Happy New Year to you all! 2008 can be a time of great personal and professional growth, or it can be a pathetically sad time...thinking and re-thinking about things that went unaccomplished in the previous year.
So many times we witness people who are stuck. Stuck, as in living in limbo land. You may refer to it as being "in a rut", "bored", "uninspired", or any number of negative, self-destructing thought patterns. This relates to personal money management success in a huge way! Saving money, spending it intelligently, and thinking about setting goals is all about being in the here and now (while keeping the future in the foreground of the thinking). Thinking of the past can be horrific, unless you know how to do it correctly. I believe there are many ways to learn and grow, and this is what today's blog notes are about.
I think nearly half the people around think too much - meaning only that I believe we can waste valuable time over-processing something that maybe we cannot even change. People who comprise the "nearly half of the educated world", probably don't think enough - they act quickly and make sometimes critical mistakes that end up costing them money (because they were too busy, or didn't care enough at the time to think something through). These are the people who join a group because someone else did, or because they want a quick fix to a problem they percieve as creting inner-conflict. I have been, the past, someone who took more time than my friends to make a decision, but I am getting better! Of course, that is me talking; "Better than what?" O.K., "I'm better than I was - meaning I worry less." But hey, it's my "supposed problem", not my friends! (LOL) Personally I don't mind waiting a year to buy a new digital camera - I got a great one at a super price because of my hours of research and my patience! I hear people every day sayging things like, "Well I wondered why so and so did that!" I said, "Why ask me? I have no idea, I'm not her." This conversation, steeped in the other person's frustration, went on for 1 minute too long. That was one minute I could have been studying. Jimanneeee cricket.
I spent a great trip over the holidays with a new friend and her parents - wonderful people. Learned and inspiring - each of them. It was interesting watching the family dynamics because I had zero perspective. I learned about patience and understanding from a different view and that got me to thinking about all the workshops I have been blessed to attend that focus on personal and professional growth. This is what I want to discuss with my readers.
How do we learn best? Many of us go to school. After traditional school many choose too keep learning by taking specific workshops, doing online courses, or reading books. When discouraged and not able to keep up with bills and savings, some people take my workshop cvalled, Show Me The Money! re-enforsement - five weeks of "thinking" about money. Taking workshops is how some successful people remain enthusiastic and on track. Some people tout their individual learning achievements, but some do not. I am one of the latter. I have been freed from the need to try to convince others of things I have learned - especially when they have their own strong opinions. But, I do enjoy the talks, and watching them answer questions with more questions - round and round some people go. They often do not really say anything very meaningful. If you don't use their words, or jardon, then they think you can't possibly understand fully. Whatever you say, you may be doomed, because they seem to know the answer before you do. I always wonder how someone else can know more about me, than me? If they didn't know much about my past, how I was raised, how would they possibly be capable of telling me what I should do?... how can anyone teach me to learn to save money, or get my office perfectly filed unless they have spent hours asking me spefic questions and gotten into my head? Do you know what I mean? Some people might say, "It doesn't matter." Who knows - who cares - that is what I say at the end of the day. As one friend says, "It is what it is."
Three of my friends have done the "Landmark Forum." Based upon old Zen ways, "est" principles, and various other newer "coined" methodological terms, the basic principle is to break the participant down so the teacher/coach, can show a person how to rethink things. With a more open mind and fresher slate, some people are more willing to soak things up and look at something differently. A 'dry sponge needs water approach' to learning. Other people, who sometimes confess to being critical thinkers, abhor such workshops; sitting up straight for hours upon end with few breaks, hearing a speaker shouting at them, not being permitted to take notes, is not what they came for. It may simply not be the best learning environment for some people; not for people who learn best by both listening and taking notes and then studying more later. Some people would just assume not open a note pad.
Other workshops that can expand your viewpoint and make you a stronger, more decisive person include learning about Appreciative Inquiry. Confessing to be a gentler way to getting ahead, it focuses on using our imagination and observation skills to discover new found ways, and then re-enforces a passionate sense of potential (I think that is a fancy way for saying "motivation"). AI claims that no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. It is not jsut about seeking out and solving problems though. By focusing on positive thoughts AI coachs claim that we can crowd out doubt, anxiety, and fear.
Happiness or misery depends upon our disposition and not our circumstances - this is a saying that many of the "self-help" gurus happen to agree on; how we get "to there" is what they disagree on. You have to be the judge for yourself. Find something that interests you and fits your learning style - only then invest the money in a class or workshop. Now we talking Money 101.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
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