Positive problems
- At December 08, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Problems and pressure. If you want to develop your personal potential or the potential of your organization or nation it may be beneficial to find a few more problems and feel some pressure.
It goes without saying, that feeling forced isn’t usually much fun. Most of us would likely prefer to feel free to make decisions at our leisure. But very little of consequence is accomplished if everyone is always feeling comfortable and carefree. Necessity is the mother of all inventions for a reason and not perpetual prosperity.
Too much time spent at the country club or on vacation leads to personal stagnation and, when added together, national decline. Illusions of endless peace or economic growth will also inspire few to take action. Meanwhile, deadlines and a sense of urgency actually works to your advantage.
Duty and danger, for example, cause many to rise to the occasion and accomplish what seemed absolutely impossible moments ago. Personal limits are surpassed under pressure.
This isn’t to say that depriving or otherwise applying pressure to others is usually a good idea. Parenting, coaching, management, friendships, and international relationships require diplomacy and great care. Creating a pressure-cooker environment isn’t normally a good way of relating. Too much pressure and too many problems is counterproductive: people soon feel overwhelmed and threatened. The crank-up-the-pressure method is unnecessarily provocative as a standard approach, creating discouragement, resentment and little that is positive.
That said, very few people or organizations – not to mention entire nations – will ever reach their full potential without some form of outside pressure. Graduation is approaching, bills need to be paid, the budget must be balanced, the Barbarians are at the gate, etc. Action is required and decisions must be made – before it is too late.
Facing a difficult situation and even embracing adversity often makes sense. While some problems can be devastating, others will one day be regarded as friends. So invite them in. Allow problems to have a positive influence in your life. Accept pressure as a part of the process.
As you know, my home country, Canada, has vast natural resources, very few people, and limited capabilities in terms of national defence. At the same time, many of Canada’s major allies are presently struggling in a world that is arguably becoming a more dangerous place. Power is shifting. While this isn’t all bad, the reality is that global tyrants abound; dictators are a dime a dozen. And potentially hostile nations are arming fast. To make the situation worse, our fleet of CF-18 fighter planes is wearing out and will soon need to be replaced.
No, this may not be the worst of times down here on the earth, but it sure isn’t the best of times either. While my home province, Saskatchewan, is doing better than it has before, many other places on the planet are in rough shape.
Back to Canada. So rather than hearing politicians discussing matters of comparatively little consequence, it is now possible to listen to a lively debate concerning which type of fighter plane Canada should buy. Will F-35s be parked on the tarmac, roaring down the runways, or evading enemy radar beyond the horizon in the not-too-distant future? I don’t know. But I do know, that if our trading partners and allies were strong, if the world felt safe, and if our dated planes were good for another 50 years or so, we would probably continue to be comparatively weak and dependent as a nation for many years to come.
With fewer problems and less incentive to change, Canadians would likely wake up one morning tragically late only to discover that their resource strength and military weakness had not gone unnoticed.
As it is, my home country has been forced to grow and develop. I suppose it could be said that Canada is growing up. Rather than practicing our posture as sitting ducks, economic development is now slowly being supported by a growing capacity for self-defence.
Problems and pressure have a positive role to play.
Do you have a pressing problem that might eventually work out for your benefit? Is your country facing a difficult situation that could help you reach your true collective potential?
It has been observed many times before that problems can be positive. Adversity can work to your advantage. So let hardship help you move ahead.
© Career & Life Direction 2012. All rights reserved.
Positive personal power
- At October 29, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
What type of thoughts are you preoccupied with? What do you tend to pay attention to? And what do you talk about again and again and again? Is there one unpleasant event in your past that you meditate on more than any other? And how is that working for you?
For that matter, what are you thinking about right now? Is your present frame of mind going to help you move ahead in your life – help you become all that you were intended to be – or is it going to hold you back. Will it feed your fears?
It sounds simplistic, but deliberately choosing what you will pay attention to has the potential to alter the course of your life. Yes, it can. You can let other people tell you what to think about, or you can choose what you will think about. Consider the implications of doing that for a moment. All things being equal, self-control via thought control could make all the difference.
What you think determines what you will do.
