Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Still in Austin

Being on the road is not a bad thing, but for some reason the work that happens at the home base seems to reach out and find you. Yes, we live in a connected world where "I can hear you now, I'm in DFW" and "I can hear you now, I'm in a meeting in Ausin." Yes, there is wireless in a hotel and I can blog from the ES, 4th floor.

Driving back into the city, where I'm staying, was very nice tonight. Even though I was on the phone and the Never Lost was dinging and commanding my turns (which I am grateful for) I was familiar enough with I-35 South so that I could enjoy the view of the city, seeing the capital (the building and the city) illuminated.

I did come to Austin, leaving the comfort of my home, my office and my routine, to do work. I was mildly irked as I gathered with my colleagues -- who are realtively new to me -- and one of them was buried in the computer, doing e-mail and chatting online with colleagues. None of us came here for our health and when I realized this person was way off task, I needed a move.

So, I attracted her attention and gently at first, but progressively went down a path of challenging her assumptions. I went to the point of aggravation, but set her up so that she would have to start making the points (which is what we needed for our work) that defended, but also articulated her position. It seems a little silly that I'd have to go down such a path to bring someone back to the table, but not everyone values minutes as much as I do, and there are probably few people that are as focused and try to conserve time and energy to the same extent as me.

Even though efficiency didn't reign, I did learn a lot yesterday and today. Making the contacts and learning about the technology was valuable and rewarding. Having the opportunity to lead, follow, and provide shape -- almost like a relay event -- is a skill-builder.

Lots more to talk about, but I do need to rest/recharge. Long day tomorrow, starting early, but culminating in travel home.

Monday, January 30, 2006

On the Road

I woke up in Chapel Hill this morning, but bed down in Austin tonight. There are some smart people here I needed to meet with and team up with on some innovation. Austin is a fun city and you can hear all kinds of live music if you hit the street. I should consider the well-balanced business trip which would include a reasonable mix of business and pleasure. Today, the focus has been on taming the dragons (which is preferable to slaying them because you can't ride on a dead dragon).

Saturday, January 28, 2006

From Tension to Zero in 60 Minutes/60 Seconds

There are so many opportunities in our daily life where we encounter stressful situations which lead to physical and mental tension. Each of us has a personalized set of events that may adversely affect us, causing us stress, and nature has provided us with the physical ability to respond. However, our physiological response to stress is almost certainly much more than is needed for the majority of our trying encounters. In attending classes and practicing Yoga I’ve learned a skill that enables me to respond more appropriately in stressful situations. Being better equipped to deal with challenging interactions helps me to be more effective when it’s most important. The Yoga techniques taught in class help me slow down, relax, focus and become more capable in working through difficult and challenging problems.

Many years ago, I took a college class in Yoga. It seemed an unconventional class for me – an unconventional student – but was seemingly an easy way to satisfy one of four required physical education credits. I quickly realized that Yoga was not going to be an easy course. (Although Savasana, or the resting/relaxation pose, could have offered students a creative way to sleep through class.) The class turned out to be very challenging, and rewarding in ways I came to appreciate then and even more cognizant of now.

My personal trainer was responsible for renewing my interest in Yoga. Both my trainer and I are very driven, goal- and achievement-oriented people. Neither of us is of the mindset to stop climbing, even when we reach the top of the hill. She was routinely practicing Yoga and enjoying the benefits, and found that it offered a very nice change of pace from the day-to-day craziness. Her passion for Yoga was contagious and I was easily persuaded to attend a Saturday afternoon class early in 2004. The teacher was so effective that I was immediately drawn back into Yoga. I’ve regularly attended a variety of Yoga classes ever since.

During a busy day, we can generate a lot of momentum as we navigate through our complex agendas. With endless opportunities to pursue it’s easy to engage in so many things that we end up racing like hamsters on a wheel, hurriedly going nowhere and burning up a lot of energy. One of the benefits of a Yoga class is that we can learn how to slow down and we practice this in each class. The helpful life extension of Yoga is to remember how we slow down in class, and to train ourselves to slow down quickly when needed.

