Beyond the turf and outside the lines, lies a larger issue within As the Super Bowl approaches next weekend, the recent sports coverage has centered on current NFL teams. However, beyond the current players, retired NFL players are making other headlines with prescription pain killers.
A recent study commissioned by ESPN has featured Miami Dolphins and former tight end in the 1980's, Dan Johnson. In an interview, Johnson revealed there was a time where he would average 1,000 Vicodin's a month to deal with the chronic pain suffered during his reign as "King Pain" in the NFL. Today's study also shares relevant information about the athletes even in the 21st century. Of the retired NFL athletes surveyed, 71% of the athletes have misuse the drugs prescribed . Of these 71%, 15% of them continue to misuse them to this day. These are significant numbers far from the common talk of championship rings, Superbowl commercials and Monday Night Football.
Not using this to compare this to the normal sample population, but at the same time, one must consider the study's relevance. What is the percentage of athletes in high school, college and professional leagues that encounter injuries and/or pain?
With that being said, this study sets a precedent of what to examine and what pharmacists and healthcare providers must be aware of. Instead, this ESPN study provides a pivotal study of what teams' health care staff including physicians and athletic trainers need to be aware of. At the same time, just as new rules impose fines for illegal contact, Roger Goodell should make athletes accountable for prescription medicines. Not that 1,000 Vicodin's a month is a realistic situation, but the situation addresses the issues of patient compliance and overall health.
Source:
Healthland Article
ESPN
Friday, January 28, 2011
Patient Satisfaction and Compliance
Five Tips for Generating Patient Satisfaction and Compliance
These lessons from the business world can work in your practice, too.
Manoj Pawar MD, MMM
Fam Pract Manag. 2005 Jun;12(6):44-46.
I recently attended a conference on diabetes where the presenter stressed the importance of getting patients to check their blood sugars three times per day, in keeping with the latest clinical guidelines. Almost immediately the speaker received a strong objection from one physician in the audience. “We can't get our patients to check their blood sugars that often,” he protested. “We're lucky to get them to check once a day!”
In her response, the presenter said that to get patients to change their behavior, whether in the context of smoking cessation or diabetes management, there is an element of “selling” that's required of the physician. In other words, the physician has to recognize the opportunity for intervention, reframe it in a way that makes it meaningful to the patient and generate a sufficient sense of urgency to compel the patient to take action. At the same time, the physician has to maintain a partnership with the patient, based on trust and understanding.
In many ways, this is the same approach taken by great salespeople. Although that comparison may make some physicians uncomfortable, we can find value in examining how other fields have approached similar challenges. What follows are five key lessons from the sales profession that have the potential to strengthen physician-patient relationships, improve patient satisfaction and enhance patient compliance.
KEY POINTS
Physicians can find ways to improve the doctor-patient relationship by examining what works in other fields, such as sales.
When patients trust their physician, they are more likely to adhere to treatment plans and follow advice.
Effective listening and inquiry will help you uncover patients' real needs and goals.
1. Establish a sense of trust
This is a crucial first step in any patient encounter. In their book Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman and his colleagues outline the importance of trust in conveying a message successfully.1 He explains that as an event takes place, such as hearing a recommendation or a sales pitch, the amygdala (which produces our “fight-or-flight” response) filters the perceived event and attaches an emotional context to it. If the amygdala perceives the event to be unsafe, either physically or psychologically, then it initiates an appropriate response. This response ultimately interrupts the path of the incoming information so that it does not reach the prefrontal cortex effectively.
Imagine a pharmaceutical representative presenting information to you in a fashion that makes you feel manipulated. Psychologically, you perceive a threat, which triggers a response from your amygdala. Goleman calls this process an “amygdala hijack.” From this point on, the remainder of the representative's message becomes irrelevant, as it never engages the prefrontal cortex and the information is not absorbed.
If we are to have any hope of having our message heard and understood by our patients, we need to become skilled at not triggering a state of psychological fear. To do so means we must learn to be perceptive listeners and careful observers of small details that give us a glimpse into the lives of patients and enable us to understand their values, goals, challenges and interests over time. Effective salespeople know this tactic, and they gather pieces of important information about their customers. Effective physicians must do the same, using the skills in the next step.
2. Uncover patients' actual needs
Perhaps the most critical skill in uncovering the needs of a client or patient is the skill of inquiry. Central to good dialogue, inquiry involves asking questions with a spirit of curiosity and with a goal of trying to understand how others perceive the world around them. Great salespeople probe to meet customer expectations and to see how they can be of assistance in the future. In essence, they establish themselves as trusted partners and lay the foundation for future business, even if they may not be of immediate assistance.
At first glance, the way to uncover patients' needs may seem straightforward: Simply ask an open-ended question such as, “What brings you in today?” But there is more to it than that.
Many cases of patient dissatisfaction can be traced to an inadequate discovery of patient needs. For example, I recently saw a patient who indicated, when I asked, that she had come to get her iron levels checked. Given the hectic nature of the day, I was tempted to draw the lab tests and call it a day. Suspecting that this would not have met her needs, I responded with interest: “It sounds like this is worrying you. What brings you to want to get these levels checked?”
As the conversation unfolded, she proceeded to tell me that she had resolved to improve her health by losing weight. Her plan included eating right and exercising, but she said that she lacked the energy to exercise. She had done some preliminary research that had led her to think about her iron levels. As a result of our conversation, we were able to enhance her trust, gain insight into her goals and identify other areas where our office's clinical services could be helpful. By taking the time to probe a bit deeper, we created the foundation for a stronger long-term physician-patient relationship.
