Glorious Tasks

"Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful." (Unknown) 

"I am not in the mood", "It's not a good time for me now", "It's not convenient", "I'm tired", etc. Replies we sometimes hear - or give - when faced with a situation where we can help. 
We do not help when it is convenient, when it is easier, when we are in the mood. We do not do good deeds because of rewards, for our image, or for any approval. Good deeds are done because they need to be done. 

"Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right?" (Epictetus) 

Having done right meant that we might do things that are not "convenient" for us, or that we might get out of our way to do them, or step our of our comfort zone. But we all have the capacity to do something nice, kind, helpful. Something that can make even the slightest difference to someone else. 

"To be doing good deeds is man's most glorious task." (Sophocles) 

Photo credit: http://www.37days.com/2013/11/daily-rock-generous.html

What Makes Life Meaningful?

           “We can’t not find meaning in life. The question is can we build powerful 

            meaning in life?”

     Michael F. Steger helps us explore how to make our moments matter, in a simple, 

     insightful and very humane manner.  

The Doers

During a class today, a student shared an opportunity that showed up and the action he needed to take. Asking him what he needed to move forward with his plan, he just replied “nothing; I will just do it!”.

For me, this is always music to my ears. “I’ll just do it.” Simple; clear; determined.

A phrase that pretty accurately reflects my philosophy.

As a coach I am often called to explore with my clients possible obstacles, obvious or underlying, that block them. What I have found is that what separates those who take action and move forward, from those who don’t, is not necessarily the strategy that they develop to overcome the obstacles. In both cases, some knots are to be solved and others to be cut.

What separates them is their determination and commitment. They know that there is no walled journey and this is not a discouragement.

They believe in the purpose of the end result that they want to create.

They have a positive outlook on life. That doesn’t mean that they are naively optimist, but that they choose to stay strong, believe in the power of their drop and just do it! 

Empty Your Cup

A master martial artist asked Bruce Lee to teach him everything Bruce knew about martial arts.

Bruce held up two cups, both filled with liquid. “The first cup”, he said, “represents all of your knowledge about martial arts. The second cup represents all of my knowledge about martial arts. If you want to fill your cup with my knowledge, you must first empty your cup of your knowledge.”

Steve Pavlina uses this story in his blog to tell us that if we want to discover our true purpose in life, we must first empty our mind of all the false purposes we’ve been taught.

I think this story is about everything we decide to do and be: the discovery of a life purpose or any kind of mastery.

If we want to be the leader, boss, partner etc we can be, if we want to create something new, or simply reach the goal that we have set, we must let go of any false beliefs, misconceptions, assumptions, judgments and ideas that are not serving us.

“You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” (Louise Smith)

Legacies

The third Monday of January every year sees the celebration of the life and achievements of Martin Luther King : it is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an American federal holiday. 

Although I am neither an American, nor live in the US, I like to take this opportunity to reflect on his life and legacy. This year, today, the best opportunity came with an article titled: "Instead of Worshiping Dr. King, How About Working Like Him?" 

A light went on in my head. Every day, every time I check my facebook timeline I come across posts with the quotes and photos of different personalities that my contacts share. People that they admire, recognize, worship. 
How difficult is it to stop considering them as something unattainable, as the author of this article suggests? 

How achievable is it for any one of us to think of our role models, the people that we admire and inspire us, and work like them? Instead of just spreading quotes and stories from them, to actually do like them: be the changing agents and follow their legacy or create a new one. 

 

photo credit: http://www.sc.edu/eop/MLK/2010king.html