Lately it seems like just around every corner smartphone companies are advertising the plethora of productivity features offered by their latest model. Consumers are lining up for miles to purchase the newer, bigger, better version of the “pocket office”. There is no doubt technology increases productivity. Real time shopping lists, virtual wallets, and access to directions in mere seconds are just a few things that help simplify your life. But for many, unlimited access to technology also means being connected to the workplace 24/7.
Category Archives: Stage Climbing
Don’t Let Stress Run Your Life!
Stress protects you when you’re in danger, helps you rise to challenges, and sharpens your concentration when it’s time to focus. Does this sound like you when you’re stressed out? For many, the answer is no! When working the way it’s meant to, stress can be very productive. But when stress is chronic, it isn’t serving you and can really take a toll on your health; affecting sleep, mood, concentration, immune functioning and blood pressure as well as many other biological processes. When stress feels like it’s getting out of hand, it’s time to take some steps to get it back under control.
Wave Goodbye to Overwhelm
Are you too busy to read this blog? If your answer is “yes” read on anyway! The normal adult in our society is often responsible for maintaining a career, organizing household finances, managing household chores, caring for children and/or older parents, sustaining relationships —with a significant other, family and friends— and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. And in case that’s not enough, within each and every relationship, you may find yourself in various roles. Hopefully, these many roles (parent, sibling, breadwinner, lover, professional, coworker, friend, etc.) contribute to your life positively, but the demands of too many roles at once can trigger in you feelings of anxiety and overwhelm. You may love running your business, taking care of your children, organizing charity events, and playing in tennis tournaments, but when overwhelm sets in, it can sometimes be very hard to find pleasure in any of these things. How do you decide which roles are important to maintain, and which ones deserve more or less of your time and energy? The answer to questions such as which responsibilities in your life are ones to continue to nurture, and which deserve less attention can only be answered by probing into your unique values.
Michael Broder is Away
Michael Broder is away this week but will continue posting next week.
Thank you.
It’s Passion That Blurs the Lines Separating Work and Play
According to Forbes, in 2012 only 50% of adults reported being satisfied with their jobs. Job dissatisfaction can greatly increase levels of anxiety, depression and stress. If this speaks to you, there are a variety of reasons why you may be dissatisfied with your job— ranging from disappointment with salary to feeling unchallenged in your work environment. In a difficult economic climate, it can be frightening or overwhelming to think about making a change. However, the good news is that finding the job you love, or loving the job you have may be within reach, because the main resources you need to achieve happiness in your career —or any other part of your life for that matter—reside within you.
“Growing Up” to Your Highest Potential
Despite your chronological (or numerical) age, it’s quite normal to feel like you still
need to grow up in certain areas of your life. Whether you’re feeling disconnected in
your relationship, your career seems mundane and unrewarding, or your spiritual life is
unfulfilling, you can begin to take the steps to “grow up” to your highest potential in any
part of your life. Many adults will ask themselves (or someone close to them) —sometimes
in jest— “what do I want to do or be when I grow up?” If this rings a bell, it may be a
comment that’s more grounded in reality than you think. In my new book Stage Climbing:
The Shortest Path to Your Highest Potential, I explain that there are a variety of reasons
why individuals often get off the path to reaching an optimal level of maturity in certain life
areas. It may be fear, anxiety, or self doubt that’s preventing you from making the most of a
given part of your life, but as soon as you allow yourself to be aware that it’s time to make
changes, these inner conflicts no longer need to control your life.
Here are some first steps to jump starting your maturation process in any part of your life
where this dilemma sounds familiar:
Asking questions: Begin by asking yourself what part of your life could be better? In
which area could you feel happier or be more motivated? In which area do you feel like
you have not yet fully “grown up”? As you bring these questions to mind, notice what
part of your life seems most important to address first. By simply comparing what your
life is now to what it could be, you have taken a very powerful first step in reaching your
potential.
How A Business Can Operate By the Stages
Obviously, businesses must make profits to survive and prosper. I believe that the best-run business organizations are those that can hit their goals in the crucial—make or break— profit area while operating from the higher stages whenever possible. With this in mind, it makes sense that all things being equal, an operation that emphasizes optimal motivation of its employees and other target stage values will have the best long-term profit potential.
Some Stage Seven Strategies for Getting Beyond Yourself
If there is a recipe to make Stage Seven your default stage, it is to let the combination of your passion (to manifest something new) and your gratitude (for that which you already have), be the forces that guide you. Here are a few things to think about and try in order to do that:
The Secret for Achieving True Happiness: Get Beyond Yourself
The title of this blog says it all. In Stage Climbing terms, this is Stage Seven—the highest attainable stage, where self gratification alone just plain doesn’t do it anymore. And that’s the secret. When you stop chasing happiness for yourself and instead focus on helping others to attain it, that’s when it’s most likely to come back to you, and in a lasting way. The strategy here, is to perform acts of benevolence without expecting anything for yourself in return.
Life at the Target Stages: How Good Can It Be?
Sometimes I find that it’s helpful to have a glimpse of what’s in it for you to work on your Stage Climbing process. The mission of Stage Climbing is simple: To help you live any aspect of your life at the target stage(s) you have chosen. Your target stages represent the optimal life that you either are living already or can be living very soon. You are in the target stage zone whenever you are operating at your highest potential. For most aspects of life, you will most likely aspire to Stages Six and Seven. Those stages also represent your unique and most authentic self. They are you at your best and happiest, because at Stages Six and Seven, you are guided by your passions, living beyond your ego, and solidly aligned with your purpose. Your target stages define you as a “grown-up.” They are where your heart is, as opposed to where you or someone else thinks it should be. In that sense, your target stages can even define why you are here.
Remember, any success, victory, or windfall can trigger great feelings in you—temporarily. However, as you have probably noticed many times, a frame of mind that depends on external factors does not last since you are always subject to the next life event or occurrence, and then the next one, and the one after that. The good news: As humans, that state of fulfillment characterized by your target stages is in fact part of your natural state of being―a state that will not fluctuate with external events. In other words, you have inside of you all you will ever need to live a gloriously fulfilling life right now … No batteries are required. Getting there is where Stage Climbing fits into your life.