It is possible to essentially give up your right to manage what goes on in your own mind. Some people abdicate their responsibility. But it is also possible to reclaim this territory – to ram that flag deep down into the earth as if to say, “I claim this untamed wilderness land in the name of the King of…well, ideally the King of kings.”
Chasing the bad thoughts out and trying to drag some good thoughts in can be a daily struggle. But it is worth it. Over the years, engaging in this struggle will help you make a difference. This discipline will shape your future and define your destiny.
Living in denial is not the idea here. Plunging your head deep down into the sand is hardly the goal. The idea, rather, is to meditate – to fix your mind – on what is positive and good and helpful and productive.
Perhaps you have experienced a few very painful failures in your life. Who hasn’t? But, what is important, is not whether or not you feel like you have failed; what matters is how you choose to respond to your life situation. If you are reading this your life isn’t over yet. And may I suggest, that the best (from God’s perspective) may well be yet to come.
While it is a mistake to entertain illusions of grandeur, there isn’t much point in selling yourself short either.
When it comes to dreams and goals, picture yourself doing a little more good in this world than you think you can. Imagine reaching just a bit higher than your present understanding of your abilities allow. Raise the bar too high and you will become discouraged and give up. But a good coach will help you raise the bar, so to speak, just the right amount. I’m indebted to the senior pastor at my home church, Mike Smart, for this general insight. It is good advice.
We all need other people. But at the same time, it is possible to partially coach yourself. My hunch is that many people think negative and self-defeating thoughts on a daily, weekly, and monthly, basis. My guess is that this a very common routine or rut to fall into. Once you are in, it is hard to get back out. Before you know it, negative thinking becomes a way of life. Your thoughts become almost all negative almost all the time.
Opening a window can sometimes let some much-needed fresh air into a room. Opening your mind to a new way of thinking can have the same effect.
Today, you don’t need to let your mind go where you have always gone. It doesn’t have to happen. With some discipline and encouragement you can regularly go to a better place. It won’t be easy, but you can change. Yes, to start things off, consider that encouraging thought.
A word of caution: As far as I can tell, my thoughts do not determine what is real and likely neither will yours. Hurricane Sandy is going to show up on the East Coast and do what it does whether we think it will or not. This isn’t some sort of mind over monster-storm message. Life is filled with difficult and sometimes very dangerous situations that you will need to deal with directly.
But you will be much better prepared to face the future if you are not constantly thinking about problems and painful situations in your past.
© Career & Life Direction 2012. All rights reserved.
What you have to offer
- At July 28, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Rather than thinking initially about what specific type of career or life calling might be a good choice for you, begin by thinking about what you might have to offer this world. And yes, you do have something to offer. If it is too overwhelming picturing yourself next to everybody on a needy planet, go with your community, or family, or friends, etc.
Believe me: Somebody somewhere could benefit from what you have.
What have you got? What is your story? How do you feel you might fit even in the immediate environment you see around you?
Begin with basics: Are you a man or a woman? No, seriously. I am all for equality in terms of dignity and value but your gender does make a difference. A big difference. Women bring something to this world that men don’t and vice versa. You might not have read the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, but you likely already recognized a number of important differences from daily life.
Men, for example, are known for their ability to focus their effort or energy on one specific thing for a long period of time. Women, on the other hand, are typically very good at taking many different things into consideration all at once. Men go shopping to buy something. Women go shopping to look at everything. Men tend to travel to reach a specific destination. Women usually want to experience everything along the way. What is a strength in some situations may be a weakness in another.
This is only one example. While men and women are similar in some ways they are also very different in many others. Be prepared: The differences are likely much larger than you think. Getting to know the usually characteristics of your own gender and the other gender will serve you well. It will open your eyes to the areas in which you might be the most effective.
Moving on. How would you describe your physical condition? Are you tall or short or somewhere in between? How is your level of fitness? Do you have any obvious physical limitations that might need to be considered? How is your eye sight? On a scale of one to ten, how high is your energy level? Do you struggle with any chronic conditions? These questions may seem to lead towards identifying limitations. But that is not the intent. The purpose is rather to develop a very clear view of what you have to offer.
Nations and individuals both need to identify their natural resources. Possibility thinking needs to be anchored to reality. Connected.
