Sherry Essig: Flow-Dynamix.com

Appreciate Your Inner Child

Sherry Essig — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:00:02 +0000

This wonderful video about appreciating your inner child was written and drawn by Peter Reynolds of Fablevision in Boston, MA.

(Drawing by Peter Reynolds)

You can view the video at: http://www.fablevision.com/hewasme/HeWasMe_med.mov (It might take a minute or so to download.)

Your inner child holds your hopes and dreams, creative spirit, and authentic self. Make room for him/her in your life.

Thanks to Mimi Graney for sharing this video with me.

Your inner child comments (either on the topic or from your inner child ;-)) are welcome!

Turning Obstacles into Opportunity

Sherry Essig — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:26:17 +0000

I love this story I received from one of my clients.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King’s’ wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

I wish you an obstacle-free New Year! But in case you do encounter obstacles – big or small – know that you have the strength, creativity and resilience to turn them into opportunities.

The Way You Handle the Problem is What Matters

Sherry Essig — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:57:41 +0000

I love being wowed.

A few weeks ago, I dropped my car off at the dealer for its 40,000 mile service. Just your run-of-the-mill, ordinary maintenance. The phone call I received from the service department advising me that I needed new tires did not fall into that category.

I wasn’t happy.

I’d already replaced my tires at 15,000 miles (premature wear and tear) … and now I needed new tires again? Seriously?!!

And yet, at the end of the experience I was singing the praises of Johnson Lexus in Raleigh, NC. (Obviously I still am.)

They heard my concerns and acted on them. The solution they offered was more than fair and was executed with minimum inconvenience for me.

No arguing, no excuses, no defensiveness. Their energy simply went towards solving the problem.

It’s rarely the problem that creates friction or dissatisfaction; it’s how you handle it.

Next time you make a mistake, have an unintended impact or otherwise find yourself in the midst of a problem, turn it into an opportunity. Create a Wow experience for someone.

Planning Versus Wishing

Sherry Essig — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:05:55 +0000

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

What’s on your list of “Someday I’ll …”, “If only I could …”, and other assorted wishes?

It would be so lovely if your fairy godmother swooped in, waved her magic wand, and made your dreams come true.

Send her my way if she does happen to drop by ;-).

However, in case she’s gone missing, here’s a question to consider. What would happen if you picked one item from your list, set a timer for 30 minutes and wrote down specific steps you could take to turn it into an actual project … a plan?

Those 30 minutes could turn your dream into reality.

What a shame it would be to miss that opportunity.

Lessons From The Hiking Trail

Sherry Essig — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:45:58 +0000

I’ve just returned from my annual Vail, Colorado trip where we had two weeks of perfect weather – warm days and cool nights – a welcome break from this year’s wretchedly hot, sticky summer here in North Carolina.

Every year I seem to have one hike that triggers thoughts on life. Last year’s occurred when I lost my head and followed my friends into the pit of death. Okay, I exaggerate. You can read about it at Would You Follow Your Friends Off A Bridge.

This year’s adventure was the Two Elks Pass trail, an eleven-mile hike that includes a 1,500 foot climb over 1.5 miles. Here’s what I was reminded of during the six hour hike:

The best way to the top of the mountain is one step at a time.
It’s okay to rest.
Hard and fun are not mutually exclusive.
Savor the effort.
Enjoy the easy parts.
When your feet are tired, get a massage. :-)

As I transition back into “real-life” mode, I plan to keep these front and center. They don’t just apply to hiking!

The Art of Excellence

Sherry Essig — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:55:56 +0000

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. Not only is it one of life’s deep truths but it’s life-changing when you live it.

The last two sentences of Aristotle’s quote show up in all sorts of places. But for my money, the power is found in the first half of his sentiment.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly.”

Excellence is an art. There’s no one right way to do it; you have to figure out what works for you.

Excellence doesn’t just happen. First you have to choose each part of your life or each activity in which you want to operate with excellence. Next you must define what that means for you. After that you need to learn the skills involved and define your process and mindset for acting with excellence … that’s training.

And finally you must practice – again and again – until it becomes a habit to act with excellence.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

What does excellence mean to you? What habits do you have around excellence?

