Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: coping

  • Loving Monday: One Monkey at a Time

    loving_mondayWe all know the feeling.

    The feeling of the monkey on our back.

    It’s not a good feeling. That one annoying chore yet to be completed. The difficult phone call yet to be made. That perpetually postponed decision still to be made.

    I just got rid of one of the monkeys on my back.

    It feels great.

    I didn’t get rid of them all. Just one. And still I feel lighter. Buoyant might be overstating it, but there’s a smile on my face nonetheless.

    One monkey. Try it.

    Try taking care of just one monkey that’s been hanging on your back. Get rid of it. Do your part and give it to someone else.

    You’ll start your week lighter. You’ll start your week with a satisfying win.

    Got monkeys on your back? We all do.

    The key is taking on one monkey at a time.

    Just one.

    Which one will you choose?

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Free or Trapped?

    Ever think about how you ended up in the job or career path you are in?

    You might be participating in a family business. Maybe a friend recruited you. You needed a paycheck and grabbed something that pays the bills. You wanted the prestige that goes with your profession. You chose to climb the corporate ladder to get the responsibilities, pay, and status that goes with doing so. You are trying to finance a certain lifestyle. Someone once told you that you would be good at this sort of work.

    What is your story?

    In particular, and the focus of this morning’s reflection, how much choice did you have in the matter?

    Was it the only job that was available? Would any other choice have felt demeaning or less prestigious? Were you responding to family expectations? Were you competing with peers? Were you desperate for any paying work? Were you protecting your job security?

    Whether we feel free or trapped is a huge factor in shaping how we deal with situations at work. Especially all that is complicated and unpleasant in our jobs!

    If we feel free (i.e. we chose our situation and feel we have a choice about whether or not we will stay in our situation), we are much more likely to be able (more…)

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> What the Dog Saw #13: Blowup

    thought-leadersHow do you approach thinking about the failure of large, complicated, systems like a nuclear reactor or a space shuttle disaster?

    Assigning blame is one goal. Understanding what happened and why is a similar but different approach. Fixing the specific failure so that it doesn’t happen again is another related goal.

    What-the-Dog-SawGladwell, are you getting used to this yet?, turns our usual frames of reference on their respective heads.

    It turns out that I’m probably a “normal accident” waiting to happen. Forget complex nuclear power plants or space shuttles for a moment.

    What about the complexities of a person’s life?!

    Work, family, relationships, projects, chores, play, and the unexpected all taking place simultaneously, consecutively, purposefully, randomly, wonderfully, and yes, every great once in a while, tragically.

    It should not come as a surprise that, through no one’s particular act of negligence or incompetence or poor judgment, there might eventually occur a horrible accident.

    In our narcissistic, litigious culture we survive and thrive on finding someone other than ourselves to blame and hold responsible for anything that harms us. But that may not always be either the case or even possible.

    What alternative interpretations of “normal accidents” can we use to help us not only cope, but come out healthier on the other side of that which most horribly rocks our worlds?

    What do you cope when the hard-to-explain brings harm into your life? What was your main take-away from this chapter?

    Each week I post my reflections from one chapter of What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. If you are just joining the discussion now, welcome! Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Loving Monday: The Summer Season

    loving_mondayJust two more weeks of school for my kids. Some of your kids are finished already.

    The summer season requires a number of adjustments in our schedules, approaches and attitudes. The kids are off school. The vacations start picking up in earnest. The traffic patterns themselves change.

    Everyone is affected. Even if you don’t have kids or already went on vacation, the fact that so many others around you do and are will have its impact on you.

    If we have a seasonal approach to the working year, summer adjustments are experienced as an expected acquaintance rather than an abrupt intruder. It’s a matter of perspective. It’s a decision about attitude. Keeping the seasons in mind is a form of preparation.

    You know what to expect when summer arrives and are ready. You have methods for adjusting schedules to accommodate vacations. You know who is away dropping kids off at day camp. You are not thrown off guard by the afternoon telephone calls arbitrating sibling warfare or helping someone deal with their boredom.

    Seasons. Rhythms. They are our reality. The sooner we accept them and work alongside instead of against their flow, the sooner we can find our own productivity rhythm .

    Two more weeks and everything changes. I’m getting ready. Are you?