When Bethany Hamilton was thirteen years old she lost one of her arms in a shark attack. And yes, it is as painful for me to write this as it is for you to read this. It is horrible to even imagine something like this happening. For Bethany, the pain was experienced on another level. She almost died. The movie Soul Surfer tells her story.
Missing an arm is an important detail, to say the least, especially if you happen to be a competitive surfer like Bethany. It wasn’t easy but somehow she was able to carry on. So if you realize that all of your body parts are intact and working relatively well…give thanks. Consider also that a healthy body is a very significant asset that you can make good use of in the years to come.
Next, identify where you live. That shouldn’t take too long. Is your home on an island somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Do you live in a small village in Africa? Are you part of one of the many mega-cities in China? Are you quite isolated or living in the heartland of your civilization? Is it blazing hot or freezing cold or somewhere in between? What immediate opportunities are there for you in your area? Location, location, location. It matters.
Find a globe and stick a brightly coloured pin in where you live. Go to Google Maps and more or less do the same. Ask yourself this question: What might somebody living where I am have to offer that somebody living somewhere else might not?
Growing up, as I did, on a farm in western Canada is quite a bit different from, say, growing up downtown in New York City. If you looking for space and solitude and silence, for example, rural Saskatchewan is one place where you can easily find it. And, in New York City? Not so much. As an introvert I have come to appreciate the importance of having a quiet setting to reflect. Perhaps sustained uncluttered thought can be of some benefit to others? You never know.
Finally, there is the issue of language. What language do you speak? And can you speak any additional languages? My present location on the planet makes this a very relevant question. If you live in Quebec, for example, there is a very good chance that you will naturally grow up being bilingual. Speaking French and English will be a natural part of daily life. And, if you recently immigrated to Canada from another country there is a very good chance that you will be trilingual. View each language you speak as an additional asset.
Growing up speaking English in a largely English-speaking world has given me one advantage that many other people do not have. This language skilll is part of what I personally have to offer. I am, of course, making use of it right now. But it would be even better if I was able to function freely in French, German, Russian, or any of the many other languages which are frequently used around the world. Learning another language would add to what I presently have to offer.
So, as you reflect on a few of your basic background details, what is it that you have to offer? Have you considered that you likely have a lot more to offer than you presently think?
© Career & Life Direction 2012. All rights reserved.
Your culture counts
- At July 24, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
There is more than one way to celebrate the diversity of cultures in this world.
One well-established technique is to claim that nothing is true and therefore that no group can claim superiority over any other. Once truth is ejected from our thinking, we are led to believe, somehow we are all going to be magically united: It is just going to be one big, happy, international potluck after another.
This, dare I say, is a dumb idea that has been around now for a very long time.
True, competing truth-claims have contributed to conflict in the past. But there is much more to the typical conflict equation. Consider, sadly, any particular group of Christian people. What will you find? All to often, it will be people who claim to believe much the same things and yet are still occasionally fighting (quarrelling might be a better word) among themselves.
Take away the core convictions people have in common, and what do you suppose might happen? Even more conflict?
Another option, is to hold that each culture should be celebrated because each culture actually matters. Part of the truth is that they do matter. Consider that from this perspective there is going to be a whole lot more authentic cultural-diversity-celebration going on. The music will somehow be more lively. The dancing…more joyful. There will be more heart, more flair. It will be a true festival – a feast.
Everything in any one particular culture will likely not be celebrated. But something in each one will be. The English might turn to the French and say, “What would this world be like without the joy you bring?” The Spanish might give the Germans a great big hug and exclaim, “Your discipline and determination is absolutely wonderful!”
Having a sense of what is good and true and right, each person in each culture could look for it in cultures and communities around them. And affirm what they find.
One problem that affects many people, preventing them from becoming all that they were intended to be, is a deep sense of inferiority – personal and even national inferiority. With this in mind, although a few days ago I expressed a few words of genuine affirmation for American people, today I need to say (please take this the right way) that I am glad I am not an American. I am a Canadian. Canadians are important people too. They have a role to play. Like everybody else. I am happy to be who I am. Are you?
When deeper truths fade they are often replaced with shallow lies. Consider the whole idea that you need to be wealthy or powerful to be important. Where did that come from? Does that really make sense? Take a human being, give him or her a wad of cash, and somehow they are now instantly transformed into a more valuable human being? So that is how it works? Hand some guy a gun and he arrives at a whole new level of human dignity? No. Not at all.
