In Equilibrium 29
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In Equilibrium 29
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THIS MONTH
1. In Equilibrium News: We now have dates for our public courses running in 2006.
Please go to our website for more details
2. Stress Tip: Stress Chemicals
Save your body's stress chemicals e.g. adrenalin, for major life events. Don't accelerate heart rate, elevate blood pressure or kill off vast numbers of T-Cells over trivia.
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare."
Mark Twain, US Humourist, novelist, short story author and wit (1835-1910)
4. Book Review: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong
Even although I knew very little about the Tour de France before reading this book I can honestly say it is one of the most motivating books I have ever read. Not just in terms of making you feel like you should aim high and believe in yourself, but also that we are all lucky to be alive and that life is something to seize and throw yourself into - no half way measures accepted! The well known phrase "it could be worse" is put into practice by Lance Armstrong here and his realistic descriptions of rising to the challenges he has had in his life gave me goosepimples!
This is the story about having cancer and surviving it and then going on to win the Tour de France twice (although he has since gone on to win it an unprecedented total of 7 times)! I know that most of you will know this already (although I am amazed it didn't get more news coverage than it did, but then good news doesn't seem to go far these days!), but have you actually thought what this means in reality? Fighting stage 4 testicular cancer which had also spread to his lungs and brain, and then 18 months later winning the most gruelling sporting challenge, the Tour de France, which takes 3 weeks to complete and involves determination and focus that many Olympic athletes don't possess.
This book is impossible to put down. It captures a spirit which will not be broken and is an inspiration to us all. Since finishing it I place even more importance on our attitudes and beliefs about events, and am amazed by how the human spirit can respond in times of adversity - even, in this case, facing your own death.
I know that some people think of Armstrong as an 'American with Attitude', but to me this is the kind of story we can all learn from, so what if he calls a 'spade a spade' and doesn't shy away from saying 'I can do it' (how terrible!). His book is inspirational and I am sure it will already have had a profound effect on alot of people. He is a 'man's man' and calls his wife a 'stud' which is a bit iffy, but that is all lost in the real message of the book which is "Carpe Diem!" (seize the day).
I am off to do just that!
Do you have any thoughts/opinions on this or any other book review you have read in In Equilibrium?
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Pets, apparently, are good for you, although my experiences as a dog owner were mixed and occasionally stressful.
Back in the early 90's I owned two dogs, one a rescue dog, the other we had owned since a puppy. The rescue dog, the story went, had been owned by a drug addict and had been neglected before ending up at a re-homing centre. She was a tall and elegant lurcher and was good as gold, apart from being terrified of thunderstorms, when she would hide under the bed, shaking.
The other dog, brought up by us, showed signs of insanity from the beginning (that's my excuse) and turned out to be a 'problem bitch numero uno'. She was completely deranged and was a sad reflection on our 'parenting skills'. Typical of her behaviour was the day when I took her for a walk across the local public golf course. She had never shown any propensity for fetching anything, yet this day she decided to run onto the middle of a fairway, pick up a golfers ball (no doubt his best drive of the day) and run off with it. There followed a 'Benny Hill' chase sequence (if you're old enough you'll hear the music in your head) with yours truly and an assortment of angry golfers trying to catch an insane collie cross. At odd points she would stop, panting and have a good chew of the ball. On one of these times I dived to catch her, missed and landed face first in a gorse bush. Afterwards I looked like I had gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. I'd had enough!
I remember deciding to abandon her. Then of course ('game over') she appeared at my side and more or less asked to have her lead put on. The golf-ball, sadly was a write off, and thankfully the burly Aberdonian had a sense of humour. Many golfers don't I can assure you.
The lurcher on the other hand was a pleasure to own. The only time she caused me any stress was when she disappeared one day while out on a walk, then re-appeared having rolled (and I am talking head to foot here) in horse unmentionable. The horse concerned had clearly had a dodgy batch of hay or something as the 'unmentionable' was of the liquid variety. Now, as luck would have it, we were 2 miles from home, and we had to return through heavily populated streets. This, of course was no problem as 'stink-lurcher' had a 'parting of the Red Sea' effect on the population of Aberdeen. I was tempted to take her to a car wash, but unfortunately had to physically scrub her repeatedly and hose her down. She even had it in her ears!
This apart, she was a beauty and much admired by all who met her. Once I was offered a thousand pounds for her. She was half greyhound, half saluki, a cross much admired by those who chase hares. Another time I described her to a female aquaintance, who was wearing nought but a thin, sheer dressing gown at the time, as an 'Arabic Humping Hound', a freudian slip of which I was justly proud.
I haven't owned a dog now for many years. It wouldnt be fair - I am away too much. But despite my travails, I would recommend pet owning, and especially owning a lurcher or retired greyhound. There are some marvellous charities who re'home these dogs, which make great pets. Check out www.gal.org.uk
Alan Bradshaw
The BBC's website has many good resources on it, but I think the section on confidence is particularly helpful. There is lots of information to read as well as exercises that you can do online. The results don't give much quality individual feedback but you may find that they point you in the right direction or spur you on to act in a certain way to build your confidence in a particular area.
Areas covered include: Self awareness, identifying your strengths, motivation, emotion, action, staying confident.
7. Stress Technique: Fix the Problem Not the Blame
It is far more productive and less expensive to figure out what to do to fix a problem that has come up than it is to waste time trying to decide who's fault it was.
Blamestorming: A time-consuming, nonproductive, interactive group discussion of why a mistake was made and who made it.
Focusing on why a mistake occured and who is to blame is a waste of time. The larger the mistake, the less likely anyone will take responsibility for making it. Fear of repercussions makes great debaters of all of us. Focusing on why it happened and whose fault it is does not fix the problem it fixes the blame.
Many of us learn how to blamestorm from a very young age when after a disaster the first question is "Who Did This!?", then we grow up into people who work within and manage organisations, as a result it can easily become ingrained into company cultures.
Common sense managers manage problems by immediately seeking a solution. They save valuable time and resources by skipping what's wrong, why it happened, and who caused it. They direct their resources toward determining what needs to be done to fix the situation.
Customers simply want to know that their product will arrive on time and in accordance with their quality and price specifications. Concentrating on what needs to be done to fix the situation and get back on track as quickly as possible is the most efficient way to resolve a problem.
While this is being done, Common Sense Managers also address what needs to be done to prevent a reoccurance of the problem. Common Sense Managers address problems as opportunities to further improve their organizations effectiveness. When you concentrate on what needs to be done, the who, why and what's wrong take care of themselves.
For example: The wheel has fallen off your bike.
We have 2 choices of questions to ask:
"What's gone wrong that caused the wheel to fall off? Why did it fall off? Who caused it?"
or
"What do we need to do to get it back on the bike and keep it there?"
Only one of these approaches will do something immediately about repairing the bike.
Only one of these approaches will do something about keeping the wheel on the bike.
Will this approach keep the bike on top form forever? No, organisations are controlled by people who are not perfect. People do not design perfect procedures, processes or performance criteria. Therefore there will always be opportunities for improvements. Focusing on what needs to be done enables us to seize these opportunities.
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter and our website. We are always keen to receive constructive feedback. Perhaps you have an opinion on a point raised at one of our workshops,or you wish to ask other readers what they think about a particular issue. Keep in touch with us!!
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