Many Yoga classes and practices begin by sitting quietly, providing focus on the breathing, and gradually releasing the thoughts that compete for our attention. The transition from chaos to calm, from distraction to deliberation is the path leading away from the accumulated stress and tension into a more relaxed and less harried state. One goal and benefit of Yoga is training to stop the wheels from turning quickly and smoothly. We start class taking long and even breaths, while sitting (or standing) still. In Yoga, we work to achieve a calm and relaxed state, and it is important to remember what this feels like and how to achieve this sensation so that we might return to this condition when needed.

After slowing down and focusing on our breathing we transition using gentle yet deliberate movements from one pose to another. There are many different poses, or asanas, that focus on strength, flexibility and balance – either individually or in combination. The instructor will take the class through a progression of asanas, or flow, and the progression is often influenced by the immediate needs of the class.

Starting with stillness, then working through postures, we transition from our daily pace into an introspective, relaxed, quiet state filled with self-awareness. The combination of deep breathing, gentle movements, and poses where we gain flexibility and strength take us to a quiet and peaceful condition. This physically and mentally relaxed state is a wonderful place to be and to return to, so it’s important to remember what this feels like and how we arrived. This a great place to return to quickly when we find ourselves in a chaotic or stressful situation.

Reflecting on my Yoga practice for guidance, here is what I do when I find the need to achieve calm quickly. The first step to return to quiet is with the breathing and I will take several long and deep breaths – just as I would at the beginning of a Yoga class. I will close my eyes (unless driving or in a heated discussion with co-workers). I allow the tension to leave the body by becoming aware of the points of tension in the body – neck, shoulders, back, etc. With the physical tension released, accompanied by long and controlled breaths, it’s good to then let the thoughts racing in the mind clear. With practice, I can routinely and quickly return to the relaxed and self-aware condition I learned how to achieve in Yoga. Then I can return to the stressful situation with a fresh perspective, renewed and vital, and well-equipped to resolve whatever dilemma is faced.

By routinely practicing the slowing down learned in Yoga class, we become familiar with this process. Learning how to slow down and being able to do so quickly gives us a new skill that allows us to quickly move toward a relaxed mind and body. Through control of our breath, we can gain control of our body. As we take over our body, we can ask our muscles to relax and release the tension that so often accompanies stressful or demanding situations. In this relaxed and controlled state, we can effectively deal with life events more effectively with an open mind and the fresh perspective that accompanies deep breathing and a relaxed body.

The Yoga class offers the opportunity to leave a stressful day and over the course of an hour or so, and for a vast majority of students renders them revitalized. The Yoga techniques when learned and practiced can take us from tension to relaxed much more quickly when we call on this in our daily lives. Sometimes people will go to a Yoga class and leave the class agitated, perhaps from the thundering quiet or the agitating stillness. These folks are most likely to benefit the most from Yoga. I confidently recommend exploration of Yoga to one and all as I have learned how to slow down quickly and gracefully.

Morning View

Sun is high
Sky in eye
Aim is high
Time to fly!

Friday, January 27, 2006

Great Progress on Friday

I was very pleased to learn today that one of the actions that I had taken enabled one of the team to shift perspective, gain confidence and add a lilt to the stride.

One of the team suggested that this person, in general, was really quite smart and talented but that this was locked up inside. There had been a lot of feedback through the development planning exercise that indicated a need for more hands-on, tactile learning about what we do. About a week ago, I passed the two folks in the hall and an idea struck which I immediately passed on.

I asked the person who had struggled through some recent learning to take the lead on technical vitality for folks who desired hands-on. I saw him light up, but when I got feedback from his colleague today I realized that by my showing confidence in this person and asking him to take on an important mission that he found himself revitalized. I had some other feedback about this person from another team member which correlated.

I always knew that you needed to empower people to enable them to achieve their best results. But I now realize that you have to assure the confidence in the person is in place to go along with the empowerment.

A vote of confidence in a person turns out to be a very potent message and aids in unlocking and enabling their potential, and is a wonderful complement to empowerment.

I also learned a lesson today about coaching "up." I have been blessed with rich experiences today.

