Archive for October, 2008
A new job, losing your job, moving to a new location, unexpected expenses, illnesses, automobile breaking down, flight delayed or canceled. There are a number of unexpected changes that happen everyday in our lives. Some we can work to prevent and some we have no control over at all. All we can really do is manage them the best we can and accept that they will continue to keep happening.
Sometimes we need change in our lives. What may seem like a disaster could actually turn out to be one of the best things in your life. Your car breaking down in the middle of nowhere allows you to meet the perfect companion or being fired from a job allows you to finally start the career you always wanted to do. It’s easy to feel that all the bad things happen to you and just give up. The people who get a head are the ones who accept the changes and find the opportunities in them. Like the old saying goes, “turn lemons into lemonade”.
Prepare for Change
Some changes can be controlled by planning ahead. If your car is getting old then you replace it before it breaks down. Putting away a large amount of your earning each month allows you to not worry about losing your job. Try to think about the worst outcome of each situation and you can generally find a way to prevent or counteract it.
Keep an Open Mind
There is a great book titled “Who Moved My Cheese” that talks about how change will happen whether we like it or not. The book has 2 humans and two mice stuck in a maze eating cheese. The humans get used to eating the cheese and make plans that it will always be there. They build their house close to it and believe they deserve the cheese. The mice on the other hand eat the cheese , but also continue to search for more cheese in the maze. When the cheese gets low, the mice leave to find a better place. The humans keep eating until one day they are surprised to find there is no cheese.
Keep an open mind to change. Change can be scary because the outcome is unknown, it can also bring better benefits. The next cheese you find may be much tastier and larger than the one you are eating right now. Embrace change and you will find it’s not so bad.
Find the Opportunity
Things won’t always turn out how you planned. I went to Tokyo after graduation thinking I had found the perfect job. Instead I woke up in what seemed like a nightmare. But I was able to learn a lot from it about what I wanted out of work and eventually found something much better. I later found that I didn’t enjoy living in Tokyo as much as I had hoped, but I was able to use the experience I had there to move to a better place. Having constant unexpected expenses in college taught me to be a much better spender with my money. Being turned down at one apartment allowed me to find a much better one with a cheaper price.
The point is that when bad things happen they seem horrible. If you look at it for opportunities you can usually find at least one. It may just be one of these opportunities that makes the best changes in your life.
I am a very high energy person. When everyone else is ready to call it a day, I am ready for the next event. When I am exercising I always try to push myself a little further and when I am working and studying I generally try to fill all my time so none is wasted. Unfortunately, this is actually anti-productive. To be at your best, the body and the mind need time to rest. When fully rested the mind and body work several times better than it does if you are constantly working at 30%. It’s kind of like using a toy that uses batteries. In the beginning the toy works great, but as the batteries where down the speed of the toy decreases even faster.
I find the biggest reason I don’t get enough rest is because I am trying to do too many things at one time. So how do you find more time to rest?
Increase Efficiency and Eliminate
Whether it is your work, your exercise routine, studying or anything else, you should always be trying to do it more efficiently. First pick out the things that don’t really make a difference whether you do them or not and eliminate them. What activities do you do each day that add no benefit? Can they be eliminated? Once you have removed all of these then focus on the things that do add benefit and try to make them more efficient. If you spend an hour a day exercising, could you change your routine to get the same benefit in 30 minutes? Keep trying different things until you find the best method. This is usually not an overnight process.
Dedicate Time
Set a time each day or a day each week to do relaxing things. This can include resting, sleeping, meditation, reading for fun, listening to music, etc. The idea is to choose things that allow your mind and body to relax and recharge. Once you set this time, don’t let anything interfere with it. It may be difficult at first to get used to doing nothing if you are always on the go, but stick with it for a while and you will start seeing the benefits.
Stop Stressing
Stress both takes a lot of energy and is also not healthy for the body. Accept that things will not always go as planned, but have the confidence that you can get them back on track. Also, realize that while everything seems urgent, most things really usually aren’t. Start leaving things for a couple of days and you will realize that things aren’t as urgent as you thought. Sometimes they will fix themselves.
Alternate Days
Both the body and the mind need time to rest. For some people the best way to relax the mind is by doing something physical. If this works for you, choose one day to do something physical and one day to do something mental.
Cut Out Time Wasters
Things such as watching TV or using the internet can be mentally draining. Limit the time you use each and you will find that you have more energy and more time to do other activities. I currently have no TV or internet in my home. For the first time the days have actually seemed to get longer as I am getting older rather than shorter. I have time do do more things each day and get a fuller nights sleep.
