Hello Everyone,

The focus for this months newsletter is ‘Values, Belief Systems and Goal Settings’ which could be described as ‘our way of achievement’! This month’s newsletter provides you with a number of articles that explain how you can be more congruent with your values, understanding your belief system, and how to achieve goals.

Richard Barrett talks about the importance of aligning your values. Roy Disney (American Film Writer, Producer, Nephew of Walt Disney) said ‘It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.’ Stephen Covey (Author) said ‘Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.’

Edward B. Toupin discusses the need for a belief system; which he describes as a system of organisation for your experiences. James Joyce (Irish novelist, 1882 – 1941) said ‘I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.’ Charles F. Kettering (American engineer, inventor of the electric starter, 1876 – 1958) said ‘Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.’

Gerard O’Donovan (CEO of the ECI) has contributed an article on Goal Achieving in which he talks about ‘Man was born to dream; he was also born to achieve.’ Edmund Hillary said ‘It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.’ Brian Tracey said ‘’With greater confidence in yourself and your abilities, you will set bigger goals, make bigger plans and commit yourself to achieving objectives that today you only dream about.’ Catherine Pulsifer said ‘With your entire 'focus' on your goal, you will reach levels of achievement that you never thought possible.’

We work with our clients to identify their values, to understand their belief systems, and to achieve goals; but do you know who you are? To know who you are and to align how you live with your values and beliefs and achieving your goals is not just a challenge, it’s a responsibility. As a previous Editor, Michael Duffy, once said ‘A value dishonoured is a life misaligned.’

Before I go I would sincerely like to thank Betska K-Burr and Anne Marie McIntosh for the last three newsletters. The ECI is still looking for a newsletter editor and the volunteers at the moment are stepping in to support the newsletter to ensure that you get it every month. For this month’s newsletter I would like to sincerely thank the IT and Operations team – John, David and Tricia – without whom there would be no publication this month.

Finally a request – if you have articles that you wish to publish, as Gerard did, please send them in. We would be delighted to include the in a future newsletter. Thank you to our valued readers – as always your feedback, comments and ideas are welcome.


 

 

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Modes of Decision-Making

Every individual on this planet makes decisions on a daily basis. The decisions we make are always directed at satisfying our perceived needs.

Individual human beings have seven basic needs – physiological survival, emotional safety – being loved or being liked, feeling good about ourselves – a feeling of self-worth, personal growth and development, finding a sense of meaning in life, the ability to make a difference in the world, and service to others and the planet. As we grow and develop, we learn how to satisfy each of these needs. At any point in time, whichever of these needs is consistently uppermost in our mind is the level of consciousness we operate from. The level of consciousness we operate from tells us what we value. If we are constantly searching for self-esteem, then we will use our beliefs to make decisions about how to operate in the world so that we can feel good about ourselves. The decisions we make reflect our beliefs about how to achieve self-esteem. The beliefs we use to operate in the world are always dependent on our life context. Thus, every culture holds different beliefs about how to satisfy the seven basic needs. We all value the same things, but hold different beliefs about how to get what we value. We are most successful in life when we have learned how to satisfy all our needs. When we become unconsciously skilled at satisfying all our needs within our framework of existence, we are able to operate from full-spectrum consciousness – we display positive values at all levels of consciousness.

Since all organizations and groups are made up of individuals, we find they also have seven basic needs – financial survival, harmonious relationships, being the best – performance, continuous learning and improvement, internal cohesion through a shared sense of vision – collective meaning, making a positive difference in the world, being of service to humanity and the planet. As an organization grows and develops, the leaders learn how to satisfy each of these needs. At any point in time, whichever of these needs is consistently uppermost in the minds of the leadership of the organization, is what the organization focuses on. This is the level of consciousness the organization operates from. The level of consciousness an organization operates from tells us what it values. If it values financial survival, then it will use its beliefs to make decisions about how to achieve both short-term and long-term profitability. In this case, the decisions the leaders of an organization make reflect their beliefs about how to achieve financial survival and stability. The most successful organizations are unconsciously skilled at operating from all levels of consciousness. They display full-spectrum consciousness – positive values at all levels of consciousness.