I use this approach often, especially with new patients or with those who come for annual physical exams. Asking patients to describe how they see themselves in five years and how I can help them attain their goals is a good starting point. Physical exams become “game plans” for meeting needs over time, and they allow us to pace our progress.
3. Think dialogue, not monologue
Just as physicians dislike salespeople who seem to dominate the interaction, patients dislike us when we do the same. The days of patients accepting prescriptive and paternalistic advice from their physician are nearing their end. Leave the didactic monologues behind.
Instead, ask questions, explore values and make a connection with every patient. Rather than hearing patients' complaints and immediately responding with a solution, dig deeper. Find out how their problems affect their day-to-day lives, or how they have approached the problem and what their results have been. Support their internal knowledge, and recognize that they often do know their own bodies. Only after they have finished speaking should you address other options. Ask patients how these other options sound in the context of their overall goals.
4. Don't force “the close”
“The close” is a sales term that describes the phase of the interaction during which the salesperson obtains a commitment from the customer to close the deal and proceed to the next step. The timing of this step, however, is critical for success. You can't get people to “sign on the dotted line” before they are ready. If you push it too soon, you'll instill a sense of mistrust and even anger.
How do you know if a patient is ready? One technique is called a “test close.” For example, if a patient with uncontrolled diabetes says he's too busy to exercise, try saying: “It sounds like time has been your biggest concern when it comes to exercising. If we could find an exercise plan that doesn't take a lot of time, would you be willing to move forward?”
If the proposal is acceptable to the patient, then you can move to the “close.” In this example, it may be prescribing just 15 minutes of walking three times per week. In our practice, we would then ask, “Does this approach sound OK to you?” to confirm a commitment or invite negotiation.
5. Always follow up
Effective salespeople always follow up with their customers on prior sales to determine whether they were satisfied with their solutions. They also follow up just to say hi, which demonstrates that the customer is important to them.
Physicians should do the same. I also ask patients to follow up with me by phone or e-mail in a week to update me on how our plan is working, or, even better, I ask permission to contact them within the same time frame. If you don't have time to follow up yourself, have your staff call patients after their visits to ask how things are going, whether their goals are progressing and whether they would like to make another appointment to see you. Patients appreciate when our office staff is able to support them as they work toward their goals. Your office can also show patients they are important by sending birthday cards, e-mailing health tips and pursuing other avenues of contact. These build commitment and place minimal burden on your staff.
Happier, healthier patients
Developing strong patient relationships with high levels of satisfaction is challenging, but it is a realistic goal. These lessons can provide fresh insight into our approach with patients and can lead to a greater understanding of patients' needs and increased levels of compliance. The trust that evolves will create a foundation we can build on for years to come.
Dr. Pawar is a managing partner for Nivek Consulting, which helps teams and individual leaders in health care to enhance their effectiveness and maximize their potential.
Conflicts of interest: none reported.
Send comments to fpmedit@aafp.org.
1. Goleman D, McKee A, Boyatzis RE. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press; 2002.
These lessons from the business world can work in your practice, too.
Manoj Pawar MD, MMM
Fam Pract Manag. 2005 Jun;12(6):44-46.
I recently attended a conference on diabetes where the presenter stressed the importance of getting patients to check their blood sugars three times per day, in keeping with the latest clinical guidelines. Almost immediately the speaker received a strong objection from one physician in the audience. “We can't get our patients to check their blood sugars that often,” he protested. “We're lucky to get them to check once a day!”
In her response, the presenter said that to get patients to change their behavior, whether in the context of smoking cessation or diabetes management, there is an element of “selling” that's required of the physician. In other words, the physician has to recognize the opportunity for intervention, reframe it in a way that makes it meaningful to the patient and generate a sufficient sense of urgency to compel the patient to take action. At the same time, the physician has to maintain a partnership with the patient, based on trust and understanding.
In many ways, this is the same approach taken by great salespeople. Although that comparison may make some physicians uncomfortable, we can find value in examining how other fields have approached similar challenges. What follows are five key lessons from the sales profession that have the potential to strengthen physician-patient relationships, improve patient satisfaction and enhance patient compliance.
KEY POINTS
Physicians can find ways to improve the doctor-patient relationship by examining what works in other fields, such as sales.
When patients trust their physician, they are more likely to adhere to treatment plans and follow advice.
Effective listening and inquiry will help you uncover patients' real needs and goals.
1. Establish a sense of trust
This is a crucial first step in any patient encounter. In their book Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman and his colleagues outline the importance of trust in conveying a message successfully.1 He explains that as an event takes place, such as hearing a recommendation or a sales pitch, the amygdala (which produces our “fight-or-flight” response) filters the perceived event and attaches an emotional context to it. If the amygdala perceives the event to be unsafe, either physically or psychologically, then it initiates an appropriate response. This response ultimately interrupts the path of the incoming information so that it does not reach the prefrontal cortex effectively.
Imagine a pharmaceutical representative presenting information to you in a fashion that makes you feel manipulated. Psychologically, you perceive a threat, which triggers a response from your amygdala. Goleman calls this process an “amygdala hijack.” From this point on, the remainder of the representative's message becomes irrelevant, as it never engages the prefrontal cortex and the information is not absorbed.