The Weirdness of Change

Sherry Essig — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:30:32 +0000

In March, I took a tiny stumble while walking towards the starting line of a 5-K run. As in, so minor it shouldn’t have even been noticeable. Instead, I ended up with the energizer bunny version of a lower back problem … it just kept going and going and going.

Normally my chiropractor and massage therapist can quickly take care of alignment and muscle problems. Not this time.

Long story short, I discovered I have a body mechanics issue that set me up for this injury. I’m now in the process of retraining the muscles in and around my right hip to work properly. What that really means is that I’m learning to walk differently.

And it feels incredibly weird.

In this case, it’s a physical change. But any time you move, act or think in a way that’s different from your habitual way it feels strange. That’s one of the reasons change is slow. It’s human nature to default to what feels familiar.

Whatever change you’re trying to make in your life, be patient and consistently practice.

With time your new habit will feel normal … and that’s when it will became your natural way of moving, thinking or acting.

No Matter How Much Things Change, The Basics Stay The Same.

Sherry Essig — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:00:40 +0000

2,200 years ago …
“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”
~ Scipio Africanus, Roman General, 235 BC – 183 BC

250+ years later …
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
~ Epictetus, Greek Philosopher, AD 55 – AD 135

1,750 years after that …
“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”
~ Ellen Glasgow, Pulitzer Prize- winning American Novelist, 1873 – 1945

And today …
“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”
~ John C. Maxwell, Author and Leadership Expert

You are in full control of what you do with what shows up your day and in your life. And that’s what ultimately determines your success and happiness.

Makes you pretty powerful!

Procrastination and Boredom Go Hand-In-Hand

Sherry Essig — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:00:49 +0000

Here’s the scenario … You have things that need attention and important tasks that need to get done. In fact, there’s a lot to do.

But nothing on your “A” list – or even “B” or “C” lists – feels compelling. Not even when ignoring your responsibilities and to-dos could blow up on you.

If that sounds familiar, you’re probably bored. (As a friend of mine often says, “Ya think?!”)

Boredom is a major energy drain … and when left unchecked, creates a downward spiral. Not only is it incredibly difficult to get motivated to do whatever it is you’re bored with, it becomes difficult to get motivated to do much of anything.

So you mindlessly play solitaire, web-surf, clean grout with a Q-tip or similarly mind-numbing activities.

The most obvious solution to boredom is to change your situation. And that’s important.

But if you’re not able to do that quickly (and I recommend you at least start taking small steps), you can still break out of the boredom cycle.

Become mindful about mindlessly procrastinating.

Seriously. The very nature of boredom-induced procrastination is mindless-ness.

So, if you’re going to procrastinate, do it mindfully.

Every time you feel the urge to web-surf, play solitaire or engage in whatever procrastination pattern you’ve fallen into:

Take three deep breaths.
Then stand up and walk around your office, your desk, the hall, whatever your setup is. If you work from home, crank up some music and literally dance or jump around. If you’re in an office, try to find a private spot and just bounce around – even if that means you have to hide out in the bathroom. You want to shift your energy.
Three more breaths.
Ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do right now to engage myself and be present.
And the final question, “What am I going to choose right now.”

Don’t judge your choices. The goal is to work on making more mindful choices. And give yourself a chance to see a change – don’t beat yourself up if not perfect out of the box.

One step at a time and you will break out of the boredom cycle.

Permission To Be Human

Sherry Essig — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:00:55 +0000

While having lunch with my friend Kathy Worm yesterday, she commented, “So often, it comes down to giving yourself permission to be human.”

We’d been chatting about a wide range of topics: balancing work with other creative pursuits, managing stress, the importance of being a good fit with the culture of your organization, and happiness.

She was dead-on. It was the common thread in our conversation.

It’s also one of the hardest parts of being human. Kind of ironic when you think about it … we need to give ourselves to permission to be what we are. (This human thing gets tricky ;-).)

Here’s the thing though. Life is easier when you give yourself the green light to be human.

You will be less than perfect despite your best efforts. You will at times stumble and make a mess. And horror of all horrors, you might even outright fail.

And you know what?

It’s all good. Progress, growth and success are never straight lines rising upwards without a single dip.

Next time you find yourself struggling really listen to your mental chatter. Chances are you’ll hear that you’ve been withholding permission to be human.

Grant it.