I know it’s not the typical Tuesday newsletter; however I wanted to get my wishes in before you take off for the holidays.  This is a reflection and creation newsletter.

What are your favorites?  I love reflecting on favorite things this time of year.  When you look back at 2007 can you remember what your favorites were?  Something that remains embedded in the best of your memories is worth making note of don’t you think? 

There is a method to my madness….stay tuned.

So what was your favourite book?  Dinner in?  Dinner out?  Movie?  Vacation or break?  Favourite song?  Favourite surprise? (good ones, obviously).  Favourite piece of clothing?  Favourite learning experience?

You’ve got the drift.

Reflection:

What if your intention for the new year was to experience something new in every one of those realms?

Years ago I did a workshop for Health Canada and over their lunch break I gave them a task.  They had to eat something they never ate before, or eat something they think they remember not liking but couldn’t remember why and see if they still had the same opinion of it.  28 people walked back into the training room with their stories about their eating experience.  Now let me tell you, the cafeteria at Health Canada at that time was pretty pathetic when it came to choices, so most of those 28 people had discovered the only thing they hadn’t tried before or thought they didn’t like because of the heat were Jalapeno chips. 

Each and every one of them had a different story or experience to share.  I’ve since bumped into some of those attendees who still remember that experience and continue to try new things to this day! 

Why in the world am I asking you to do this, you ask?:

Because most of us live our lives looking through the rear view mirror rather than from a sense of possibility.  What we might not have liked once, we might love at this stage of our lives.  Half the time we can’t even remember why we didn’t like something or someone.  We’re just too stubborn to let go of the control history has on us. 

A new year…new beginnings, new experiences, new possibilities.  It’s all about intention.  Intentions equal results.  Think of how strong that one sentence is.  If we intend to stay stubborn then that’s what will happen and if we intend to open ourselves up to possibility then we’ll do that too.  Your choice.

So What Can You Do?

Celebrate life.  It might sound corny but think about it.  We can regret things, let things fester, hold onto things that no longer serve us or intend to do something different or be different.  Your choice.  Life starts now, not one day.

Web Stuff

For those of you who didn’t make the postal deadline to send cards there are all sorts of eCard sites that have beautiful cards you can send electronically.  Check out http://www.hallmark.com/ or http://www.americangreetings.com/ and touch someone from across the miles or around the corner, no matter what holiday they celebrate or just to show you celebrate them for no reason at all.

As Always:

These newsletters will be parked at http://www.perspectivesinbrief.com/ Please feel free to share your comments, insights and perhaps a subject or two you’d like to open for discussion and we’ll look at it for a future newsletter or blog post. Our blog can be found at http://betterperspective.blogspot.com/ . Check it out at the end of the year to learn more about what we’re up to at ABP.  

To sign up for our Self-Coaching program It’s All About You…and Others, visit here:  http://www.itsallaboutyouandothers.com/intro.htm

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Wishing you all the happiest of holidays!

All the best…

Donna Karlin 

Founder and Principal

A Better Perspective

http://www.abetterperspective.com/

ISSN 1913-6307

Do you lead from a position of passion or control?  I believe anyone can be taught leadership if their passions are triggered and ignited.  Once people discover their passions, causes, what’s truly important to them and their well-being and sustainability, (professional, personal, whatever), they will usually step up to the plate.  If you help them realize what their lives will look like when they do step up, leadership emerges, is fueled and burns brightly.

One doesn’t learn leadership from a text-book.  They can learn it when they pull in the context of their lives look at how it impacted them and those around them and draw the parallels.

Learning and practicing leadership doesn’t necessarily mean automatic success.  We have to recognize the differences there.  In learning to lead, even though you might fail now and then, getting up, dusting ourselves off and trying again, is one of the characteristics of a courageous leader.  Models and studies track trends.  What if we studied behaviours and triggers within various contexts around leadership rather than models and organizations?  That would give us a much better indication of what works and why in our own worlds.  We all know that what works for one organization might not necessarily work for another.

Reflection:

Take a moment to reflect on when something just clicked.  It worked for all reasons and for no specific reason but what you remember most is the energy and enthusiasm and joy of doing whatever it was at a specific time of your life.  Was it amazing because you learned something and grew exponentially?  Or was it amazing because everyone did their thing and collectively created something as close to magical as it gets?  Or was there some other reason why it was amazing?  What if you could recapture that feeling?  What about what you did could be replicated in some way in your day to day life / work?

Perspective Check:

Are you telling yourself right now that it’s not possible to recapture that time in your life?  Are you talking yourself into the why not rather than asking yourself “Why not?”  Amazing where the mind will take you….up or down.  Your choice.

So What Can You Do?

See what you can change.  Who do you need to connect with?  Are you wasting time with people who suck you dry of energy or who ignite a fire underneath you?  These choices will make all the difference in the world.

Web Stuff

For those of you who want to start a Blog, I recommend http://wordpress.org/ .  It’s super easy to use, free (and as they say, priceless at the same time) and gives you a web presence in no time at all.  It’s also available in French, can be private or public, or by invitation only and is a great vehicle to get the word out, share personal experiences with colleagues, family and friends and become a portal for your memories and pictures.

As Always:

Please feel free to share your comments, insights and perhaps a subject or two you’d like to open for discussion and we’ll look at it for a future newsletter or blog post. Our blog can be found at http://betterperspective.blogspot.com   

To sign up for our Self-Coaching program It’s All About You…and Others, visit here:  http://www.itsallaboutyouandothers.com/intro.htm

With deepest respect,

Donna Karlin

Founder and Principal

A Better Perspective

http://www.abetterperspective.com

ISSN 1913-6307