If we are to have any hope of having our message heard and understood by our patients, we need to become skilled at not triggering a state of psychological fear. To do so means we must learn to be perceptive listeners and careful observers of small details that give us a glimpse into the lives of patients and enable us to understand their values, goals, challenges and interests over time. Effective salespeople know this tactic, and they gather pieces of important information about their customers. Effective physicians must do the same, using the skills in the next step.
2. Uncover patients' actual needs
Perhaps the most critical skill in uncovering the needs of a client or patient is the skill of inquiry. Central to good dialogue, inquiry involves asking questions with a spirit of curiosity and with a goal of trying to understand how others perceive the world around them. Great salespeople probe to meet customer expectations and to see how they can be of assistance in the future. In essence, they establish themselves as trusted partners and lay the foundation for future business, even if they may not be of immediate assistance.
At first glance, the way to uncover patients' needs may seem straightforward: Simply ask an open-ended question such as, “What brings you in today?” But there is more to it than that.
Many cases of patient dissatisfaction can be traced to an inadequate discovery of patient needs. For example, I recently saw a patient who indicated, when I asked, that she had come to get her iron levels checked. Given the hectic nature of the day, I was tempted to draw the lab tests and call it a day. Suspecting that this would not have met her needs, I responded with interest: “It sounds like this is worrying you. What brings you to want to get these levels checked?”
As the conversation unfolded, she proceeded to tell me that she had resolved to improve her health by losing weight. Her plan included eating right and exercising, but she said that she lacked the energy to exercise. She had done some preliminary research that had led her to think about her iron levels. As a result of our conversation, we were able to enhance her trust, gain insight into her goals and identify other areas where our office's clinical services could be helpful. By taking the time to probe a bit deeper, we created the foundation for a stronger long-term physician-patient relationship.
I use this approach often, especially with new patients or with those who come for annual physical exams. Asking patients to describe how they see themselves in five years and how I can help them attain their goals is a good starting point. Physical exams become “game plans” for meeting needs over time, and they allow us to pace our progress.
3. Think dialogue, not monologue
Just as physicians dislike salespeople who seem to dominate the interaction, patients dislike us when we do the same. The days of patients accepting prescriptive and paternalistic advice from their physician are nearing their end. Leave the didactic monologues behind.
Instead, ask questions, explore values and make a connection with every patient. Rather than hearing patients' complaints and immediately responding with a solution, dig deeper. Find out how their problems affect their day-to-day lives, or how they have approached the problem and what their results have been. Support their internal knowledge, and recognize that they often do know their own bodies. Only after they have finished speaking should you address other options. Ask patients how these other options sound in the context of their overall goals.
4. Don't force “the close”
“The close” is a sales term that describes the phase of the interaction during which the salesperson obtains a commitment from the customer to close the deal and proceed to the next step. The timing of this step, however, is critical for success. You can't get people to “sign on the dotted line” before they are ready. If you push it too soon, you'll instill a sense of mistrust and even anger.
How do you know if a patient is ready? One technique is called a “test close.” For example, if a patient with uncontrolled diabetes says he's too busy to exercise, try saying: “It sounds like time has been your biggest concern when it comes to exercising. If we could find an exercise plan that doesn't take a lot of time, would you be willing to move forward?”
If the proposal is acceptable to the patient, then you can move to the “close.” In this example, it may be prescribing just 15 minutes of walking three times per week. In our practice, we would then ask, “Does this approach sound OK to you?” to confirm a commitment or invite negotiation.
5. Always follow up
Effective salespeople always follow up with their customers on prior sales to determine whether they were satisfied with their solutions. They also follow up just to say hi, which demonstrates that the customer is important to them.
Physicians should do the same. I also ask patients to follow up with me by phone or e-mail in a week to update me on how our plan is working, or, even better, I ask permission to contact them within the same time frame. If you don't have time to follow up yourself, have your staff call patients after their visits to ask how things are going, whether their goals are progressing and whether they would like to make another appointment to see you. Patients appreciate when our office staff is able to support them as they work toward their goals. Your office can also show patients they are important by sending birthday cards, e-mailing health tips and pursuing other avenues of contact. These build commitment and place minimal burden on your staff.
Happier, healthier patients
Developing strong patient relationships with high levels of satisfaction is challenging, but it is a realistic goal. These lessons can provide fresh insight into our approach with patients and can lead to a greater understanding of patients' needs and increased levels of compliance. The trust that evolves will create a foundation we can build on for years to come.
Dr. Pawar is a managing partner for Nivek Consulting, which helps teams and individual leaders in health care to enhance their effectiveness and maximize their potential.
Conflicts of interest: none reported.
Send comments to fpmedit@aafp.org.
1. Goleman D, McKee A, Boyatzis RE. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press; 2002.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Poll Samples
Do pharmacists have a duty to warn patients about the dangers associated with the use of a prescription drug?
Yes, it helps to avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions
100% 10 Votes
No, that is the prescribing physician's responsibility
0% 0 Votes
Not sure
0% 0 Votes
Total Votes:10
Return
Source
Yes, it helps to avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions
100% 10 Votes
No, that is the prescribing physician's responsibility
0% 0 Votes
Not sure
0% 0 Votes
Total Votes:10
Return
Source
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
A Role Model in the Legislative Branch
A recent article highlights an awards ceremony meant to highlight a Pharmacy student's grassroots legislative efforts.
Source
Source
Nicole Brochu: Moral objections have no place at the pharmacy counter - latimes.com
In recent google news, I wonder what the implications that would carry over into California law and even federal regulations?
