There are many ways to live life. Some people aim to do things that are enjoyable, effective and maybe sometimes also exciting. Different people follow this approach in different ways.
Some people aim to do work where they enjoy the journey, encourage other people and deliver excellence.
Some people aim to do work in which they can flow, focus and find fulfilment.
Some people aim to focus on a clear purpose, follow their principles and achieve their picture of success.
Imagine that you want to follow the enjoyable, effective and exciting approach in your own way. Let’s explore these themes.
Enjoyable
You may want to start by focusing on activity that you enjoy doing. It can also be one where you may want to be effective – to make things work – and maybe sometimes experience excitement.
You may do this when encouraging people, gardening, cooking, painting, singing in a choir or mountain climbing. You may do it when working as an educator, medic, vet, crisis manager or in another role.
Imagine that you have chosen to focus on a specific activity. As mentioned, it will be important to enjoy the journey. This will give you energy and motivation to keep moving forwards.
If appropriate, however, you may also aim to reach an enjoyable goal or number of goals. One mentor who enjoyed their work, for example, wrote the following things before a session.
The Mentoring Session
The goals I would like to achieve in the
session with … who I am meeting tomorrow are:
To create an encouraging environment in which they feel at ease and able to explore any topics they wish;
To clarify the topics they would like to explore, clarify the results they want to achieve and focus on the strategies that are most likely to work;
To pass on knowledge and practical tools that they can use in their own way to get some early wins and achieve their picture of success.
Different people will describe different aims depending on their activity. Some may simply want to enjoy the journey, develop a skill or create something beautiful. Some may aim to achieve certain tangible goals.
Let’s return to your own life and work. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.
First, to focus on a specific activity that you enjoy doing. Second, to describe a specific goal or number of goals you may want to achieve when doing this activity.
Here is the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Effective
Imagine that you have settled on doing an activity you enjoy and have also set some goals. If appropriate, you may then want to focus on doing work that is effective.
Great workers follow this approach. When doing a particular project or tackling a challenge, they focus on what works. They aim to build on their strengths, follow strategies that work and deliver success.
They may work as a teacher, medical worker, sports coach or crisis manager. They may work as a scientist, specialist, leader, trusted advisor or in another professional role.
They may aim to create beautiful things, write inspiring articles or raise money for charity. They may run a social enterprise, improve people’s quality of life, pass on practical knowledge or do another activity.
Imagine that you want to do work that is effective. One approach is to focus on pursuing the following themes. You will, of course, do this in your own way.
Exciting
Imagine that you are doing an activity you enjoy and are also being effective. There may be also times when you experience a feeling of joy, stimulation or excitement.
You may do this when exploring ideas, being creative or continuing to develop. You may do it when making a breakthrough, experiencing serendipity or achieving a goal.
Some people who help others may experience the helper’s high. This is a by-product, however, because their main aim is to encourage others and help them to achieve their aims.
Some people who are adrenaline driven may get a rush of satisfaction after achieving a stimulating goal. They may then rest for a while before then seeking the next mountain they want to climb.
Some people go into another dimension. Going beyond excitement, they experience exhilaration. They sometimes do this in ways that provide positive memories for life.
You may do this when following your principles and achieving peak performance. You may do it when seeing other people create something brilliant or beautiful. This may take your breath away and lead to a sense of exhilaration.
Let’s return to your own life. Imagine that you want to follow elements of the enjoyable, effective and exciting approach. How can you do this in your own way? What may happen as a result of taking these steps?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Leave a Reply