Thus, we see that the decisions individual’s make reflect their personal beliefs about what they value and the decisions organization’s make reflect the personal beliefs about what the leaders of organizations value.

Values Alignment

When the values of an individual are the same as the values of their organization, then there is a values alignment. When the values of an individual are different from the values of their organization, then there is a values misalignment.

When the values of the organization are focused on the lower levels of consciousness and employees are focused on the higher levels of consciousness, frustration sets in. When the values of the organization are focused on the higher levels of consciousness and employees are focused on the lower levels of consciousness employees are encouraged to grow and develop. However, higher is not necessarily better – organizations and individuals should attempt to master all levels of consciousness. All organizations and groups need to be well grounded in the lower levels of consciousness if they are to survive. In addition, they need to focus on the upper levels of consciousness if they are to thrive over the long-term.Research shows that when the values of employees are in alignment with the values of the organization (the leaders of the organization) the organization is more successful and more focused on customer satisfaction and community service. Organizations that don’t have this alignment tend to be more inward looking, bureaucratic, and stressful to work in. They may be financially successful, but find it difficult to hire and keep self-actualized individuals and talented people. Companies that seek to create a values alignment have very few problems attracting and retaining talented people. They know what their employees want and they know how to provide it.

The first step in creating values alignment is to map the values of the organization as perceived by the leaders, managers and employees. This is done by mapping the personal values of these three groups to the seven levels of personal consciousness; then mapping the values of the current culture as perceived by these three groups to the seven levels of organizational consciousness; and finally, mapping the values these three groups would like to see in the culture (desired culture) to the seven levels of organizational consciousness. This analysis provides a clear indication of a) the values gap that needs to be filled to create alignment, and b) the values that leaders, managers and employees consider are important for running the business. Based on this information, organizations are able to choose core values that are meaningful to everyone. Shared values are important for creating values alignment. A strong set of organizational shared values allows organizations to remove layers of hierarchy, because the employer can trust the employee to always make the right decision – a decision that reflects the values of the organization.

For an organization to reap the benefits of a strong set of shared values, the values must be lived by the senior people in the organization. They must become part of the organizational culture. In other words, the values must become pervasive. They should be integrated into every facet of the organization’s culture – all aspects of its processes, systems and procedures. This is called structural alignment. For this to happen the values have to resonate with everyone, and they must be monitored on a regular basis.What employees are looking for is to satisfy as many of their personal needs as they can through their work, particularly the needs of the levels of consciousness they are operating from. Low-skilled workers are usually attempting to satisfy their survival, relationship and self-esteem needs. Self-actualized individuals – those operating from the higher levels of consciousness, are attempting to find meaning through their work, to make a difference, and to be of service.

Thus, our physical needs are met when we receive payment for our work that allows us a certain degree of safety and security, and we have the right tools and equipment to do our work. Our emotional needs are met when there is friendship and open communication in our immediate working environment, and we feel respected by our peers and supervisors. Our mental needs are met when we are invited by our superiors and peers to share our ideas, and we are able to see that our opinions count. Our spiritual needs are met when we find meaning in our work, when we have the opportunity to make a difference, and we feel we are able to be of service to others. Creating such a culture, where all employees can excel and meet the full spectrum of their needs is the challenge that organizations face if they are to survive and prosper in the 21st century.

Richard Barrett
 

 

 

 

Life, A Multiple Choice Question?

In my student days, when faced with a written test I was always delighted if the format was, "multiple choice". I really preferred the style of those questions to the alternative, "narrative", type questions. I simply didn't like questions that began "Discuss the merits and demerits of.…..", or, even more frightening, "Describe the factors which led to …..."No doubt about it, narrative questions were full of traps! I could write for forty minutes answering one of these and get absolutely no marks because I had missed the point of the question, or introduced irrelevant material or managed to wander off the topic into uncharted waters. These questions were dangerous!