Nicole Brochu: Moral objections have no place at the pharmacy counter - latimes.com
Nicole Brochu: Moral objections have no place at the pharmacy counter - latimes.com
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Curent read
I finally scored a copy of Tim Ferris' 4- Hour Body. The author of the 4-hour workweek, I wonder what this entrepreneur had to say about fitness and health.
Even in the initial prologue, his words have me guessing already:
"I understand how and where consumers are deceived. The darker tricks of the trade in supplements and sports nutrition—clouding results of “clinical trials” and creative labeling as just two examples—are nearly the same as in biotech “clinical trials” and creative labeling as just two examples—are nearly the same as in biotech and Big Pharma..."
This statement is one of the passionate reasons I want to pursue Pharmacy. Imagine the supplements many athletes and health-enthusiast ingests. Reading these words should have any protein-powder, omega-3 user questioning what's really behind the label....
Stay tuned for more analysis
Even in the initial prologue, his words have me guessing already:
"I understand how and where consumers are deceived. The darker tricks of the trade in supplements and sports nutrition—clouding results of “clinical trials” and creative labeling as just two examples—are nearly the same as in biotech “clinical trials” and creative labeling as just two examples—are nearly the same as in biotech and Big Pharma..."
This statement is one of the passionate reasons I want to pursue Pharmacy. Imagine the supplements many athletes and health-enthusiast ingests. Reading these words should have any protein-powder, omega-3 user questioning what's really behind the label....
Stay tuned for more analysis
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Art of Simplifying
The Art of Simplifying
By Cat Li Stevenson
We live in a society where our worth seems to be validated by how large our network is; how often our Blackberry goes off; how worldly we are from our travels; or how many awesome Facebook pictures there are of us, proving to our friends we live the good life. Not to mention, as we grow older and wiser, there is a constant learning curve on how to gracefully handle evolving responsibility.
So, we resort to multi-tasking. A term I’m all too familiar with:
For the past three years, I’ve adopted wearing several outfits: the Corporate Banker, the weekend Real Estate Agent, the closet writer, the Board Member, the six days a week fitness guru, the overly helpful sister/mentor, the “wherever there was time” Nutrition Coach, the social planner… The exhausting list can be rattled on, but these were my staple outfits.
I was this determined, full of spirit person during the day when interacting with colleagues at work, friends at lunch, clients during the evening, friends on Facebook, yoga acquaintances in class, and even the Trader Joe’s Cashier.
But, by the time I stopped moving late at night, by the time I shed all the identity of these outfits; I was dizzy and hardly good company. My husband received the residual affects of my true, underlying feelings of being overcommitted, without focus, and having this ability to “shoot off stress beams”, as he puts it.
I have been raised on goals since the age of four, like they were a serving of food everyday. And, apparently, sometime during my mid-20’s, I also began to acquire goals as if they were collectibles. I had so many different identities—that in order to keep myself from confusing who I was and what I was doing—I literally had 6 email addresses to separate the different responsibilities.
I understood this problem, and finally decided to reason with myself: I’m a fan of variety who loves dynamic people and a dynamic lifestyle—but it’s impossible to do everything and be good at it all. It’s not fair to my marriage, my ongoing success, and the sustainability of how I live. This lifestyle approach of “productivity and trying to accomplish everything” was becoming “I’m slowly losing myself.”
Once I stopped the ‘thriving’ motions of my busy day; what remained of me was far less than glamorous. While functional multi-tasking can appear to be a commendable skill or gift; it can be incredibly deceiving, as it is also a big distraction. I was honestly very efficient at doing three jobs—simultaneously—in an eight-hour workday, but it takes a toll…
We cannot be here now…and also be everywhere at once.
4 Keys to Mental Clarity
While I am still on the journey of figuring out this laser beam focus that many people I associate with have—and a trait that I deeply admire—I’ve learned a few things in finding my way towards the direction of singleness of purpose, by moving away from multi-tasking:
1) Know your values and make good decisions based off them.
“By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day,
you may not always get what you desire,
but you will always be the person you desire.”
~John Maxwell
It is easy to be swayed and take on too much when we haven’t clearly identified what we value. A favorite book of mine—that I often reference whenever I feel that I’m lost or disconnected— is Today Matters by John Maxwell.
Last year, after reading this phenomenal book, I decided to embrace a value system that has allowed me to clearly identify the commitments in my life that no longer belonged. To start, Maxwell recommends creating a list of good values:
“Begin writing down any and every idea you have concerning values. List every admirable character quality you can think of. As an aspect of your life comes to mind, try to capture what’s important to you about it. Ultimately, your values should not be determined by externals, such as your profession or your environment.
When you think you’ve exhausted every possible idea, set the list aside for a while but keep thinking about it in the back of your mind. When new ideas come, add them to the list. You may also want to do some reading to stir your thinking and see if you’ve missed anything.”
2) Make space by decluttering.
“Some people think it’s holding on
that makes one strong—sometimes it’s letting go.”
~Unknown
This is a recurring thought for me lately, but a powerful one that has resulted in action: Take notice of where your energy is spent and begin to allow yourself to identify what is draining you. Recognize where your actions do not align with your values. Then, start to explore ways to unravel yourself from it.
Real Estate has been such a great experience, at least for my bank account: receiving commission checks that totaled half of my well-paying salary. But it was also this mistress that would constantly have me “on”, available, and pulling me in all directions. I realized, in the long-term, real estate was a distraction that would ultimately take me further away from who I am. I have decided to start referring clients in 2011.
