour of duty in Baghdad in 2005 he wrote me
the following note: “Mom you would not believe these people here, they are being
threatened with death and still they are turning out in the millions to
cast a vote that may or may not even get heard.” Here was a news report on that
event by the Washington Post Foreign Service on January 31, 2005:
"Millions of Iraqis turned out Sunday to cast ballots in the country's first
free elections in a half-century, the ranks of voters surging as attacks by
insurgents proved less ferocious than feared and enthusiasm spilled over into
largely Sunni Arab regions where hardly a campaign poster had appeared.
At least 45 people, including a U.S. Marine shot while on combat patrol in Anbar
province, were reported killed in suicide bombings, shootings and mortar and
rocket attacks. But for the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April
2003, the haggard capital and other parts of Iraq took on the veneer of a
festival, as crowds danced, chanted and played soccer in streets secured by
thousands of Iraqi and American forces. From the Kurdish north to the largely
Shiite south, at thousands of polling stations, voters delivered a similar
message: The elections represented their moment not only to seize the future,
but also to reject a legacy of dictatorship and the bloodshed and hardship that
have followed the U.S. invasion."
It's great that so many Americans voted in the recent election. But how many
Americans would stand in line in the United States with a gun to their head or
bomb in their path to cast a vote? Let us never take that privilege and
responsibility for granted.
You have had some very thought-provoking Provisions lately. I always enjoy
reading them. Have a Biblical question for you. Where in the Bible does it say
"Jesus said if you disrespect one, you murder them." (Ed. Note: Jesus never said
that. He did say that, "You've heard it said that you shall not murder, but I
say to you that you should not even be angry" (Matthew 5:21f). Perhaps that is
what you were remembering.)
I enjoy your Provisions, but sometimes I think they are idealized and not too
"real world." "Goodness, peace, and joy" are admirable sentiments. But "peace"
is hard work. Hard work is not something that is wide-spread now. And, shrinking
every day. We need a Gandhi-like leader like Washington, Jefferson, or ... ...
to lead us. Visionary leaders always seem to be in short supply?
The problem we have now is that we are a nation of producers and takers. Last
figure I saw was that 55% of the population derives its income from government.
We know that government consumes wealth; not producing anything. At what
percentage does the producing population turn on the consuming population?
55-45, 25-75, or 10-90? I don't know. But I do know that neither "spreading the
wealth around" nor being "in Iraq for 100 years" is the path to peace and
prosperity.
It is evident that the intent of your last Provision was solely to get out the
vote for your candidate. If you indeed wanted to stir up passions for all then
you would have presented opinions from the other party as well. Your intent in
this specific Provision was quite clear and, in my opinion, self serving. I wish
you peace and joy as well. That truly comes through serving as opposed to being
served. Top
May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.
Bob Tschannen-Moran
LifeTrek Coaching International
121 Will Scarlet Lane
Williamsburg, VA 23185-5043
U.S.A.
Telephone: 757-345-3452
Fax: 772-382-3258
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