Thursday, January 26, 2006


Me Posted by Picasa

psst. It's Thursday

Is today Wednesday or Thursday? Somehow the days got mixed up. I know, Yoga for Athletes on Wednesday, more traditional Yoga on Thursday.

I went back to the Thursday class based on some remarks about breathing that other teachers referenced. Even though I somehow feel "overlooked" in this class, it's a good session for Yoga and I'm glad to do it.

Today was one of those days where the pace was faster than normal. I found myself needing to hustle through some of the routine and slightly more significant to cover the ground needed. It was a productive day and I got engaged in an important forum for one of the futures.

There is a piano waiting for me, and I'll do a little before the slumber surrender.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Calling it Out

There are times when you have to call out things for what they are. In a case today, I had to call out that a representation of my position was completely inaccurate. It had been portrayed incorrectly, and most likely done to provide me as the problem rather than the person pointing the finger.

I first responded that the position was not correct, and in fact the way it had been positioned was bs. I settled -- more or less -- with the person who relayed the info and had my behavior incorrectly portrayed to them. I then did the research to determine how this position had been taken, to call it out, and to understand. I asked this person to please watch my back!

I then asked the person who gave the bad report about this, and basically he said the person who he had reported was misinformed.

No sense going deep on this, but I'm glad that I called bs bs.

Rest of the day went exceedingly well all the way through work, Yoga and piano.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Slightly Off

I found myself a little out of synch for training tonight. Not sure if it's not warming up adequately, not resting adequately, not doing enough cardio and having the metabolism high enough, or maybe it was just an off day. Some of the exercises seemed awkward, but maybe this was because they were new to me.

Otherwise, most things are going well.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Learning How to Give

In careful review of one childhood tenet -- It's better to give than to receive -- I'm examining what it means to give. Certainly, there's digging into your pocket and sharing with those in need. There's personal volunteering of time and skill to help make things better. There is the gift of something that you don't want to part with -- that gift that once given leaves you without something that you valued; the sacrifice. There is giving of yourself.

Of all the many gifts one might give, does it really matter which one is given? Is there a difference to the recipient of a gift of cash vs. a gift of self? Does this take us to the notion of better to give than to receive, and does this mean more if we give that which is most precious?

No answers to these questions. I do know that one of the easiest gifts to offer is that of one's thoughts and ideas, but this is one of the gifts that's often least appreciated or, perhaps the value of the gift isn't immediately recognized or realized.

I can reflect on lessons bestowed where the value wasn't immediately recognized, but the value realized later in life. And, sometimes it's most difficult to offer up the straight talk, so that could be a valuable gift but one that may not please the recipient.

More exploration on this subject another time...

Do The Things That Really Make a Difference

Given the choice of activities, it's always important to work on positively effecting the desired outcome. It could be in any area of endeaver -- work, play, art, sports, reading, writing.

By focusing on the activities and selecting the things that we do carefully, we can maintain a view of the outcome and work toward the desired state of things.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Road Trip

Even though the I40/I85/I26 route is relatively uninteresting, it offered an expeditious path to my mom's house. A straight drive with no breakneck speeds yielded just under 3.5 hours.

The surprise party was a lot of fun. It was neat to meet a lot of my mom's friends. Her friend, Joy, hosted a spectacular gathering for my mom and for her mom. The energy and generousity were quite overwhelming.

I was happy to see my mom in good spirit, good health, in the company of great friends, and living comfortably.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Private Yoga

It was my priviledge to have private instruction this morning in Yoga. My goal was to get feedback on postures that I "felt" like I was doing correctly. It was great to get 360 degree observation and corrections. I was happy to learn that I have one "photo" pose, which is reverse triangle. That was followed by the much more humbling forward folds where I have much to learn.

It was truly fabulous to have a teacher work with me who is highly-skilled in Yoga, extraordinarily intelligent in general, and most gifted as a teacher. The confluence of these attributes in one human is quite rare in my experience. I hope that I can always know people like this in my lifetime.

I'll do some serious saddle time on the road this weekend as I'm going to an event about four hours away. Four hours there means four hours back. Weather is a little rainy, but visibility appears good.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Spectacle du Yoga

I don't think I'll be able to describe the incredible postures, movements, feats of strength agility and balance, that I saw tonight. In fact, I asked the performers for a description in their words. Hallucinogenic is the term I remember that one of the performers used.

