One Small Step...

I've missed you!  I admit it.  I got totally overwhelmed in the past month, between organizing a household move and agreeing to help out more than usual at the Leadership Development Institute.

I had great help on our move and highly recommend hiring a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers to organize your packing and unpacking and coordinate with the moving company.  Well worth every penny for the reduction in stress level alone.  The team I worked with was amazing--careful, thoughtful, patient and far more orderly than I can possibly be.  And they kept everything on track and made sure we had a place to sleep on night one in our new place (plus the coffee pot!!)

But a move is still a move and there are a thousand and one details to manage. And let's face it, details are not my strength; I've always been more of a big picture person.

As for The Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College, where I teach a course called the Leadership Development Program (LDP) four times per year, the good news / bad news is that they too have been overwhelmed with requests for customized programs from a number of their regular clients.  This has resulted in a bit of an "all hands-on deck" philosophy and so I've been asked to train some additional leadership programs on feedback, conflict and leadership. And I am loving it, while recognizing it's a bit more exhausting than usual given everything else going on...

It makes me so happy to see organizations investing in developing their leaders and happier still to see the leaders taking full advantage of the opportunities for learning and growth and improvement in their leadership abilities.  It's an honor and a privilege to be part of that process.

All that to say that even though I pride myself on making reasonable commitments for my time, energy and attention, and keeping those commitments as a non-negotiable, something had to give.  And the something was my commitment to weekly blog posts and weekly newsletters.  I fell behind and before I knew it, a month has passed.

And I've missed you!  I've missed your comments, your questions, and your encouragement.  I'm back.  And I'm recommitted.

So, what do you do when you get overwhelmed?  Does the fight, flight or freeze response take over?  I've experienced all of those.  When I feel truly overwhelmed, I tend to get frozen:  so many things to do, I don't know where to start, so I do nothing.  Has that ever happened to you?  (Please tell me I'm not alone!)

The Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu reminds us that the "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." 

Taking any action - even one small step - can reactivate your momentum, realign your attention and refocus your perspective in a forward direction.  It may seem insignificant, but any forward motion can help to re-motivate yourself when you've lost traction.  So today, I'm taking my one small step to get back on track.  And I'm recommitting to regular updates.  I still have a lot to share...

I'm also challenging you today.  Where in your life have you lost some momentum?  What one small step can you take to get back on track?  Where do you need to re-commit? 

By the way, I highly recommend letting go of any tendency to beat yourself up on this.  It's wasted energy.  I admit I lost focus, I own it, and I'm recommitting.  I'm letting myself off the hook!  I encourage you to do the same.  Identify the area that needs more attention, acknowledge it, and don't judge yourself too harshly about it.  Just recommit your time, energy and attention, as needed.

After all, your time, your energy, and your attention are your greatest resources.  Being deliberate about how you use those resources is an on-going process and challenge.  It requires thoughtful intention.  And it's helpful to reflect occasionally on how you are doing and re-adjust as necessary. 

We've all had to re-shift priorities, especially in the past year.  And we've learned a lot about how to do that on the fly, which is a good thing.  And sometimes, it's helpful to commit some time for reflection and recalibration.  Now is a good time for that.

If you need some help working through this process, I would love to help.  I invite you to schedule some time with me to share your number one challenge -- whether it's personal, professional or organizational -- and I will offer at least one small step you can take, one action that will provide forward motion.