3) Find a Mentor.
“Stay steady…there is no secret.”
~Steve Fischman
We are not always the best guide for ourselves: We get distracted. We forget where we’re going. We don’t know how to approach the next step.
Find a credible mentor in your field or the passion that you’re trying to pursue; and invite that person to help with keeping you accountable. Share with your mentor the ambitions you have and pave a path—come up with a manageable plan with dates—to get there. Check in with your mentor on a bi-weekly basis; and most of all, build the relationship by staying committed.
My mentor, Steve Fischman, doesn’t offer earthshaking advice, but reminds me to stay steady and committed when I feel I’ve began to stray. Sometimes, a simple, gentle reminder is all we need to get back on track.
4) Sit in silence. Ponder Quietly. Just be with yourself.
“Ask yourself questions in meditation.”
~Sarah Mclean
Perhaps we move around so much because we’re not comfortable with sitting still and honestly identifying with who we are. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have a sense of purpose, so we distract ourselves with doing.
It’s okay to not always have the answers. Our meditation teacher said it best: “Ask yourself these questions in silence: Who Am I? What does my heart desire? What is my purpose?”
You will be surprised at how many answers already exist inside of you. It’s not magical—the answers may not show themselves right away—but if you stay committed to a daily practice (30 minutes a day of quiet time), the benefits will come.
Parting Words
The more I begin to identify with my true values and sit in silence to reflect; the more I learn about who I am— both the flaws and the talents.
The conversations, meetings, social events, and interactions that are not organic in my day—the red lights, the stops, the interruptions—have become very apparent.
The awareness of seeing these, I believe, is the first step towards the shedding of multiple outfits and detoxifying of time towards the singleness of purpose.
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External Resources:
Book: Today Matters
Book: The Power of Now
Related Articles:
The Perfect New Year’s Resolution
Being Present
The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget
Overwhelmed? 8 Ways to Overcome It
How to Quiet Your Mind
Design Your Life
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By Cat Li Stevenson
We live in a society where our worth seems to be validated by how large our network is; how often our Blackberry goes off; how worldly we are from our travels; or how many awesome Facebook pictures there are of us, proving to our friends we live the good life. Not to mention, as we grow older and wiser, there is a constant learning curve on how to gracefully handle evolving responsibility.
So, we resort to multi-tasking. A term I’m all too familiar with:
For the past three years, I’ve adopted wearing several outfits: the Corporate Banker, the weekend Real Estate Agent, the closet writer, the Board Member, the six days a week fitness guru, the overly helpful sister/mentor, the “wherever there was time” Nutrition Coach, the social planner… The exhausting list can be rattled on, but these were my staple outfits.
I was this determined, full of spirit person during the day when interacting with colleagues at work, friends at lunch, clients during the evening, friends on Facebook, yoga acquaintances in class, and even the Trader Joe’s Cashier.
But, by the time I stopped moving late at night, by the time I shed all the identity of these outfits; I was dizzy and hardly good company. My husband received the residual affects of my true, underlying feelings of being overcommitted, without focus, and having this ability to “shoot off stress beams”, as he puts it.
I have been raised on goals since the age of four, like they were a serving of food everyday. And, apparently, sometime during my mid-20’s, I also began to acquire goals as if they were collectibles. I had so many different identities—that in order to keep myself from confusing who I was and what I was doing—I literally had 6 email addresses to separate the different responsibilities.
I understood this problem, and finally decided to reason with myself: I’m a fan of variety who loves dynamic people and a dynamic lifestyle—but it’s impossible to do everything and be good at it all. It’s not fair to my marriage, my ongoing success, and the sustainability of how I live. This lifestyle approach of “productivity and trying to accomplish everything” was becoming “I’m slowly losing myself.”
Once I stopped the ‘thriving’ motions of my busy day; what remained of me was far less than glamorous. While functional multi-tasking can appear to be a commendable skill or gift; it can be incredibly deceiving, as it is also a big distraction. I was honestly very efficient at doing three jobs—simultaneously—in an eight-hour workday, but it takes a toll…
We cannot be here now…and also be everywhere at once.
4 Keys to Mental Clarity
While I am still on the journey of figuring out this laser beam focus that many people I associate with have—and a trait that I deeply admire—I’ve learned a few things in finding my way towards the direction of singleness of purpose, by moving away from multi-tasking:
1) Know your values and make good decisions based off them.
“By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day,
you may not always get what you desire,
but you will always be the person you desire.”
~John Maxwell
It is easy to be swayed and take on too much when we haven’t clearly identified what we value. A favorite book of mine—that I often reference whenever I feel that I’m lost or disconnected— is Today Matters by John Maxwell.
Last year, after reading this phenomenal book, I decided to embrace a value system that has allowed me to clearly identify the commitments in my life that no longer belonged. To start, Maxwell recommends creating a list of good values:
“Begin writing down any and every idea you have concerning values. List every admirable character quality you can think of. As an aspect of your life comes to mind, try to capture what’s important to you about it. Ultimately, your values should not be determined by externals, such as your profession or your environment.
When you think you’ve exhausted every possible idea, set the list aside for a while but keep thinking about it in the back of your mind. When new ideas come, add them to the list. You may also want to do some reading to stir your thinking and see if you’ve missed anything.”
2) Make space by decluttering.
“Some people think it’s holding on
that makes one strong—sometimes it’s letting go.”
