To say it's been an up and down 12 months would be a huge understatement. My business had been directly affected by the GFC and flow on effects. It seems people development was not high on the priority list for many of my prospective and existing clients. During this time it's been very stressful not knowing where the next job was coming from and wondering how I was going to cover my overheads like rent. The irony for me is that as That Happy Guy, I haven't been very happy. Hindsight is a beautiful thing and I can see the errors I've made, in fact often I can see them as I'm making them. Things like hopeless thinking, and then not actually doing anything because I think its a foregone (hopeless) conclusion. Not great and I'm not proud of it but there it is.
Well anyway, I had a piece of good news yesterday which has allowed me to reflect and think a little more positively. I had initially secured a range of workshops to be delivered for Dept of Communities in Feb and April and beyond. A nice little earner and a good program to deliver. With the recent floods the Departments priorities and focus shifted (and rightly so) to their role supporting the community through disaster management and recovery. This meant my workshops were cancelled. I'm not the only one to suffer so this is not sour grapes, just an unfortunate and unpredictable incident. This means that I've not worked solidly or consistently since November. It's hard to maintain a healthy mindset when you feel like what you've got is not wanted or needed. Things were spiralling out of control.
Yesterday I secured a small piece of work for Feb that will help to keep the wolves at bay. Great outcome and it reminded me of something that I thought I'd learned several years ago. Focus on the things you can control and the phone will always ring (eventually). It did ring and again I was reminded of this truism. However I think I was lucky. Usually luck is related to the effort you put in, I was fortunately rewarded despite not putting any effort in. Well, that's not entirely true. I had laid the foundations for this project in November. I just hadn't really done much else.
If I had remembered to be more of an optimist (good things will come) I might have weathered the storm a little more stoically. Oh well, lesson learned. Next time I'll get a chance to be better... that's me being an optimalist, not a perfectionist (I should've got it right the first time).
I suspect a great many people will be suffering both directly and indirectly form the flood. The second group are vulnerable as there is less focus and support provided to this group. If you or anyone you know finds themselves in a position where their happiness is being affected by these events I'd like to remind them that even dark clouds have silver linings, and the true measure of a person is not whether they get knocked down or not, but what they do when they do get knocked down.
Till next time,
Be Happy.
:-)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Help Someone.... it's soooo good for you.
As you know I live in Brisbane which has recently been affected by some of the worst flooding we've ever seen. The scale and scope of the destruction the flood waters have wrought is something to behold. Never doubt the awesome power of mother nature.
For a long time I've known a simple truth. In helping others you also help yourself. The incredible display of support that the community has displayed towards those affected by the waters has demonstrated this principle for thousands.
My facebook community has been awash with people coordinating volunteer clean up efforts and then sharing their personal experiences of doing so. A great many have commented on how good it made them feel.
Right now my business has been significantly affected by the flood resulting in the cancellation of 10 - 20 days of work, so it would be fair to say I have my own problems (even though the flood didn't affect me or my loved ones directly). It would be easy for me to get upset, frustrated, despondent and depressed and while I'm not proud to admit it, I have experienced each of those emotions over the past few weeks. Let me tell you, when in that headspace I am not very productive, its easy to see why some people simply give up. Instead I went and did some volunteering over the weekend (and will probably go again this week).
Anyway, after spending a few hours in flood ravaged homes (completely submerged in the peak of the flood) I didn't spare a single thought for my own situation. Even better, when I did return to think about my situation and what I needed to do I was in a "can do" headspace. I am not going to give up.
So, my advice towards feeling happier more of the time... Find a cause, a group or a person that needs help and offer it. Volunteers are always needed, not just in times of crisis, and cover everything from nursing sick and injured animals to feeding the homeless and everything else in between.
I know many of my readers have themselves been volunteering over the past few days. I'd love to hear your experiences.
Till next time,
Be Happy
For a long time I've known a simple truth. In helping others you also help yourself. The incredible display of support that the community has displayed towards those affected by the waters has demonstrated this principle for thousands.
My facebook community has been awash with people coordinating volunteer clean up efforts and then sharing their personal experiences of doing so. A great many have commented on how good it made them feel.
Right now my business has been significantly affected by the flood resulting in the cancellation of 10 - 20 days of work, so it would be fair to say I have my own problems (even though the flood didn't affect me or my loved ones directly). It would be easy for me to get upset, frustrated, despondent and depressed and while I'm not proud to admit it, I have experienced each of those emotions over the past few weeks. Let me tell you, when in that headspace I am not very productive, its easy to see why some people simply give up. Instead I went and did some volunteering over the weekend (and will probably go again this week).
Anyway, after spending a few hours in flood ravaged homes (completely submerged in the peak of the flood) I didn't spare a single thought for my own situation. Even better, when I did return to think about my situation and what I needed to do I was in a "can do" headspace. I am not going to give up.
So, my advice towards feeling happier more of the time... Find a cause, a group or a person that needs help and offer it. Volunteers are always needed, not just in times of crisis, and cover everything from nursing sick and injured animals to feeding the homeless and everything else in between.
I know many of my readers have themselves been volunteering over the past few days. I'd love to hear your experiences.
Till next time,
Be Happy
Monday, January 10, 2011
When the chips are down
Resilience - is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity.
Qld (where I live) is currently experiencing some of the worst flooding since the record breaking 1974 floods. Many peoples lives have been disrupted, homes and businesses destroyed and even lives lost. Two things are already emerging.
It's a shame it takes catastrophic events to bring out the best in people. The benefit you receive from helping somebody else is a wonderful plus hardwired into our psyche. To my mind, we need to learn from this and fund ways every day to help someone else. Who around you might need your help now?
Here's some footage from flooding in Toowoomba. Check it out.
Qld (where I live) is currently experiencing some of the worst flooding since the record breaking 1974 floods. Many peoples lives have been disrupted, homes and businesses destroyed and even lives lost. Two things are already emerging.
- The willingness of people to help others.
- The ability of those affected by events to forge ahead, to bounce back and to look on the bright side of things. This is true resilience.
It's a shame it takes catastrophic events to bring out the best in people. The benefit you receive from helping somebody else is a wonderful plus hardwired into our psyche. To my mind, we need to learn from this and fund ways every day to help someone else. Who around you might need your help now?
Here's some footage from flooding in Toowoomba. Check it out.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
How My Brain Works
I need your help. I'd like to show you a video and get some feedback on it if possible.
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, part of my approach over the coming months is to research, test and build a personal development training program focused on happiness, resilience and engagement.
One of the intro topics is going to be on the brain. How it works and how that relates to later modules and concepts.
The brain amazes me. In short, our thoughts, memories and experience of the world, including emotions are nothing more than electrical impulses and chemicals. There's significant evidence that suggests that "Neuron's that fire together, wire together." Neuron's are the tentacle-like connections in our brains. Meaning that our thoughts, moods, emotions etc, travel down the most well worn paths in our brain. So let's say you're a bit of a cynic. You will naturally and comfortably follow that path of thinking (perhaps even to your detriment in some cases). An optimist, by contrast, will tend towards that style of thinking because their brain has wired itself together that way (we won't talk about nature v nurture at this stage suffice to say that environment and genetics influence these developments in your brain). The brain is also incredibly plastique, or malleable. Meaning we can change it. Even later in life (there is much recent research suggesting that brain plasticity continues well into to old age AND if you don't use it you will lose it (get your grandparents to learn something new this year). So, if we want to shift our thinking we need to work at it in order to lay down new neural pathways. This is my 2011 mission, to rewire my brain (and hopefully yours too).
Anyway, I digress. I wanted to share a video that I found that explains part of the concepts I've been talking about. I'd love your feedback on whether it made sense, was interesting, not confusing etc.
Let me know what you think.
Till next time,
Be happy
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, part of my approach over the coming months is to research, test and build a personal development training program focused on happiness, resilience and engagement.
One of the intro topics is going to be on the brain. How it works and how that relates to later modules and concepts.
The brain amazes me. In short, our thoughts, memories and experience of the world, including emotions are nothing more than electrical impulses and chemicals. There's significant evidence that suggests that "Neuron's that fire together, wire together." Neuron's are the tentacle-like connections in our brains. Meaning that our thoughts, moods, emotions etc, travel down the most well worn paths in our brain. So let's say you're a bit of a cynic. You will naturally and comfortably follow that path of thinking (perhaps even to your detriment in some cases). An optimist, by contrast, will tend towards that style of thinking because their brain has wired itself together that way (we won't talk about nature v nurture at this stage suffice to say that environment and genetics influence these developments in your brain). The brain is also incredibly plastique, or malleable. Meaning we can change it. Even later in life (there is much recent research suggesting that brain plasticity continues well into to old age AND if you don't use it you will lose it (get your grandparents to learn something new this year). So, if we want to shift our thinking we need to work at it in order to lay down new neural pathways. This is my 2011 mission, to rewire my brain (and hopefully yours too).
Anyway, I digress. I wanted to share a video that I found that explains part of the concepts I've been talking about. I'd love your feedback on whether it made sense, was interesting, not confusing etc.
Let me know what you think.
Till next time,
Be happy
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