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Make Space For The New – Let Go!

Fri, May 11, 2012 No Comments by Gosia

I used to be a pack-rat when it came to the things I owned. Maybe it came from my upbringing, as my mom had been always against throwing things out (“Well, maybe we will need it some day”). As a result I was storing in my wardrobe clothes I did not wear (or like), my basement was full of old files, books from college, shoes I dislike, dishes I did not use any more, old drapes, you name it. Surprisingly, even though I relocated at that time quite a lot, with every move it did not occur to me that I could just get rid of all those things (“Well, maybe I will need it some day”). I just couldn’t let go of my stuff. 

Some years ago I realized that I don’t have to carry all this ballast with me and since that day I am a devotee of giving away things I don’t need any more or things that had fulfilled their purpose. And I am all for clearing the clutter. All things play a specific purpose in our lives and often after they fulfilled their purpose, we just need to let them go to make a space for something new to come in our life (hey, we only have this much space in our wardrobe!).

You may wonder how this applies to your professional life? We can take this concept a little bit further. As professionals we grow, we develop and sometimes we also need to let go of some projects to make a room for the new. Recently, I discontinued my blog I have written in Polish language for more that 5 years. I perceived this project as my “baby” and I really enjoyed writing and interacting with my readers, I was proud of it. And for months I have been resisting the fact that this blog had fulfilled its purpose and it’s time to let it go. I felt that I can’t fit much more new ventures into my professional life my heart was craving for, while still devoting time to that project. Still I was holding on to it. Until I let go. In doing so, I cleared the space for the new things to come into my professional life. And even though this decision was not easy, I already feel the breeze of the fresh air coming in. 

You may also have a look at your career and ponder: is there anything you holding on to which you need to let go of? It may be a project, maybe a job itself or other commitments. Is there anything that’s holding you back from inviting new, exciting things into your professional life? You would be surprised how much energy you will get from releasing those things and how much more new opportunities will flow into your life. 

Modern Technology and Ancient Wisdom. An amazing encounter in Silicon Valley

Mon, March 12, 2012 No Comments by Gosia

Eckhart Tolle and Rich Fernandez, Google at Wisdom 2.0 conferenceI recently attended the Wisdom 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley, California. For the third time in a row this conference gathered an rather unusual group of people: on one side representatives of technologies companies like Google, Twitter, Facebook, Cisco, Zynga; on the other leading wisdom teachers like Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Eckhart Tolle and Thupten Jinpa. At the first glance, these people have little in common. For the tech companies from Silicon Valley its all about fast pace, cutting-edge technology, the internet and innovations. For ancient wisdom teachers is all about being mindful, content with simple things and being in the moment. 

However, these people had a whole lot to say to each other. And learn from each other. The conference enabled highly inspirational conversations. Eckhard Tolle discussed with Rich Fernandez, Director of Executive Development at Google, the need for stillness in today’s fast pace technology world. Eckhard Tolle pointed out: “You need to carefully watch the balance between spaciousness and information in your life. Otherwise you will drown, your mind will get crazy, and you will become less creative. And we need creativity to transcend our problems, to bring in new ideas”. In another discussion, Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay talked to Thupten Jinpa, the Buddhist scholar and translator of Dalai Lama teachings, about the influence of technology on development of our humanity. “I am amazed that such a small group of people is creating an amazing technology, which impacts the whole world. This is not to be overlooked and I am amazed that these people find their connection to ancient teachings”, Thupten Jinpa said. Other inspirational conversations included: Stuart Crabb of Facebook, Karen May of Google, Michelle Gale of Twitter and Cherie Gardiner of Zynga discussing a mindful approach to Learning & Development in corporations; Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein from Asana, talking on Mindfulness-Based start ups;  Jon Kabat-Zinn answering the question: “Why Mindfulness, Why Now?” in an interview with Karen May, VP Leadership and Talent at Google, and many more. 

After having spent last 12 years working for international corporations, I often found myself asking the question: with increasingly faster pace of our work, how do we find new ways to cope with this speed? I felt that there is a great need for more mindful approach to our work, to integrate more being time in our doing. With all these possibilities and speed that technology allows us today, there is more need that ever to slow down and to focus on what is truly important. The Wisdom 2.0 conference emerged exactly for this purpose. It emerged from the need to have more mindful conversations about how we want to be and how we want to live in the technology world, and how we can integrate more mindful approach to technology. 