Give me a multiple-choice question any time. The advantages were clear;

• The answer was there in front of me, all I had to do was see it.
• Even if I chose an answer at random, I had a reasonable chance, usually 1 in 4, of getting it right; the only sure fire way to fail was to make no selection at all.
• I didn't have to spend time making an argument to justify my answer.
• I could answer each question quickly and move on to the next one immediately.
• The effort involved in answering these questions was minimal.

Much later in life it dawned on me that life is very like an examination. Every day I face questions and decisions that will shape the rest of my life. Thinking about this, I realized, that I was treating most decisions like those "narrative" exam questions, discussing the question over and over in my mind, cataloguing the advantages and disadvantages, rationalizing the causes and justifying the tentative conclusions, then revising them and reviewing the alternatives! It struck me that I was spending most of my time making, or rather failing to make, decisions.

It occurred to me that life would be much easier if we could adopt a multiple-choice approach.

The answer is so often right in front of us. (After all, isn't it often the role of a Life coach to help the client see clearly what is already there?)

1. Making no decision is usually the only really wrong answer. Taking action, any action is better than ignoring the question. Often, life questions have no single "right answer", there are almost always several right answers.
2. Spending time agonizing over a decision is not adding quality to life, nor is it likely to make the answer any more right.
3. Dealing with one decision clears the way to deal clearly and quickly with the next. In that way we move on.
4. Spending less time and energy on decisions leaves so much more available for fun!

How often are you faced with a decision and spend ages wresting with it? So often our first, instinctive, "gut" answer is the one we eventually adopt but only after an age wrestling with the pros and cons. Worse, we often dismiss the initial answer and persuade ourselves to take some other action, building up a list of arguments to justify our action. This is not only a bad way to make decisions but it also drains our energy.

We then arrive at our next decision with even less energy, our head full of muddled thoughts. So often, this leads to disappointing results. Does any of this sound familiar? I am not suggesting for a minute that we should not give due consideration to important decisions. Certainly, there will be times when we need to think long and hard about a question. I'm simply suggesting that many of the daily decisions we face can be addressed in a more effective, liberating way. From now on I'll be looking out for the multiple choice questions in life. What will you do?

1. Ignore this article.
2. Look out for opportunities to take a multiple choice approach to decisions.
3. Think long and hard about this before postponing a decision.
4. Ask someone else, for their opinion.

The choice is yours…..

Lorcan O'Toole
lorcan@personalest.ie
www.personalbest.ie
 

 

 

 

I've spoken with many people who, over time, have felt inundated by their lives. It seems as though they've accumulated all of these memories and experiences, but the information seems jumbled and overwhelming. This pile of 'mind junk' keeps getting in their way whenever they attempt to move forward in life. It's as if they feel that they have to deal with each and every disassociated memory lying on the floor of their brains.

Believe it or not, there is a way to organize all of your memories and experiences in a nice and tidy system that works only for you. It's not an easy chore, but sometimes it is necessary to reinvent your belief system and redefine your values so that you can see clearer and be able to achieve the fulfilling life that you desire.

--- A Belief System ---

To begin a journey in life, we have to identify our belief systems. We all have one, but not all of us are sure where we put it or how it affects our lives. We tend to take our beliefs for granted and coast through life in hopes that everything works out for our own good. While that approach works for a while, it will catch up with us and leave us lying dormant for years until we figure out what it is that we need to do.

A belief system provides a core set of values on which we base everything we do, say, or believe. We can classify our values as a 'set of rules' that define how we process and store information as it comes in through our conscious mind. Our conscious mind takes these rules and shaves off the sides, planes the ends, and polishes the exterior to make it easier to process and store in our subconscious. The subconscious then takes this processed piece of information and, according to our rules, associates it with other information that we classify as 'solid' and 'accurate.' During this association, we begin to understand the new information and are better able to assimilate it for future reference.

It is when we receive new information that we can run into trouble. If we have a solid set of rules by which information is processed, the new information is stored in the same manner as all other information. However, any unknown elements are left open, like empty branches of a tree, to be filled with pertinent information that can help us understand how the new information fits into our lives. Since we have a base of knowledge from which to function, we can easily go out and find the answers to our questions to fill in the gaps that this new, unknown information created.

