During recent employee evaluations conducted with my new manager Thomas and each staff member, we collectively looked for each person’s strengths and interests with a desire to create individually rewarding work while building a cohesive team.  This, despite the fact that we were experiencing challenging daily mishaps at the café -a result of many new hires who had not yet created their own ebb and flow with either the café or each other. Thomas and I worked on the premise that if we could tap into everyone’s individual strengths and desire, we would create a strong work environment that benefited all.  A tall order if we looked at what was actually happening.  Thomas commented that some of the things we were discussing reminded him of a Disney movie titled The Balloon Farm.  Intrigued, I had to rent it.

The Balloon Farm takes place in a small farming town that is experiencing a draught, and it clearly paints a picture of the scenarios and issues that present itself during this seemingly uncontrollable act of God.  Townspeople support each other’s misery and fail, dare I say refuse, to SEE the message of hope when it arrives.  The messenger of hope, sent in the disguise of the new farmer, maintains a sense of love, humor and goodwill despite that all everyone else sees is adversity.  As the townspeople complain of a draught, and SEE no available water for crops - hot baths, car washes and plenty of coffee prevail.

Meanwhile, our new farmer makes the sweetest lemonade with one lemon, the best pecan pie with one pecan, and grows crops of balloons (yes, balloons) overnight with just one special seed.  He believes you’ve got to use what you have.  Everything starts with a seed, he says.  A tree, grass, flowers, cows, me – you.  We all started out as a seed.   So use
what you’ve got, and BELIEVE.

A new paradigm is suggested:  It’s not what you see, it’s what you believe. Think about that for a minute.  If what you see is draught, and you believe in prosperity – which is more real?  Like creates like. Plant negativity and this is what you will reap.

If you see, or visualize your intention, despite what is outwardly apparent, then you have the ability to co-create your existence.  What seeds of possibility would you sow if you believed before you saw evidence of?  Plant your thoughts wisely, and plant seeds of positive intention.  Then BELIEVE.  No matter what you SEE today.  As The Land of I Can teaches, “First see it, then believe it, and know that it can be. The power is in the knowing.”

AFFIRMATION:

Today I will be aware of my thought patterns.

Copyright 2001, Susan Gilbert

Workaholics are usually poor time managers, and doing too much at once can be the #1 time waster. I know this. Yet, what we know in our hearts we should do and what we actually live in this hectic, demanding, and overwhelming society are often different. Sometimes just coping seems impossible.

In my frenzied attempts to manage the multiple tasks of my business and personal life, I was delighted when my email management software added a �task� feature. Now I could list my �to do�s� on the screen that held me captive and keep them ever-present in my desktop sight and mind. To remember them would remind me to accomplish them, wouldn�t it? Funny how as the list grew, I had a way of not seeing the list anymore.

When I acquired a PDA � a personal digital assistant– that would sync with my desktop, I was overjoyed to think I could keep this ever-growing task list with me wherever I went � thinking that to have the tasks more accessible would help me to click them off more easily. This assumption gave me the shaky illusion that I had some control over my life. Imagine my dismay when I realized that this marvelous new technology just made it easier for me to accumulate more �to do�s� than I could possibly finish. Unless, that is, I accomplished one of the more recent �to do�s� which read: Create more hours in a day.

As the task list continued to grow and I filled my head with more information, I growled internally at my inability to get ahead of the game. I finally stopped spinning out of control long enough ask myself what really matters here? Am I making my life simpler with technology�s assistance or am I postponing the steps that will actually help me accomplish my goals? Maybe simply taking action, taking one step and making the uncomplicated decision to prioritize and move on one item is more important than tackling �more.�

Lesson One for the over-achieving me was to accept that less can be better. I realized that I had all the information and tools that I needed to move through my day, and that learning to trust that inner voice would return me to a gentler life. That letting my own inner strengths guide the order of my priorities instead of using exterior tools to manage my life would lead me to the happiness and fulfillment I was looking for.