The conference followed by 2 days of workshops at the Google campus in Silicon Valley. It was very encouraging to see how this company supports collaboration, creativity and mindfulness as a part of its company culture. It definitely sets a standard for other corporations to follow. As we learned at the conference, also companies like Zynga or Facebook actively support integration of wisdom into their company culture as well as in leadership and development tools. 

I loved how Eckhart Tolle, the author of “A New Earth” summarized this unusual gathering: “This is a new consciousness. It wants to happen. It needs to happen”. If you are interested in the conversations between technology and wisdom, I highly recommend to attend this conference next year and get inspired. You can find all the details about the next Wisdom 2.0 conference here. 

Make 2012 Great!

Tue, January 10, 2012 No Comments by Gosia

We are still at the beginning of January, so it you did not decide what you want to create in this year yet, whether in your career or private life, now is the time. You hear everywhere about goal setting nowadays, and many of us think that goal setting is overrated. As for me, I strongly believe in goal setting, as it gives me a sense of purpose and control. What I find the most valuable in this process is that once I sit down and really think about what I want to create in my life, I realize what is important for me. And this knowledge is precious, it’s like creating a personal compass to lead me through the year.

I found the below video of Tony Robins really inspiring. I personally use different techniques for my yearly goal setting, but his ideas are really good. Watch it and get inspired!

Your assignment:

  • Take for your 2012 goal setting, don’t rush it. Set aside some time in the evening, play some inspiring music, take a piece of paper and start dreaming about what you want to create in 2012. And write it down.
  • You can even invite to your goal setting your loved ones, your spouse, so that you can get support on reaching your goals throughout 2012.

Have an amazing 2012!!

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Wed, September 7, 2011 1 Comment by Gosia

I just returned from a 4-day hike in the beautiful Austrian Alps. I have been hiking quite a lot in the past, but this trip was special for me. It was special because it was a hard lesson. I usually hike quite reasy trails, but this time we went to the rugged Lechtaler Alps for an Alpine hike.

I wanted to try something more difficult. And: it was much more harder than I thought while sitting on a couch and planning the trip. After struggling for many days, I experienced all sorts of emotions – from frustration, struggle, extreme tiredness, to amazement, excitement and pride of reaching the destination.

In many ways, this hike was a life lesson for me and this is what I learned:

1. You may know what your goal is, but you never know what is behind the corner

Every day we started in the morning towards our next destination hut. We examined the route and knew more or less how much time do we need to reach our destination. What we did not know, however, is how the route looks like. Every time we said: well, the most difficult part is behind us – the new, more extreme challenge appeared in front of us. We can transfer it directly to our professional or private life – we often set goals, but at the end we cannot possibly know how we will achieve them, what will appear on the path towards our goal. What worked for me in this situation was: being open for whatever arises in front of me, so that I am not disappointed or surprised, and just: embracing the journey.

2. Put one foot in front of the other

This is probably the biggest lesson I learned from the mountains. When I started the hike, I knew my goal was somewhere far away, up in the mountains and it would require a lot of strengths to get there. I thought: will I make it? Will I have enough mental and physical strength? And at the same time I wanted to enjoy this hike. And this is how I did it: I only focused on putting one foot in front of the other, only one small step after another. It’s not a big deal, is it? From time to time I stopped and enjoyed the view of the mountains, and then again: one foot in front of the other.

I took a short video of my slow and steady steps. Does not really look impressive, but it is enough to get to the summit and achieve the goal.

3. Patience

Many times on my way to the summit, I got frustrated and wanted to stop. I got frustrated at the mountain! I had to survive these moments and keep going, to the summit. In our professional life we also get frustrated a big deal. But it is important to get going, so that we can sit at the top of the mountain, enjoying the view and say: “It was all worth it!”

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Pick your favorite activity, where endurance is essential. It may be running, or biking, trekking, swimming, etc. Set some time aside and do this activity for a longer period of time, as usual. F.e. when you usually run 30 minutes, run one hour, or two. See resistance arising, when you do this activity for a longer period of time than usual. Observe frustration arising, observe when want to give up.

Then focus on “one foot in front of the other”, find your rhythm. See the difference, when you chunk this activity up, to small steps. Don’t look at the watch, don’t look at the distance, just put one foot in front of the other.

Look at your professional life, your career from this perspective. Do you face times when you struggle and want to give up? Do you sometimes feel frustrated with regards to your career goals? What would be the small “step” you could take in such situation? How you could find your rhythm and keep going, one foot in front of the other?

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