Everything is immediate. Needed now. Past due yesterday.
Expectation is to produce on demand.
But, where are we all running? And, why can’t we slow down?
We feel out of control. Helpless. Taken in the current with no hope for swimming up stream.
But, it starts with one to defy that motion. It starts with me making a choice. Will we stop and smell the roses or surrender to the flurry?
Of late, my mind has been flooded by the thoughts of some great thinkers including the riveting best-selling author Seth Godin and influential positive psychologist Martin Seligman. These guys have prompted me to pause to consider the state of education these days.
I’m a gal that arguably received some of the best education possible. Thanks to the incredible sacrifices of my parents, I was able to attend a prestigious private high school and university. I’m incredibly grateful for that education. It’s served me well. But, I’ve also spent a bit of energy asking what gaps exist in that education.
My college program prided itself on equipping us with career-ready tools that prepped us for lives of achievement. Time after time, we’d hear about the importance of building a personal brand to rise the ranks of the career ladder. But, how do you build a personal brand, when you haven’t yet created yourself? And, as for that career ladder, what do you do if that path has zero appeal to you?
With those questions unanswered, too many people rack up years and years of education only to enter the “real world” without a firm sense of life purpose. And so, we keep adding to a society focused on mere survival and lacking in true life fulfillment.
But, what if schools placed greater value upon teaching well-being in addition to achievement? What if colleges shaped courses to guide students to define their personal values, goals and life purpose? It’s high time we teach our future who they are, so they can embrace lives of well-being, fulfillment and confidence.
In a split second, everything changes. The sane mind is transformed into a panicked, fearful, disillusioned state.
What the heck just happened?
Instinctual fear has decided to reign. And, you let it do so.
No, you aren’t helpless.
Yes, things can change.
In a split second, before fear gains total control, you can decide – will you turn away or will you let it take hold?
Choose to turn away. Choose rational, proportional thoughts, and the fear-driven emotions will be kept at bay.
No, it’s not a piece of cake to retrain your mind.
But yes, it is possible anyway.
