Wednesday, November 21, 2007
2007 Posts from YaHoo! 360
New Location for WiseWorking.com!!!
So good to be here in my new location with my new name, WiseWorking.com. For the last year, I have been blogging at 360.yahoo.com/cadelarge. I have used this latter space to muse about my work and the impact it has on my life and career. It has been a fruitful exercise that I will be doing more frequently, broadly and richly (if that is a word) in the coming year, thus this move.
In the coming months, look forward to more frequent posts, richer content and insights, and hopefully a growing community, as we continue down the path of producing a work life and career with ever more meaning and purpose.
By the way, does anyone have a suggestion as to a good way to migrate an old blog to a new one? Is it better to link to the old one or to copy all the old posts into the new one?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Which is Better Question: What to Do? or How to Contribute?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good
This quote, attributed to the French philosopher Voltaire is more valid today than ever. This is so much so that I have found that those (perfectionists) who ignore this quote rob themselves of a great deal of health, sanity and satisfaction in life. As a born, and further raised "perfectionist", I have spent most of my life beating myself and being beat by others because I did not perfectly execute a task. This inability to achieve (perceived) perfection has, and continues to be, the cause of more tears, lost sleep, anger, guilt, bitterness, worry, doubt, fear and procrastination than any other other in my life.
One of the greatest gift I have been given in life, by a former boss of mine, Stan Woodland, are the insights that:
1) there are 4 levels of performance that are possible in life: perfection, excellence, adequacy and inadequacy
2) perfection, or penultimate performance, is futile to expect because the definition is narrow and ever changing
3) excellence, or above average performance, is a better performance goal than perfection because it can be achieved more consistently. Also more people agree on its definition.
As I have worked to adjust my expectations of myself and others to these insights over the years I have become less anxious, overbearing, vindictive, stressed, angry and procrastinating. This has been replaced by greater patience, calm, balance, perseverance, resilience, ability to forgive (let go) myself and others and satisfaction with what I achieve. This has, indeed, bee one of the greatest transformations of my life. So much so that I teach these insights in all my classes, whether at my church or at the university.
All this said, I work in environments where this is not often convention wisdom and so I have to continually bring myself to a remembrance of the truth and benefit of these insights. I offer these insights hoping you will use them to gain more satisfaction from what you are getting done and be more forgiving of, and educated by, that which have not yet gotten done.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Failing To(ward) Success
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
What Classes Are You Taking?
As I have sent my daughter off to college, watching my friends sending their children back to school and preparing for my own teaching this Fall, I have been reflecting on this issue of school, and what classes we enroll into throughout our lives. The fact is that we are all in school all the time, either formally (in class) or informally (in life/job practice), owing to the fact that we are always in a situation where are being taught and choosing to learn (or not). There are lots of different classes in these different schools. Classes that develop us personally, interpersonally, spiritually, technically, etc. and which enable our effectiveness in dealing with ourselves and others as well as in contributing to the various communities and organizations what take care of us.
I find that from time to time, I have to inventory which schools I am in. I find that, on an ongoing basis, I am tempted to enroll, or find myself already attending schools which are less than productive for me. Every hour that I spend in any one school robs me of lessons I might be learning in other schools. The fact is that I do not have time to attend every school available so I have to be watchful of which I attend. I have to also assure that I attend a variety of classes, refresher and new, so that I am fit to accomplish those objectives I set for how I will contribute.
A few classes I have been focusing on lately, with varied levels of success, are:
1) Consistent Exercise & Relaxation Practice (featuring Yoga videos & podcasts),
2) Intermediate Circle of Influence (from Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People),
3) Marketing Strategy Theory Refresher (which I am teaching at Chestnut Hill College this Fall),
4) Beginner Empty Nesting (which my wife and I are taking as our daughter is at college),
5) Publishing to Share What You Know & Love (as I am learning how to more proactively speak and write about topics which interest me).
As I work at these, I find that I spend less time in other available classes that are not as good for me.
So I recommend you not think that just because you cannot afford the tuition right now, that you cannot go to school. You are already in school. Just make sure you are using your time and energy to take the right classes while you are there.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Benefits of “Giving Benefit of the Doubt”