But, without any rules, new information is just tossed into the corner of our minds. Our conscious mind, in an attempt to organize the information, devises a set of questions that need to be answered. We then begin to focus on these issues, which eventually bring up other questions, causing us to cringe in fear and become stuck in our lives. Our minds are so caught up in these 'free floating' questions that we end up in a state of confusion and, in some cases, overwhelming depression because life seems to be caving in all around us completely out of control.

--- Identifying a Belief System ---

When we are born, we 'are' and it 'is.' We come into being and we become conscious of the things around us. Eventually, through experimentation, we find that things are hot, cold, hard, soft, bright, and dark. But, we have to go beyond those initial pieces of knowledge and learn to work with others, move about in the world, expand out consciousness, and become whatever we desire. However, we must be able to identify who we are before we can determine who we want to become and where we want to go in life. This is where we must define our current belief system and identify our current values.

To identify the core of your belief system, define those things that you hold dear. Family, friends, career, your car, a boat, and anything that you feel is important to you and, in some way, defines who you feel you are at this time. If you just say 'high morals,' that is not a belief; it is a 'belief package' that contains various aspects of what you believe. The core of a belief system contains things that mean something to you and provide you with your values.

The values are those items on which we base decisions and provide a foundation for associating and analyzing experiences. To find your core values, take each of your items from the previous paragraph and explain why these things are important to you. This will give you an idea of what you believe in, what you value in life.

--- Redefining a Belief System ---

The problem that we all run into from time to time is that our systems will fail us if we do not adjust them as we grow. It's much like an old pair of 'lucky' socks that we begin wearing in little league. By the time we're in our 40's, while those socks might have helped us when we were 10; they're full of holes and way too small to do us any good any longer.

You have to occasionally reassess your values to see if those rules of old still fit your current life and direction. These old values were put in place to keep us safe and get us started on the next leg of our journey. They allow us to process information such that we can categorize and file new information in a logical and orderly fashion. Such values keep us from doing things that, at that time, are dangerous to us emotionally, mentally, or physically. But, as we grow, mature, and learn, we are able to gradually handle more of what life hands to us. It is then that we must be able to reassess our values to get rid of old, unnecessary rules and put in place new ones that can allow us to move forward in life.

But, it is during that change that we feel fear. It is fear of the unknown because we are venturing outside of what we previously set up as boundaries for our safe harbor. At this moment we can feel lost if we don't have some knowledge or new belief to put in its place. Overcoming the fear of change involves accepting that your beliefs will change over time and taking control of the change so that it occurs at your pace.

--- What's next? ---

It is important to put forth the effort to define our belief systems through conscious, rational thought and logical deliberation. We have to consider our current values, examine our lives, establish a new set of values, and adjust these values as we grow, to accommodate future decisions and further growth. If we allow our subconscious mind to accumulate unanswered questions and unrelated information, we will process new information to create unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, unidentified wishes, doubts, and fears thrown together by chance into a mass of confusion called 'self-doubt.'

It is important to put forth the effort to define our belief systems through conscious, rational thought and logical deliberation. We have to consider our current values, examine our lives, establish a new set of values, and adjust these values as we grow, to accommodate future decisions and further growth. If we allow our subconscious mind to accumulate unanswered questions and unrelated information, we will process new information to create unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, unidentified wishes, doubts, and fears thrown together by chance into a mass of confusion called 'self-doubt.'

Edward B. Toupin

 

 

 

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As children we grow up with dreams and as adults it is important that we continue them as it is when we stop dreaming that we start to whither and die. Man was born to dream; he was also born to achieve. The more dreams we have the more alive we are, although we don’t always have to achieve our dreams in order to achieve happiness. The mere act of pursuing our dreams, or starting out on the road to fulfilment can bring a great sense of direction, satisfaction and joy. Remember that wonderful saying that ‘success is a journey, not a destination’.

So when does a dream become a goal? It is when it changes from an idle ‘wish’ to something you have a passion for, perhaps even an obsession. In fact show me a man who is obsessed with something and I will show you a man with a goal. If you are serious and determined about achieving various goals in your life then you must become passionate about them. However, another important thing about achieving goals is to incorporate FUN. In order to keep motivated and keep on the path it must be enjoyable – it must be something you like doing. Indulge in activities that will keep you motivated: read the right material, listen to the right cassette tapes, attend the right courses. Never regard achieving goals in the same way as hitting work deadlines. They are not the same thing at all.

