Tracking... What’s the Big Deal?

I can’t say I’m a big fan of the tracking progress or monitoring myself with spreadsheets, documents or even the infamous post-it notes. It seems like all the new books on self improvements have a fancy form of self monitoring that consists of writing down some info all in the name of getting to know ourselves. My initial feeling is “If I do every exercise the books advise me to do then I won’t have time for myself at the end of the day but only a bunch of info on how I spent the day.

Do I need to “get to know myself” this much?

I do admit that I’m afraid of several things when it comes to tracking my daily activities. Let’s go through the list and try to give rational and positive answers to fears shall we?

Fear number 1: I’m afraid this will take even more time.

Answer:
Just like everything else in life that we have to learn. Tracking our progress and analyzing ourselves takes time and effort. The Irony is that most people who are gathering information to better know themselves already feel like they don’t have enough time from the start. This really puts a damper on trying out something new. It might be hard at first but remember that this can be temporary up until you have the info then you can have the data necessary to gain time permanently.

Fear number 2: I’m afraid it won’t work.

Answer:
It’s not about “work” or “not work.” it’s about having more info on yourself the results will follow after having the knowledge you need!

Fear Number 3: I’m afraid I won’t remember to right things down when I need to!

Answer:
There are plenty of ways to remember to jot down some info. You can put reminders on your phone. You can find apps that will help with tracking your daily activities. Even ask friends to hold you accountable in some way (Although I’m pretty sure you don’t want your friend to call every hour!). Remember that its not the end of the world if you forget.

In sports they track their progress all the time (I know that sports analogies are used often when it comes to self improvement but it works so) and for good reasons.

Professional athletes know their progress, their limits, habits...you name it! This helps them to achieve better results more quickly. They don’t leave progress to chance and why should you?

It's all about getting some knowledge of yourself in order for you to be empowered.

In my next post I will share some of the self tracking exercises and tools I'm going to try out and in a few weeks we will see the outcome together.

The Professional Look

The professional look is use in business to exert the feeling of "trust", "I'm ready to go" or "I value you as a person hence why I went the extra mile".

There was a time when it held ground but I feel like this look is now flawed. The business world is filled with crooks who only wears a tie to deceive or manipulate people into thinking that they can be trusted.

It's not about looking professional, it's about being professional. It's more important to be a man of your words than to look like one. I would rather have an honest politician in jeans than a dishonest one in a suit!

"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
- 1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)

Professionalism is more about who you are than how things look. Focus on your heart as well as your physical appearance.

The Past Tense

I've always been in the impression that I was a really good artist. I trained everyday, practiced very hard to reach new plateaus and was very disciplined. My biggest competitor was myself and I was a worthy opponent.

I was sharp, I was quick, and I had great judgment. I was always around older more experienced artist and giving them a run for there money.

So to my surprise one day a student of mine asked a question in my animation class and I gave him an answer that I was pretty satisfied with but he wasn't.

He contested my answer and what was disturbing was not the fact that he challenged me. In fact I love challenges! What really got to me was the thought I had immediately after he challenged my answer. I thought to myself  "Tree years ago I would have really showed you what its all about!".

What?! Tree years ago!

Why was I having this feeling?

It's easy to live in the past. Notice I'm excessively using the word "was" in this post?

I knew deep down inside that I was out of practice. The truth came out and I just needed to be challenged to remind myself that I was out of practice.

Don't wait for others to challenge yourself because if you do you might wait for a long time and once they bring you back in the "now" you might not like what you see.

Instead, challenge yourself now. Remember what made you great during your best days and apply it in your life today. So that next time you are challenged you'll be ready!

What's the Origin of the Handshake?

The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hands holds no weapons.

Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that handshaking was practice in ancient Greece as far back as the 5th century BC.

Sources:
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handshake
-Picture from: http://www.morguefile.com/

Leaders must be Likeable

A leader must be likeable because no follower ever said "I hate him but I will follow him to the end." James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (Authors of "A Leader's Legacy" book) said "The leaders people want to follow are the ones for who they have genuine affection."