People and cultures and nations who have a measure of wealth and power need to be thankful and careful about how they use what they have. It does give them more immediate opportunity to exert a positive influence. They have more responsibility to be sure. But it doesn’t make them more important as a group of human beings. Not in terms of dignity or core worth, anyway. So as you prosper or struggle with poverty, please keep this thought in mind.
Your culture counts. Your people matter. Your language is important. Your history is significant. Your success deserves to be celebrated.
Whatever you do, don’t get in the habit of putting your culture and people down. Consider, rather, that the nation you are a part of may well have incredible potential.
© Career & Life Direction 2012. All rights reserved.
Training her strengths
- At June 15, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Meeting Needs
- 0
Clara Hughes can go faster and further than most. Watch and wait and see. Standing on the sidelines she will blast right on by before you know it. Six Olympic metals offer proof of her athletic ability and tell part of her personal story.
When it comes to speed and endurance, especially endurance, she is very difficult to beat. Let her lace-up her skates or get her on her bike and she will keep going and going and going. Fast.
In Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Rowan Atkinson may have been impressively speedy on his borrowed bike in his frustrated attempt to get to La Mer, but he can’t keep up with Clara Hughes. Few can.
Read More»StrengthsFinder 2.0
- At May 24, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Meeting Needs
- 0
How accurate is your vision? How clearly can you see yourself?
If you are like most people, you probably have a hard time noticing what is wrong with you and what is right with you. It may well be that neither comes easy. For whatever reason, it is an incredible challenge for many to clearly perceive personal problems and potential. Can’t seem to cut through the haze.
So major faults go undetected for years while great gifts and talents lie dormant. Such is life. Your life and mine. All too often, that is how it seems to be – for a great number of people, anyway.
As you inch towards the end of your life you begin to wonder what could have been.
Call it part of being human. Trace it back to humanity’s historic fall. Try to blame it on biology and all those conniving chemicals. Connect it to the culture in your community. But, regardless of all reasons, the glory and shame of each person’s unique humanity often remains undetected. It flies, as it were, under the radar.
And it can take much more than a moment of clarity and insight to be able to say something like, “Hello, my name is _____ and I am an alcoholic.” Or “Hi, my name is_______ (please insert your own) and I am good at _____.” It can take years. It can take a lifetime. But it doesn’t have to.
Read More»Living with limits
- At March 16, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Helen Keller experienced it. Mozart did too. The apostle Paul had to deal with it. And then there was Moses. They all had to live with significant, and even serious, problems and limitations.
They couldn’t hear or see or talk – or at least not very well. They had obvious problems. Limits. It must have been embarrassing and frustrating, difficult and depressing. No, they probably didn’t like it. Not one bit. It must have felt like more than they could manage; it was too much at times. But, they had to learn how to limp along and make do. They had to keep on trying and living just the same. And do you know what? So do you.
But be encouraged. Most everyone has to face something painful and difficult – that just will not go away. If it isn’t in the past it will be in the future. Weakness has a way of making itself known. And it isn’t just you. No, you are not alone. The “beautiful” people have issues to. The healthy aren’t whole in every way. Your friend or co-worker who appears to be popular and successful is limited somehow. Count on it. Learn to look beyond the surface. Nobody has it all together, or at least not for long. Everyone is messed-up and mixed-up and lacking to some extent. When Mr. Wonderful gets home and is all alone…the cracks begin to show.
Read More»Relationships and the Trinity
- At March 07, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
If you happen to be looking for advice specifically about relationships, it wouldn’t hurt to begin by reflecting on the Trinity. That would be the three-in-one and one-in-three word used to describe God by most Christian people who speak English.
This suggestion, by the way, is nothing new and not at all original with me. Look into it, and you will find a small army of academics talking about it constantly. And it makes sense to reflect on such things; that is, if you have come to the realization that God is best described as a trinity. For here you will find an example of an ideal relationship.
Notice, that I didn’t say you should try to completely understand it. Even thinking about a little piece of this world, or part of reality, for too long will blow your mind. Don’t believe me? Give it a try. Very little that appears to be simple and self-evident actually is.
Read More»