Randomly
Accessed Memories – RAM
This blog represents one mans attempt to make sense of his life over
the past seventy five years by looking at my history of decisions and
my environment. My intentions are not to justify those decisions so
much as to show that one's path through life is constrained by many
factors over which he/she has some times have little control, but how
with the proper methods and tools you can overcome the obstacles that
stand between you and your life goals and personal purpose.
A Question of
Opportunities, Options and Choices
While the where, when, of our individual circumstances is not always a matter of choice, the direction and flow of our lives is
not completely controlled by one's environment, nor is it dictated
completely by our genetic heritage. On the other hand, the
pollyannish idea that one can overcome any and all obstacles in one's
path to success or greatness is equally false. What is true is that
becoming aware of one's limitations is the first step in dealing with
them in a way that allows a person to live a life that they love, to
live that life powerfully and to take responsibility for doing so.
There are two defining factors that shape the course of our lives
over which we do have complete control. The first is integrity the
second is a declaration of intent based in an understanding of our
purpose in life based on a declared possibility.
When To Change
Your Life
The
best time to plant a tree is when you are born,
The
second best time is now – Chinese
proverb
Live like you are going to die tomorrow,
Plan like you are going to live forever. – Anonymous
The most common reply I get when I
ask someone why they resist doing the work necessary to change their
lives is that it is too late for them to do so. That may be a
true statement if you are on
your death bed (and that too is questionable), but until then it is
never to late to make
changes.
Changes take work, mostly because we resist them, not because they
are somehow inherently more difficult then what we are used to doing,
thinking or believing.
What To Change
This is the most difficult part of any change process. The
difficulties lie in two areas. First, a person must know and declare
what she wants in their life. Second, she must become clear about
what needs to be done to reach that goal. This is the most
difficult part and nearly always requires input from a coach, mentor,
or other trusted and trained party. That outside person needs to be
able to identify what stands between you and your desired goal and to
be familiar with the tools needed to overcome those obstacles and
know how to demonstrate them.
The Tools:
Inventory, Monitoring, and Correction
Making changes in your life style that lead you to a life that you
love requires three types of tools, inventory, monitoring metrics,
and course corrections. Think of the process as a journey from one
place to another.
If you want to go to Dallas, the first requirement is to know where
you are right now so you can figure out which way you need to go to
get to Big D. The change process is like that. You need an accurate
picture of who and what you are now so that you can get an idea of
what you need to do get to a better place.
On a journey you usually want to have some milestones that tell you
how closely you are following the route to get to your destination.
We can't control something that we don't measure.
Once you know where you are and where you want to go in life and a
way to measure how far you have come. Then you can make corrections
and adjustments as necessary to reach your destination.
Samples and
Examples
In the next few posts, I will use examples of how this process has
worked in my own life. Of course your own journey(s) will not be
exactly the same, but the planning and execution steps and tools can
be adapted to any destination/journey. 08/02/16