Read it, read it, read all about it. Theres change cultivated in rural Northern Alberta. Change? I see it all around me. Do you? The frost has killed the plants in the garden, and the leaves on the trees have changed colour and are falling to the ground. The geese are gathering to fly south, the hummingbirds have hummed-off, and the American tourists are hot-trotting their way home. In every community the youth have begun their migration as well from home to school, and then back again five days a week. Its that time of the year. You may be thinking, So what? This happens every year. This fall is different for Carol and me. A big change has occurred for us. Both of our sons, Jamie and Brad, have gathered up most of their belongings and poof theyre gone. Not poof as in they have vanished for good, but they are no longer living in our home. They are now attending a city college rather than our small-town high school. They are only an hour away but things are different. We are really excited about our sons starting a new chapter in their lives. They are heading off on new adventures, gaining their independence and interdependence with others. We understand that we were done parenting them many years ago, but our sons were still in our home to help, guide, and support. Now, however, they are on their own. Its a change, and its emotional. Hmmm! There must be something that I need to learn from this. What is the lesson the great truth? Change. It can be scary and difficult. It forces me to look at my life from a different perspective, to alter my routines and habits, to re-evaluate who I am, and where I am going. This can be downright terrifying and fossilising. The mixture of emotions can keep me in a daze frozen as if I were a deer in the headlights, with life coming at me full speed. How do I know this? Ive been on this road before. Ive been made into road-pizza once or twice. But Im not going to let that happen this time. I choose to make this change a fun and exciting experience. How? When companies go through change they Re-organize, Re-structure, Re-engineer, or whatever Re word they come up with at the time. I am going Re a lot of things too: Re-consider my personal and professional roles. These roles are my relationship responsibilities to Carol, Jamie, Brad, other family, and business people with whom I work. - Am I treating these people with the respect they deserve?
- Am I choosing to invest the time to enhance those relationships?
- Am I communicating honestly, openly, and effectively in these roles?
Re-evaluate my personal and professional goals. - Do these goals still make my heart sing?
- Am I progressing as I had planned?
- Am I gaining value intrinsically and extrinsically?
- What actions do I need to take to ratchet forward?
- Do I need to change, or replace some of these goals?
Re-connect with my personal and professional Mission Statements. These mission statements are constitutions that describe my values, ethics, and life purpose. - Am I living these, or only paying them lip-service?
- Do they describe the qualities and purpose that I wish to emulate?
- Do they need to be re-written because of the changes in my life?
Re-view my activities. - What do I do with my time?
- Which activities give value to others?
- Which activities enrich my life?
- Where am I wasting precious time?
- Does my weekly task-planner include my valuable and important duties (financial, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual)?
Re-ward myself. I have been a great spouse, father, friend, colleague, and contributor to society. I deserve to feel good about myself, and be proud of my successes. I deserve to treat myself every now and then. You may be thinking, Dan, I cant Re those things because I dont know what they are for me. If that is the case, now, and I mean right now, is a great time to start. Get out a pen and a piece of paper and do the following. Identify your key relationship roles (who are the key people in your life?) Write a few specific, measurable goals (what are you going to accomplish, and when?) Create your own personal mission statement (who do you strive to be?) Design a weekly task-planner, or checklist, for your activities (what do you intend to do within the next seven days?) Reward yourself for what you have done. You experience change. It is a natural part of life. If you are on the top side of the grass, change is going to happen for you. Your changes may be far more difficult and challenging than mine, yet the basics are the same. I challenge you to take the time to Re your life. I guarantee that you will become better acquainted with yourself, and experience greater Re-sulting happiness and success. |
