3hrs of sitting with my thoughts
2021 is but a few weeks old and we have already been tested and challenged, our moral code may well have been tested or even compromised. Its for this reason during group coaching conversation I asked 3 business leaders the following:
- What do you stand for? Your core reason for doing what you do?
- What are your non-negotiable’s? Have these been challenged?
- What is the positive impact of this approach on those around you? Are there any negative unintended consequences?
Today I took sometime to reflect on this session and this is what arrived…
My stream of consciousness – Letting thoughts arrive
There needs to be a better way to measure success or achievement within a country than GDP (Gross domestic product), academic test scores, or volume of output.
Maybe well-being and trust should be our measure which ironically has been shown to improve GDP
I have an opinion and this is the place for my voice
I’m not trying to solve your problems, I just want you to enjoy life more
I’m not hear to change the world, I’m simply changing my world for the better and I hope that might benefit you
The only limit to my potential is the scarifies I wont make (like having less time with my daughter)
There is no ‘meaning of life’ there is just the meaning you give to life (through your contributions – to your world/community)
If the goal is to improve efficiencies, get the same outputs with less resource then what about the result and the quality improvement
What justification are you selling yourself, what excuse are you holding onto
Are we holding profit above prosperity and wealth above wellbeing
If you need to measure anything this year, especially when it comes to our children please measure their happiness, contribution to others and kindness to themselves. Then grow this test score and not just GDP (others do it)
Measure what a good positive contributor my child is to the world around her and to her own growth. Not simply what Math or English grade she has
We are living in a world where data about us is more important and valuable than we are as people
Are we consumed by growth, growth at the cost of consumption which creates a deficit for others
Do we really need more growth at the expense of prosperity and wellbeing
What is it about your job that is more important than the health of your life. The wealth you should be cultivating is wellbeing.
I am not an activist, or an ‘anti’ I’m just a voice for change, a voice for me and a change of my world. If it benefits you then bonus.
I’m just trying to change me
When your moral code is greater than the cause the world gets better, when the cause comprises your moral code we fall and we all suffer.
What is it that is happening between the moments not just in the moments
What compromise is ok (what justification are you selling yourself), what truth would you hide.
In closing
I sat with my thoughts for 3hrs without interruption and allowed them to rise up. I ended with asking myself
‘what do I stand for’
Well-being as my measure of wealth
Prosperity as my measure of profit
The only growth I desire, is that of my own mind, my child’s and those close to me. This growth is measured in wellbeing and prosperity.
Footnote: What am I hear for? Every so often I ask myself this question. Not because I’m lost or without purpose but because I wonder –
- what my contribution to my world should be and
- is what I’m doing now leading me there?