~Unknown
This is a recurring thought for me lately, but a powerful one that has resulted in action: Take notice of where your energy is spent and begin to allow yourself to identify what is draining you. Recognize where your actions do not align with your values. Then, start to explore ways to unravel yourself from it.
Real Estate has been such a great experience, at least for my bank account: receiving commission checks that totaled half of my well-paying salary. But it was also this mistress that would constantly have me “on”, available, and pulling me in all directions. I realized, in the long-term, real estate was a distraction that would ultimately take me further away from who I am. I have decided to start referring clients in 2011.
3) Find a Mentor.
“Stay steady…there is no secret.”
~Steve Fischman
We are not always the best guide for ourselves: We get distracted. We forget where we’re going. We don’t know how to approach the next step.
Find a credible mentor in your field or the passion that you’re trying to pursue; and invite that person to help with keeping you accountable. Share with your mentor the ambitions you have and pave a path—come up with a manageable plan with dates—to get there. Check in with your mentor on a bi-weekly basis; and most of all, build the relationship by staying committed.
My mentor, Steve Fischman, doesn’t offer earthshaking advice, but reminds me to stay steady and committed when I feel I’ve began to stray. Sometimes, a simple, gentle reminder is all we need to get back on track.
4) Sit in silence. Ponder Quietly. Just be with yourself.
“Ask yourself questions in meditation.”
~Sarah Mclean
Perhaps we move around so much because we’re not comfortable with sitting still and honestly identifying with who we are. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have a sense of purpose, so we distract ourselves with doing.
It’s okay to not always have the answers. Our meditation teacher said it best: “Ask yourself these questions in silence: Who Am I? What does my heart desire? What is my purpose?”
You will be surprised at how many answers already exist inside of you. It’s not magical—the answers may not show themselves right away—but if you stay committed to a daily practice (30 minutes a day of quiet time), the benefits will come.
Parting Words
The more I begin to identify with my true values and sit in silence to reflect; the more I learn about who I am— both the flaws and the talents.
The conversations, meetings, social events, and interactions that are not organic in my day—the red lights, the stops, the interruptions—have become very apparent.
The awareness of seeing these, I believe, is the first step towards the shedding of multiple outfits and detoxifying of time towards the singleness of purpose.
Please help me spread word about this site. If this or any other articles have helped you in any way, please tell one (or many) people about us. Please share this on Facebook, tweet it on twitter, and email this article or the site to friends. I really appreciate your help. You make this site possible.
And make sure to check out our facebook page, click on the Like button to gain daily inspiration and join our daily conversations about happiness. See you there!
External Resources:
Book: Today Matters
Book: The Power of Now
Related Articles:
The Perfect New Year’s Resolution
Being Present
The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget
Overwhelmed? 8 Ways to Overcome It
How to Quiet Your Mind
Design Your Life
–
Photo Credit: Gala Darling
Leave a comment?
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Subscribe by email:
StumbledUpon Save to del.icio.us Digg it! Comments (15)
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The Art of Simplifying
The Art of Simplifying
By Cat Li Stevenson
We live in a society where our worth seems to be validated by how large our network is; how often our Blackberry goes off; how worldly we are from our travels; or how many awesome Facebook pictures there are of us, proving to our friends we live the good life. Not to mention, as we grow older and wiser, there is a constant learning curve on how to gracefully handle evolving responsibility.
So, we resort to multi-tasking. A term I’m all too familiar with:
For the past three years, I’ve adopted wearing several outfits: the Corporate Banker, the weekend Real Estate Agent, the closet writer, the Board Member, the six days a week fitness guru, the overly helpful sister/mentor, the “wherever there was time” Nutrition Coach, the social planner… The exhausting list can be rattled on, but these were my staple outfits.
I was this determined, full of spirit person during the day when interacting with colleagues at work, friends at lunch, clients during the evening, friends on Facebook, yoga acquaintances in class, and even the Trader Joe’s Cashier.
But, by the time I stopped moving late at night, by the time I shed all the identity of these outfits; I was dizzy and hardly good company. My husband received the residual affects of my true, underlying feelings of being overcommitted, without focus, and having this ability to “shoot off stress beams”, as he puts it.
I have been raised on goals since the age of four, like they were a serving of food everyday. And, apparently, sometime during my mid-20’s, I also began to acquire goals as if they were collectibles. I had so many different identities—that in order to keep myself from confusing who I was and what I was doing—I literally had 6 email addresses to separate the different responsibilities.
I understood this problem, and finally decided to reason with myself: I’m a fan of variety who loves dynamic people and a dynamic lifestyle—but it’s impossible to do everything and be good at it all. It’s not fair to my marriage, my ongoing success, and the sustainability of how I live. This lifestyle approach of “productivity and trying to accomplish everything” was becoming “I’m slowly losing myself.”
Once I stopped the ‘thriving’ motions of my busy day; what remained of me was far less than glamorous. While functional multi-tasking can appear to be a commendable skill or gift; it can be incredibly deceiving, as it is also a big distraction. I was honestly very efficient at doing three jobs—simultaneously—in an eight-hour workday, but it takes a toll…
We cannot be here now…and also be everywhere at once.
4 Keys to Mental Clarity
While I am still on the journey of figuring out this laser beam focus that many people I associate with have—and a trait that I deeply admire—I’ve learned a few things in finding my way towards the direction of singleness of purpose, by moving away from multi-tasking:
1) Know your values and make good decisions based off them.
