 |
 |
 |
 |
January 5, 2009
|
|
News! Dr. Bill Does His Part to Make the New Year Brighter Obviously, 2008 was not the best of times, and as we enter the new year, signs of stress, frustration, and worry are everywhere. Given these concerns and the sad state of the economy, Dr. Bill has decided to do what he can to help by continuing his policy of "Integrity Based Pricing" for 2009. If you're not familiar with this unique fee policy, it means that Dr. Bill understands that most organizations have a fixed amount that they can spend for a speaker. Therefore, all he asks is that you pay him the maximum your budget will allow, and he will agree to bring his unique perspective on stress, leadership, or conflict resolution to your event for that amount, no questions asked. Of course, as flexible as this policy is, there are organizations (churches, parenting groups, and even some professional associations) who have no budget for speakers whatsoever, but still want their members to hear and learn from professionals such as Dr. Bill. If you know of a group that would benefit from a stimulating presentation on parenting, stress, or even weight control, but is strapped for funds, stay tuned for ways you can help Dr. Bill "Spread the Word" in 2009! |
||
"Some people drink deeply from the fountain of knowledge ... others just gargle and spit." – Adapted from Robert Anthony The wisdom in this quote is its gentle admonition not to waste the knowledge life presents us, but to allow the valuable information that we receive on a daily (if not hourly) basis to inform our decisions and choices in a deep and profound way. This valuable information can come in its most obvious form (knowledge from a book or class), and certainly we all know people who seem to just gargle and spit when presented with this type of information. However, what I believe this quote really refers to is the "good information" that we all receive every day about how we are choosing to live our lives. This often more subtle (but infinitely more valuable) information comes in the form of our reactions to our experience of life. Both our joys and our stress, our laughter and our anxiety, our love and our fear, can, if we are willing to drink deeply of this knowledgeable source, give us excellent feedback about the degree to which we are creating our lives in a way that is congruent with our highest purpose. The challenge is that when we receive this information, especially in the form of stress, anxiety, and fear (in other words, when we feel bad) rather than asking the question, "How is this good information?" we ask, "Who's to blame?" If we determine that it's "our fault," we proceed to beat o ourselves up (or actually beat ourselves down) so that we will remember the pain of the problem, and thus avoid making this mistake in the future. Unfortunately, to be successful, we must continue to hold on to this painful memory, and the result is often a life of using worry and pain to stay safe. The other side of this coin is not much better. In other words, if we determine that our stress, anxiety and/or pain is "their" fault (which is much more common) then we spend the next minute, hour, day, week, month, etc., resenting them for "what they did" and, thus, making them responsible for making it right. (Reminds me of a quote that I have used here and in my seminars about the effect of resentment in our lives. It says "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die" - Malachy McCourt) In holding on to this resentment, we not only "poison" our insides (in the form of stressful chemicals), we give up any ability to influence the outcome (after all, it's "their" fault. Right?) In my humble opinion, this "either/or" question of blame is what is meant by going to the fountain of knowledge only to gargle and spit. In other words, we have before us the opportunity to learn from life, but because we are not choosing to drink deeply of this knowledge, (take it in and see our choice and/or our reaction as valuable information), then we miss the opportunity to have this knowledge help us create the life we want. If our goal is to create a m ore purposeful life, we can change the question from "Who's to blame?" to "How is this good information?" and/or "Given what I know now, how would I like to do this differently in the future?" Then, rather than making a mess of our lives by spitting out information that is being presented, we can use the fountain of knowledge for its intended purpose as a source of wisdom, guidance, and very valuable information. Take care and God bless, Dr. Bill Bill Crawford, Ph.D. Local Phone: (832) 722-6147 Email Help To ensure our messages are delivered properly to your inbox (and not swept up by overzealous email filters and sent to your bulk or junk folders,) please add Dr. Bill's address (drbill@billcphd.com) to your email Address Book or Safe List. Need to Know How to Do That? More Info at our Email Help Page Subscription Information If you would like to unsubscribe, simply drop me an email at DrBill@billcphd.com and include the following address: [E-mail Address], which is the address you used when you first signed up for the newsletter. Thanks, Dr. Bill |
||
Copyright © 2008 by Bill Crawford, Ph.D. :: Crawford Performance Solutions |
||
This Week's Quote: