Where do you go when the thrill has gone?
The gleam has gone out of the Axis on his desk. Even his pride
in the Cannes Lion has waned. Jeff's agency is on the shortlist
for a blue-chip client they've been courting for years. Yet as
he gazes out of his elevated office, across the silver harbour,
his head throbs. His mouth feels dry. The thrill has gone.
Thousands of creatives, suits, planners, managers and directors
live their lives focused on the next award, the newest client,
the best campaign. We're groomed and conditioned that way. But
what happens when it stops being all there is? What happens when
award winning ideas are replaced with questions? Life-altering,
soul-splintering questions.
"We are trained in our society to live into, strive for, a
future," says Legacy Coach Sally Anderson. "People seek
validation in their self-worth through external goals. But what
frequently happens is the goal never quite matches our
expectations. Our barometer on our level of happiness is always
reliant on external circumstances shifting.
"What," she asks, "would life look like if how you feel about
life was not reliant on something external?" Anderson encourages
people to 'get present' to three key areas of life: integrity,
responsibility, and commitment. These, she says, are the key to
freedom and they form the framework for people to live life in
the present.
"I am not discounting the importance of achieving goals but I am
contesting living in a world which looks like there is always
somewhere else to get. Like 'someday' is the 8th day of the
week. To sustain any level of happiness or satisfaction in this
life does not, contrary to popular opinion, lie in the
achievement of goals."
Anderson proposes that it's important to charter your 'boat'
(you and your goals) in the direction you wish to head, but not
be attached to the outcome. This is where most people experience
dissatisfaction, for 'it' did not meet their expectations.
Anderson notes that most people's thoughts on a day-to-day basis
are either past-based or future-based. In other words, we are
hardly ever present. This is a human phenomenon.
Daily, Anderson listens to people saying they are "not there
yet", or they're "getting there". But she questions 'where' are
they trying to get to? The fact is, there is nowhere to get to.
That "one day" in the future doesn't
Gass And Black Of Tenacious D Play Not My Job
We've invited Kyle Gass and Jack Black to play a game called "Tenacious D, Meet Tenacious P." We tried to think of the singer who was the diametrical opposite of Tenacious D, and who better than Pat Boone? They'll answer three questions about the cleanest cut guy who ever cut a record.
Americans: A 'Bunch Of Amateurs,' And Proud Of It
In his new book, journalist Jack Hitt says America's amateur spirit goes back to the nation's origins — and it's nothing to be ashamed of. The Europeans viewed the Americans as an "unfinished people," Hitt says. "We were amateur <em>everything</em>." And it's only made the nation better.
exist. This is "it" here
and now. The past is but a thought, and the future an illusion,
a projection from the moment that is now. But by focusing
wholeheartedly on the present, aren't you running the risk of
removing the essential drive - the thrill of the chase, the
delayed gratification - that this industry thrives on?
"I work with executives in the creative industries and a common
theme is that there is lots 'to do', in order to achieve X, Y,
Z. Their experiences range from overwhelm, struggle, no freedom,
pressure, anxiety. They operate from a state of doing, or trying
to make it happen.
"When they look outside of themselves for gratification, they
will always be left disappointed. But a life where the
individual learns to take responsibility for their state of
being regardless of the circumstances, is a different life.
"Imagine living a life where you are operating at peak
performance, high energy levels. You are able to de-trigger from
any situation within a millisecond, silence the internal
destructive voice (I call the 'inner critic'), the one thing
that destroys human potential. You've transformed your
relationship to fear, and are living in the zone, being the
conduit for attracting synchronistic opportunities to come to
you."
All this is possible, says Anderson, when you start living in
the present. What role, then do drive, passion, enthusiasm take
in this new life? "These are functions of choice. Most people do
not know what motivates them to do what they do, nor do they
know what they are committed to. In three years of developing my
coaching practice I have met few clients who could articulate
the core motivators that drive them in their lives," she says.
"Passion doesn't lie in something external, nor does happiness.
It lies in you choosing it as a way of being, regardless of the
circumstances in your life. If you are not clear on what
motivates you to do what you do, or to breathe for that matter,
how can you live a life of passion?"
About the author:
Sally Anderson is New Zealand's first Legacy Coach for Legacy
Leadership. As an Executive Coach, Sally facilitates sustainable
transformation in individuals, which is frequently lacking in
the corporate world. To find out more about Sally's coaching and
development work, visit www.sallyanderson.co.nz
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