As I rest tonight, I'll see how much of the performance I can remember for the long term.

If I Read This Blog, What Would I Think?

Assuming I didn't know me, and I read this blog, what would I think about the person writing? Thoughtful, intelligent, insightful? Whiny, meandering, boring?

Truth be told, a person is none of these things. All are subjective descriptions characterize an interpretation of behavior.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

What I Tried To Learn Today

It's important to learn lessons that enhance understand of one's self. When the feelings show up that aren't the kind of feelings we want to have lingering around, why not try to trace them back to their source?

In one particular thread, I found the origin being a mild disagreement on a point, followed by a description I didn't agree with. A touch of early evening tired followed by a perception of being overlooked lead to a rehash of another situation where I perceive there's little attention. While there is generally not universal agreement on all points, I personally enjoy the harmony rather than the dischord. It occurs to me the people like to be noticed, and like to be sought out. Many even enjoy having their attributes highlighted.

This really takes me back to policy of addressing the situation that makes me feel uncomfortable at the time when the outcome can be influenced. Along with this, the communication of the feeling to share the importance with other(s) is okay, as long as it's expressed rationally.

Hmm, not sure this is going anywhere. Page 2.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Unbelievable

I am trying to absorb what I saw happen with a supplier today. Naturally, I can't talk about it here but it was most irksome. My policy states that "I should channel the feelings that I have on this matter in the forum where the change can be effected." I invited these folks to reintroduce themselves to me.

Yoga tonight was fab, and I'm looking forward to piano -- which I'm getting ready for now.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Double-header on Tuesday

What a fabulous day. I got to cycle in the morning, train in the evening, had a meeting with someone today that I've been trying to meet for a year.

The cycling class was fascinating in that it was a study in breathing. Running at a reasonable cardio rate for a sustained period of time seemed to unlock a store of energy that lasted through most of the day (until normal daily trough around six-ish). Just goes to show that you don't have to pound out the workout.

The Tuesday evening training session also increases my energy level on Tuesday night. I'll be feeling good for another few hours, then hopefully sleep peacefully and through the night.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Why am I Tired at the End of the Day?

It's Monday night and I'm feeling tapped. Is it because I need to physically rest after 5 1/2 hours of Yoga and two hours of floor work over the weekend? Is it because I've been up for about 16 hours and active for most of them? Is it because I wear down a little at some of the requests I field and the energy spent on things that may not effect the outcome? Maybe it's a little of all these things.

I did find myself getting slightly annoyed at the persistence of one individual who kept badgering at one point. While I didn't provide full effort on this item, I tried to not ignore it and handled with the minimum amount of effort. I did this by rewiring the problem back to the folks who should have exchanged the information and gotten the data correct in the first place. Even thinking about it now is mildly aggravating. (So, enough on this -- can't work it now -- will work it when it comes back up -- hopefully, never again.)

There was a work event where I got coached (if not flagged) on my perspective of some executive assistance. I admitted to the language, and suggested my words reflected the way the situation had been portrayed to me -- with one name mentioned. When I mentioned the name, the "do it to us" concept was probably understood. Anyway, no further coaching after the name-dropping.

I was very happy to see the GM, who was in good spirits and found the way to playfully engage. I probably gushed positive, but it was done sincerely. I acted like I felt and I did so naturally. I was truly happy to see the person and glad to share the positive outlook for good things to come. My position should be valuable and backed up by the results. We'll see as we move into the year and the newly minted try their wings under severe resource constraints. Watch out for the sun, Icarus.

I think I can do a chapter a day in French and finish the book and review this month (it's the 16th and I finished chapter 14 today) and next month before French 2 begins.

I'm looking forward to the surprise this weekend, but not the driving. I want to go to the Yoga theatre Friday, but really would like to find someone else interested in this to go with and discuss. I'm REALLY looking forward to private Yoga on Saturday.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Friends

Lots of fun having dinner and partying with friends tonight. I felt bad wanting to leave early, but I was tired and it is a work night for me. Looking forward to upcoming events.