Monday, September 25, 2006

Three Rights Make A Left

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 25, 2006

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY
"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

THREE RIGHTS MAKE A LEFT!

There are myriad perspectives on the best way to get through life. Some people fear stagnation, and barrel along as fast as they can, taking every opportunity and wasting none of their time. Others who fear mental and physical overload go at a slow but steady pace, carefully weighing their every move and creating recuperative downtime. Still others fall somewhere in between, creating a successful recipe out of ingredients from both of the other worldviews.

Michael Gartner, editor, network news president and Pulitzer Prize winner, learned his own lesson for the best way to navigate through a happy and long life. He acquired it from his father, a man who never took left turns. Literally. He had once read an article that said most accidents involving older people happen when they turn left into oncoming traffic. That was the point at which he and his wife decided to never again make a left turn.

They reasoned that three right turns equal a left, and it's safer. Even when they occasionally lost count, they would just make seven rights and be back on track! If they missed after seven, they'd just call it a day and head back home. "Besides," his father reasoned, "nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week."

Next time you feel like life's pace is moving a bit too fast, recall this sobering reminder that you have time to do things the way you want to. You've got your destination, but take a safe and enjoyable journey on your way. Maybe even get out of the car and take a walk instead. For fast relief, try slowing down!

posted by The Office Grapevine at 12:17 PM 0 comments  

Monday, September 18, 2006

Judgment from the Vaults!

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"Men are disturbed not by things that happen,
but by their opinions of the things that happen."
~ Epictetus (55-135)

LIGHTEN UP!

Ever feel yourself getting perturbed by something that happens during your day? Ever have the urge to say something about it, when silence might be the best approach? Perhaps you feel the need to make a judgment about each situation that arises.


Maybe it's time to slow down a bit. As the song says, "Don't worry - be happy!" The truth is - none of us has the right to judge others nor their actions. We can control only one thing - our own actions. If there is something to be judged, it would be our reaction to things that happen, not the events themselves.

In Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits," Habit #5 says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." In explaining, Covey states that "people do not see the world as it is; they see it as they are - or as they have been conditioned to be." He goes on to make the simple statement that "when you understand, you don't judge."

Once you take the time to understand each situation, there is no longer a need to judge. Interestingly, when others realize that you no longer make those judgments, you will find that they no longer judge you either.

Want to free yourself from being disturbed about the events of the day? Just follow the advice of Epictetus who said, "When coniering the future, remember that all situations unfold as they do regardless of how we feel about them. Our hopes and fears sway us, not events themselves."

(Originally published July 15, 2002)

posted by The Office Grapevine at 9:35 AM 0 comments  

Friday, September 15, 2006

A Japanese Export?

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?"
~ Charlie McCarthy (Edgar Bergen, 1903-1978)

LIKE RATS IN A MAZE!

Today's quote is funny, but also sobering in light of recent studies of hard-working Americans. You see, as it turns out, hard work could actually kill you. Well, it's not actually the work that does it, but the amount of work and the time spent at it.

Most of us consider a full time job to involve forty hours per week. Obviously, for those in the real estate industry, emergency services, and any other number of professions, that number can range much higher. Now a University of California (Irvine) study of nearly 25,000 people reveals that workers who clocked more than 51 hours at the office each week were 29% more likely to have high blood pressure than those who worked 39 hours or less. The likelihood of elevated blood pressure increases tandem to the number of hours worked.

Maybe that figure doesn't surprise you, and maybe high blood pressure doesn't worry you as much as it should. This whole work-stress study was inspired by an interesting phenomenon in Japan. They have a word for it - "Karoshi" - and it means "sudden death from overwork." (!)

As highly charged as the work ethic is in Japan, Americans today actually clock more hours than the Japanese. Then consider that most of the developed world legislates laws to limit work hours - except the United States. What we have so endearingly termed the "rat race" seems to hold no great prize on the other side of the finish line. Like Lily Tomlin once observed, "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're still a rat."

There is a positive note here, and that is that the highest hypertension was more common among clerical and unskilled workers than among professionals. That figure, too, might not surprise you, but it's comforting to know that more mentally challenging work seems to protect us from other potentially negative effects. Just remember that your body and your mind work their best when you rest your best!

posted by The Office Grapevine at 6:36 PM 0 comments