2008

As I look forward to 2008, I stare into a crystal ball and see…..fog! It could be a real stinker. I just read that the number of natural disasters (flood, fires, etc.) last year was 43% greater than the average from 2000-2004. Real inflation is raging, foreclosures mounting, the war is unresolved, Africa is in turmoil, and of course we have an interesting Presidential election. OK, OK. There is a lot to be stressed-out over. But if we channel that stress energy productively, that’s a lot to be energetic about. No, this isn’t anything like the Great Depression or World War II no matter what the media says. It’s vital we don’t let all the feelings of overwhelm over what we can’t personally change distract us from what we can. Today we have more resources at our personal disposal than ever in history to take control of our destinies and impact change.

All of us have our own hero’s journey to face. We all have a choice. As author Joseph Campbell pointed out, there is only one life story. It is the hero’s journey. This one story is the foundation for all great literature, myth and popular film. The hero’s journey is simple. All of us, individually and collectively, eventually find ourselves faced with something in our life that is intolerable. Or at least should be. One of our chronic challenges is that we are so good at adapting we mal-adapt. We accept that which we should not and tell ourselves it’s normal, or we have no choice. But every day presents a choice.

Every day we can take the coward’s way out or choose the hero’s response.

The coward’s choice focuses on what we don’t want. We invent excuses as to why we can’t change and instead just try to dull the pain of our lives. Usually with superficial pleasures like shopping, sports or T.V. Or dangerous ones like alcohol and extramarital affairs.

But the coward’s choice always results in more loss and more pain, more confusion, a shrinking of vision, a dumbing down of our life.

The hero’s response comes from a vision of what we do want. It always creates a higher-level solution. A hero’s response arouses open-mindedness and a willingness to change. It means questioning our assumptions. It means looking for the grains of truth in new points of view rather than clinging to familiar opinions. Heroic thinking creates hope, optimism, and energy to take us toward a higher level of life satisfaction.

So this is how I am advising myself as I face 2008:

What are the best parts of my life that I want to magnify or expand?
What parts are not working for me?
What thinking, circumstances or fears are holding me back from changing what should be intolerable?
What have I gotten used to that I shouldn’t have?
What am I willing to stop doing that will improve my life?
What am I willing to over-invest in that will make life extraordinary?
If my life was a clear reflection of my unique traits, talents, interests and relationships, what would it look like?

I have found these questions deserve deep, regular reflection. And then action. Pick one thing you want to stop and one thing you want to do more of. Then, stop and do. Keep stopping and keep doing until your life feels more extraordinary. We are alive to grow, so let’s grow. It’s a time to stop just thinking and start doing. A time to turn up the volume on your life.

So no matter the circumstances of our society, or despite the many excuses we could have to give up, we can still make the hero’s choice in our own lives. We can make the difference that is our difference.

That is all we can do. And if we all did it, it would be more than enough.

Happy New Year.

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