Nobody is above The Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you") especially not leaders. If you want people to want to follow you treat your following like you would like to be treated (or better).

Personality & Attitude

What's the difference between personality and attitude? The best answer I found is on Ask.com. See below:

"There are many differences between personality and attitude. Personality is something that is inherently a part of you. Attitude is a combination of your outlook and the way your perspective has been shaped by previous experiences." -Ask.com

A personality can be changed and controlled over time while attitude remains mainly a choice. Epictetus said "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." and how you react is entirely up to you.

Source:
http://www.ask.com/question/difference-between-personality-and-attitude

The Junto Club

The Junto club was established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Also known as the Leather Apron Club, its purpose was to debate questions of morals, politics and natural philosophy, and to exchange knowledge of business affairs.

"Franklin organized a group of friends to provide a structured form of mutual improvement. The group, initially composed of twelve members, called itself the Junto (the word is a mistaken use of the masculine singular Spanish adjective "joined", mistaken for the feminine singular noun "junta", "a meeting". Both derive from Latin "iunct-", past participle of "iungere", "to join"). The members of the Junto were drawn from diverse occupations and backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers, surveyors, a cabinetmaker, a clerk, and a bartender. Although most of the members were older than Franklin, he was clearly their leader. " -Wikipedia

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junto_(club)
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/brush/ben.htm

*This post can also be found on my Personal Blog (Student of LIFE).

Happiness, Pleasure & Joy

“It is common to hear people say, “I just want to be happy.” And who does not? It’s certainly much better to be happy than sad. Good times are better to experience than bad. But pursuing happy is a little off the mark. It is like trying to grab smoke. Whenever we make happiness our goal, we set ourselves for a futile chase. First, we do something that we think will make us happy. Then, once that pleasure is through, we move on to the next. Usually, the pleasures have to escalate to continue to satisfy, and we find ourselves in an endless climb. From pleasure to pleasure we go, never really finding happiness.”

-From "Leadership: Tidbits and treasures" Self-Improvement book by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward. Page 275

You don’t get happiness from pursuing happiness. What people pursue, when they say they pursue happiness, is pleasure and Orrin Woodward said that “Pleasure does not bring happiness; it only brings an increasing hunger for more pleasure.”

“The only way to get happy is to give happy.” –Chris Brady

Pleasure is the least fulfilling feeling of the 3 because it constantly needs to be worked on in order to keep the “high” and it doesn’t last very long.

Happiness is partly a choice. To choose to be happy is to see the positive side of things.

Joy is the ultimate form of happiness and comes from being at peace with yourself which is often only attainable through spirituality. While pleasure is often confused with happiness, Joy, on the other hand, isn’t. There is no doubt in your mind when Joy is felt and it can last a lifetime.

If you want fulfillment in your life, pursue Joy instead of happiness.

Questions & Actions

Intrinsic motivation, the eye on the prize being fully immerse, balance, happiness. That moment when you forget about everyone and everything around. That moment when there is only one clear path, ...one, clear, goal.

Wouldn't it be great if every task you did would be with full passion, concentration and clarity.

And what about the big picture? That true self vision of you. Wouldn't it be convenient if everything you did with that full passion lead you closer to him?

But we don’t have all the answers now do we?

I believe in practicing actions and in those actions lies answers.

I'm glad to join Men 2.0 and find out where these actions will take us.

~Brian

Men 2.0

There is no such thing as a "Pause" button in life. If we don't move forward, we move backwards. If we don't workout, we'll gain weight. If we don't work on our relationships, we'll loose them.
Change is the only constant in life and if we don't thrive to be better; we naturally become worse.

Here, at Men 2.0, we believe that we should always work on being the best "us" that we can be and we humbly invite you to join us on this journey.

See you there!
-Mathieu