“By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day,
you may not always get what you desire,
but you will always be the person you desire.”
~John Maxwell
It is easy to be swayed and take on too much when we haven’t clearly identified what we value. A favorite book of mine—that I often reference whenever I feel that I’m lost or disconnected— is Today Matters by John Maxwell.
Last year, after reading this phenomenal book, I decided to embrace a value system that has allowed me to clearly identify the commitments in my life that no longer belonged. To start, Maxwell recommends creating a list of good values:
“Begin writing down any and every idea you have concerning values. List every admirable character quality you can think of. As an aspect of your life comes to mind, try to capture what’s important to you about it. Ultimately, your values should not be determined by externals, such as your profession or your environment.
When you think you’ve exhausted every possible idea, set the list aside for a while but keep thinking about it in the back of your mind. When new ideas come, add them to the list. You may also want to do some reading to stir your thinking and see if you’ve missed anything.”
2) Make space by decluttering.
“Some people think it’s holding on
that makes one strong—sometimes it’s letting go.”
~Unknown
This is a recurring thought for me lately, but a powerful one that has resulted in action: Take notice of where your energy is spent and begin to allow yourself to identify what is draining you. Recognize where your actions do not align with your values. Then, start to explore ways to unravel yourself from it.
Real Estate has been such a great experience, at least for my bank account: receiving commission checks that totaled half of my well-paying salary. But it was also this mistress that would constantly have me “on”, available, and pulling me in all directions. I realized, in the long-term, real estate was a distraction that would ultimately take me further away from who I am. I have decided to start referring clients in 2011.
3) Find a Mentor.
“Stay steady…there is no secret.”
~Steve Fischman
We are not always the best guide for ourselves: We get distracted. We forget where we’re going. We don’t know how to approach the next step.
Find a credible mentor in your field or the passion that you’re trying to pursue; and invite that person to help with keeping you accountable. Share with your mentor the ambitions you have and pave a path—come up with a manageable plan with dates—to get there. Check in with your mentor on a bi-weekly basis; and most of all, build the relationship by staying committed.
My mentor, Steve Fischman, doesn’t offer earthshaking advice, but reminds me to stay steady and committed when I feel I’ve began to stray. Sometimes, a simple, gentle reminder is all we need to get back on track.
4) Sit in silence. Ponder Quietly. Just be with yourself.
“Ask yourself questions in meditation.”
~Sarah Mclean
Perhaps we move around so much because we’re not comfortable with sitting still and honestly identifying with who we are. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have a sense of purpose, so we distract ourselves with doing.
It’s okay to not always have the answers. Our meditation teacher said it best: “Ask yourself these questions in silence: Who Am I? What does my heart desire? What is my purpose?”
You will be surprised at how many answers already exist inside of you. It’s not magical—the answers may not show themselves right away—but if you stay committed to a daily practice (30 minutes a day of quiet time), the benefits will come.
Parting Words
The more I begin to identify with my true values and sit in silence to reflect; the more I learn about who I am— both the flaws and the talents.
The conversations, meetings, social events, and interactions that are not organic in my day—the red lights, the stops, the interruptions—have become very apparent.
The awareness of seeing these, I believe, is the first step towards the shedding of multiple outfits and detoxifying of time towards the singleness of purpose.
Please help me spread word about this site. If this or any other articles have helped you in any way, please tell one (or many) people about us. Please share this on Facebook, tweet it on twitter, and email this article or the site to friends. I really appreciate your help. You make this site possible.
And make sure to check out our facebook page, click on the Like button to gain daily inspiration and join our daily conversations about happiness. See you there!
External Resources:
Book: Today Matters
Book: The Power of Now
Related Articles:
The Perfect New Year’s Resolution
Being Present
The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget
Overwhelmed? 8 Ways to Overcome It
How to Quiet Your Mind
Design Your Life
–
Photo Credit: Gala Darling
Leave a comment?
Like this article? ThinkSimpleNow delivers weekly articles on creativity, clarity and happiness. Join the Community by subscribing! (What's this?).
Subscribe by email:
StumbledUpon Save to del.icio.us Digg it! Comments (15)
This entry was filed under clarity, happiness. Email this page.
Browse in Timeline:
« Becoming a Millionaire
Advertising
By Cat Li Stevenson
We live in a society where our worth seems to be validated by how large our network is; how often our Blackberry goes off; how worldly we are from our travels; or how many awesome Facebook pictures there are of us, proving to our friends we live the good life. Not to mention, as we grow older and wiser, there is a constant learning curve on how to gracefully handle evolving responsibility.
So, we resort to multi-tasking. A term I’m all too familiar with:
For the past three years, I’ve adopted wearing several outfits: the Corporate Banker, the weekend Real Estate Agent, the closet writer, the Board Member, the six days a week fitness guru, the overly helpful sister/mentor, the “wherever there was time” Nutrition Coach, the social planner… The exhausting list can be rattled on, but these were my staple outfits.
I was this determined, full of spirit person during the day when interacting with colleagues at work, friends at lunch, clients during the evening, friends on Facebook, yoga acquaintances in class, and even the Trader Joe’s Cashier.
But, by the time I stopped moving late at night, by the time I shed all the identity of these outfits; I was dizzy and hardly good company. My husband received the residual affects of my true, underlying feelings of being overcommitted, without focus, and having this ability to “shoot off stress beams”, as he puts it.
