“Adventure, ultimately is something that resides not outside of us, but within us, in our attitudes and perceptions. That said, I think we can cultivate our internal sense of adventure by exposing ourselves to new experiences. That may mean meeting new people, reading new books, learning new skills, traveling to fresh environments, or even taking some professional risks.”
– Bahram Akradi, CEO Life Time Fitness
I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the patio of my favorite independent tea house when I was violated by the smell of burning nicotine. I turn around to see who is choosing to be so rude when I see a gorgeous brunette with a cancer stick. It just killed me that so someone would chose to kill themselves with cigarettes.
After moving to a different location it occurred to me that I should have stopped and asked why she was so inclined to smoke? Was smoking still considered cool in here circle of friends? Did she not know a cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances. How about the age old message that “smoking is bad for you”?
I so wanted to go pull one if my classic lines – “My uncle is the Surgeon General and he told me that smoking is bad for my health.” buy I didn’t I took my tea and headed back inside.
As i got situated at my new table, I kept thinking that I could have stopped and questioned her behavior and than I started to see something different – was it my place to question her behavior? Who am I to judge her and her behaviors and habits?
I didn’t get or understand why she smoked and probably never would, but maybe it was not for me to get.Maybe it is the societal pressure around smoking that made me want to say something, maybe it is a moral obligation to save someone. All I know is that i did not say anything and it is probably for the better.
My energy is better spent looking at the smoke signals in my own life. As I thought more about it, I began to realize there are things that I do that maybe people don’t agree with. It was in that moment I began to reflect on the fact that who was I to judge this smoking hipster?
So what things could be worse than smoking? Well I came up with a list of things that may be going on in your life – I know some of them were happening in my life:
– do you not maintain the exterior of your house decreasing property value in your neighborhood or bringing down the overall appearance and atmosphere of your neighborhood?
– do you play your music or tv too loud making it uncomfortable for housemates, family, neighbors, the person in the car next door?
– do you do things in public that could be considered gross or inappropriate?
– do you always dress appropriately for where you are going and what you are doing or do you have to make sure to stand out?
– do you drink to much or rely other substances to have a good time becoming a liability to those around you?
– do you do other things while driving ultimately affecting the way you drive?
– what am I doing with my professional life am I living up to my potential?
– am I taking care of my body, getting enough rest, eating health, relieving stress from my life?
– do you take people for who they are or judge them based on who they are, what they do, where they live, where they shop, what they are wearing, etc.?
So the next time you are ready to judge someone else for their habits, it is probably better to look inward first and see what area of your life is sending smoke signals.
I recently moved and in the process I discovered that I am F.A.T. – Yes, I have been known to frivolously acquire things.
For instance, why do I need to go menus to every restaurant in town, when I have Urbanspoon, Siri and a web browser? Or how many gadgets and gizmos does one need to listen to music with? And when i got to packing up my bathroom, I felt like I was cleaning out the supply closet at Sephora. Not to mention in my closet, I had enough shoes for a college football team.
Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about – whether you buy an “extra one” when there is no need or more than one flavor or color. Most all if us our guilty of being F.A.T.
So where does this come from? Why does it happen? How do we stop the cycle? There has to be a solution other than shopping til you drop, the store closing, running out of cash in the pocket of your designer jeans or maxing out your credit card.
Shortly after realizing I was F.A.T. the solution began to appear in my everyday life. For instance . . .
I was at the mall and before making that can’t live without purchase for my professional wardrobe, I paused to ask myself “do I really need this?” Sure enough I did not and enjoyed the rest of my day less one new pair of slacks. In fact, this week the day I wore my “old” suit I had a great day and landed a rather large contract.
This past weekend at the farmers market, I found myself consciously asking myself how much food would I actually consumer this week before my next trip to the farmers market and proceeded to purchase just enough to be satisfied. This is a lot better than having to empty my fridge ever couple weeks with all the spoiled, rotten foods that I purchased because I did not take the time to ask myself if I was being F.A.T.
So these are some if my steps to reduce overconsumption and overindulgence. What small steps can you take in your personal and professional life to stop being so F.A.T.?
“We all have the same 24 hours in a day. The difference lies within how we use those 24 hours.”
– Kathy Welch
What will you do with yours?
When you were a child, your Teachers used report cards to track your performance. As an adult, your Managers complete performance reviews, to evaluate your work. Keeping Score, as a method of tracking performance, is nothing new in your life. Yet why do you not track your performance with respect to your personal goals and objectives?
How do you know you are constantly improving and working to better your life, without evaluating your performance?
I created a daily report card, which I use to evaluate my daily performance. I keep a daily report card journal and reference it throughout the day, checking off items, as I complete and accomplish them.
It is important to note this is not a catch-all summary of my life, rather it is a method for tracking my performance in areas, that I am working to improve.
I have found this to be a simple, stress-free method for motivating me to accomplish and achieve my daily, self improvement, goals and objectives.
I modify my daily report card template on a regular basis, as I learn new skills and set new goals. I remove items from the list, as tasks become part of my daily-routine. Any time my life feels out of place, I can reference previous daily report cards to see what I am missing, then can add those tasks back to my current daily list.
Below is a snapshot of my current daily report card.
• Maintain a clean, clear and organized environment
• Do not procrastinate
• Be overly nice to at least 3 people, per day
• Read at least 10 pages of non-fiction, per day
• Read News/Blogs a maximum of 3 times, per day
• Network for Business and Personal Life (LinkedIn, Facebook, Associations)
• Email/Call two personal contacts, per day
• Make more money, by decreasing daily expenses
• Drink at least 60 oz of water, per day
• Do a minimum of 30 push-ups, per day
• Do a minimum of 100 crunches, per day
• Run 3 times, per week
I challenge you to take a minute to start your daily report card. Just think – if I offered to let you complete your own performance review at work, you would do it without thinking twice!
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