If you want to win in the great game of life, if you want to achieve all that you can achieve, and be happy then setting and achieving correctgoals play an integral part. It is a tragedy that many people are subject to the devastating shock of realising that the goal that they have finally reached is not what they wanted. How sad to hear someone say “I have lost the most precious and most significant relationships of my life. I have compromised my health, I have compromised my integrity, just to get to where I am now, only to realise that it is not where I want to be. ” We have all seen people climbing the ladder of success, but is their ladder against the right wall?

“Ours is a world where people don’t know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it.” - DON MARQUIS

This misdirection commonly happens because people do not take the long-term view. Most people get into daily planning, yet all the important things in life deal with long time-spans and long time-frames, not daily. The reality is that daily planning often means that you are merely prioritising your crises, and this kind of situation will eat you up, wear you out and leave you with no energy for efficient, long term goal planning. You must avoid this rut.

Goal planning and, more importantly, achievement is a serious business and you must get serious. Having the ‘eye of the tiger’ is all very well but it is not enough. Having the ‘will’ to win is not enough. You must be prepared to work. Opposed to what many believe success is not down to luck in the generally accepted sense of the word but it is subject to Luck Under Constructive K nowledge. By this I mean that only by implementing the necessary plans, actions and mindset can you achieve a great deal. Many of us have heard the words POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE (PMA) – but do we all know how to get one? Well I have another definition for the letters PMA - PURPOSE METHOD ACTION. If you have a definite purpose in life, a method to work by to achieve that purpose, and you go out and take the appropriate action, you will immediately start to achieve personal power and, by default, a positive mental attitude.

The great difference in life between winners and losers is that winners make it happen, losers let it happen. Do not let life happen to you - take charge, take control. Make a choice now - and make that choice to win. All the ruminating, meditating and cogitating in the world will get you nowhere. Only with real goals and realaction will you get the results you want.

“There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.”- GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

Once you have correctly and carefully identified your goals – and it important that you take time doing this - it is absolutely essential that you transfer onto paper. The benefit of this was illustrated well in an experiment based on Yale University’s Class of ‘53. A survey was carried out in which all of the students were given a long questionnaire to complete. Within it was the one key question that was to provide the researchers with the answer to their debate - ‘How many of the students have written clear specific goals?’ - and the result was 3%. In 1973 they revisited all the participants that were still living and on speaking to them again discovered that the 3% who had written goals had actually accumulated more wealth than all of the other 97% added together. So here we have clear, categorical proof that the mere act of writing down goals has a power in itself. The very act of setting a goal and writing it downwill immediately point you in the direction of that goal. It will empower you to know that your life is becoming self-determined, that you are taking charge, that you are taking control. It will provide you with a sense of purpose and set you on your journey towards the attainment of your ultimate aspirations.

Having spent over 15 years working in the field of developing human potential I have identified the following nine steps as not only being crucial in planning goals but, more importantly, immensely increase your ability to succeed. Be diligent in following the plan of action that you create, remain true to your ethics, morals and desires, and your dreams can become reality.

1. Write down and clearly identify exactly what it is that you want. Be very, very specific. Write down what is in it for you.
2. Determine how you will benefit from this goal. Write as many benefits as you can possibly think of.
3. Analyse where you are right now in relation to achieving this goal
4. Put a date by which you expect to accomplish the task
5. Identify the obstacles you have to overcome in order to reach this goal
6. Choose the people, organisations and groups whose help you will need to accomplish your task
7. List the skills and knowledge you will need to achieve your goal
8. Establish how you will get these skills and knowledge. Write down the books you will need to read, the courses you will have to take, the lectures and seminars you may need to attend
9. Develop a plan of action

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.”- ABRAHAM LINCOLN

 

 

Gerard O’Donovan
gerard@noble-manhattan.com
www.noble-manhattan.com 

 

 

 

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