I have been raised on goals since the age of four, like they were a serving of food everyday. And, apparently, sometime during my mid-20’s, I also began to acquire goals as if they were collectibles. I had so many different identities—that in order to keep myself from confusing who I was and what I was doing—I literally had 6 email addresses to separate the different responsibilities.
I understood this problem, and finally decided to reason with myself: I’m a fan of variety who loves dynamic people and a dynamic lifestyle—but it’s impossible to do everything and be good at it all. It’s not fair to my marriage, my ongoing success, and the sustainability of how I live. This lifestyle approach of “productivity and trying to accomplish everything” was becoming “I’m slowly losing myself.”
Once I stopped the ‘thriving’ motions of my busy day; what remained of me was far less than glamorous. While functional multi-tasking can appear to be a commendable skill or gift; it can be incredibly deceiving, as it is also a big distraction. I was honestly very efficient at doing three jobs—simultaneously—in an eight-hour workday, but it takes a toll…
We cannot be here now…and also be everywhere at once.
4 Keys to Mental Clarity
While I am still on the journey of figuring out this laser beam focus that many people I associate with have—and a trait that I deeply admire—I’ve learned a few things in finding my way towards the direction of singleness of purpose, by moving away from multi-tasking:
1) Know your values and make good decisions based off them.
“By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day,
you may not always get what you desire,
but you will always be the person you desire.”
~John Maxwell
It is easy to be swayed and take on too much when we haven’t clearly identified what we value. A favorite book of mine—that I often reference whenever I feel that I’m lost or disconnected— is Today Matters by John Maxwell.
Last year, after reading this phenomenal book, I decided to embrace a value system that has allowed me to clearly identify the commitments in my life that no longer belonged. To start, Maxwell recommends creating a list of good values:
“Begin writing down any and every idea you have concerning values. List every admirable character quality you can think of. As an aspect of your life comes to mind, try to capture what’s important to you about it. Ultimately, your values should not be determined by externals, such as your profession or your environment.
When you think you’ve exhausted every possible idea, set the list aside for a while but keep thinking about it in the back of your mind. When new ideas come, add them to the list. You may also want to do some reading to stir your thinking and see if you’ve missed anything.”
2) Make space by decluttering.
“Some people think it’s holding on
that makes one strong—sometimes it’s letting go.”
~Unknown
This is a recurring thought for me lately, but a powerful one that has resulted in action: Take notice of where your energy is spent and begin to allow yourself to identify what is draining you. Recognize where your actions do not align with your values. Then, start to explore ways to unravel yourself from it.
Real Estate has been such a great experience, at least for my bank account: receiving commission checks that totaled half of my well-paying salary. But it was also this mistress that would constantly have me “on”, available, and pulling me in all directions. I realized, in the long-term, real estate was a distraction that would ultimately take me further away from who I am. I have decided to start referring clients in 2011.
3) Find a Mentor.
“Stay steady…there is no secret.”
~Steve Fischman
We are not always the best guide for ourselves: We get distracted. We forget where we’re going. We don’t know how to approach the next step.
Find a credible mentor in your field or the passion that you’re trying to pursue; and invite that person to help with keeping you accountable. Share with your mentor the ambitions you have and pave a path—come up with a manageable plan with dates—to get there. Check in with your mentor on a bi-weekly basis; and most of all, build the relationship by staying committed.
My mentor, Steve Fischman, doesn’t offer earthshaking advice, but reminds me to stay steady and committed when I feel I’ve began to stray. Sometimes, a simple, gentle reminder is all we need to get back on track.
4) Sit in silence. Ponder Quietly. Just be with yourself.
“Ask yourself questions in meditation.”
~Sarah Mclean
Perhaps we move around so much because we’re not comfortable with sitting still and honestly identifying with who we are. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have a sense of purpose, so we distract ourselves with doing.
It’s okay to not always have the answers. Our meditation teacher said it best: “Ask yourself these questions in silence: Who Am I? What does my heart desire? What is my purpose?”
You will be surprised at how many answers already exist inside of you. It’s not magical—the answers may not show themselves right away—but if you stay committed to a daily practice (30 minutes a day of quiet time), the benefits will come.
Parting Words
The more I begin to identify with my true values and sit in silence to reflect; the more I learn about who I am— both the flaws and the talents.
The conversations, meetings, social events, and interactions that are not organic in my day—the red lights, the stops, the interruptions—have become very apparent.
The awareness of seeing these, I believe, is the first step towards the shedding of multiple outfits and detoxifying of time towards the singleness of purpose.
Please help me spread word about this site. If this or any other articles have helped you in any way, please tell one (or many) people about us. Please share this on Facebook, tweet it on twitter, and email this article or the site to friends. I really appreciate your help. You make this site possible.
And make sure to check out our facebook page, click on the Like button to gain daily inspiration and join our daily conversations about happiness. See you there!
External Resources:
Book: Today Matters
Book: The Power of Now
Related Articles:
The Perfect New Year’s Resolution
Being Present
The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget
Overwhelmed? 8 Ways to Overcome It
How to Quiet Your Mind
Design Your Life
–
Photo Credit: Gala Darling
Leave a comment?
Like this article? ThinkSimpleNow delivers weekly articles on creativity, clarity and happiness. Join the Community by subscribing! (What's this?).
Subscribe by email:
StumbledUpon Save to del.icio.us Digg it! Comments (15)
This entry was filed under clarity, happiness. Email this page.
Browse in Timeline:
« Becoming a Millionaire
Advertising
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