Copy: Copy Positive Traits
June 19, 2018 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
We are all works in progress. Learn by other’s mistakes and experiences and copy some of the traits, behaviors, and attitudes of those who are successful in an area that interests you. Take notice of what worked for them and adapt it to your own lifestyle and throw out what doesn’t work for you. Listen to their lessons to save yourself undue energy drainage doing something the wrong way. Seek those who do it right and follow their example. Learn how they got where and what they are today and why they do the things they do. Follow the lead of others who have paved the way for us, and then branch out on your own and blaze the way for others to follow your lead.
Find somebody who is willing to give you a leg up on life and ask for their guidance and assistance. By taking a shortcut on the learning curve, you free up your energies by not spinning your wheels to learn something the long way. Who do you know that you could take to lunch and learn about their business or their style? Stephen Covey’s bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is just one shortcut to learning about such traits to copy. In it he shares the seven traits that are worth copying in your own life.
Copy the traits of those who have lived much longer than you. One of the factors worth copying is to take yourself more lightly. Lighten up and lighten your emotional load for increased energy and enjoyment. The New England Centenarian Study followed over 150 people age 100 or more and found every person tested low for levels of neuroticism or sadness. These feelings can disturb heart-beats, reduce immune functioning, and accelerate the aging process. Having the ability to easily shed emotional stress, remain calm and collected during crises, take charge, and easily adapt to changes in their environment and life situations were key ingredients to their longevity.
Letting go of issues and situations that are out of your control, in the past, or can’t be changed, allows your energy to be put towards a more positive use. Dwelling on things out of your hands pulls you down into the depths. Stewing over past circumstances, or decisions you have already made keep you grounded in the past and keep your energy grounded as well. Lightening up your outlook and letting go of your heavy loads will set your energy free. Copy this valuable trait of those who have lived to tell about it and you may well live a long life too.
“ ”: Heed the Words and Wisdom of Quotable Role Models
April 19, 2018 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Seek inspiring words from great speakers, mentors, trainers, celebrities, sports figures, business gurus, books, or other role models that you admire. Glean wisdom from them on how they acquired their spark, their position, their wealth, their notoriety, or their circumstance. Be a student of life and constantly be aware of the process of continuous improvement.
We are also role models for all those around us – we are part of their environment, so watch your words and actions which affect the energy of others. Who do you admire? What can you learn from them and how can you learn more? What things do you want in your life and who already has those things or is doing the things that you want to do? Find out how they did it to help you figure out your path. There is more than one way to success and by gaining different perspectives and then figuring out the unique way those perspectives fit your life, you are well on your way to becoming a quotable role model for others who will heed your words of wisdom.
I catch myself stating the phrase “You learn something new every day”. Instead of letting serendipity invigorate you by chance, take the reins and seek out adult education classes, recreation courses, meaningful conversations with inspiring people, fascinating books, or interesting Internet websites. Besides having fun and learning a new skill, you will meet the nicest people.
Discovery and knowledge keeps you young, interested, and interesting. Continuous improvement keeps you vibrant, vital, and tuned into the world as well as into yourself. Once your mind is stretched, it will never be the same. What have you learned today? It really is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Life long learning also implies that we learn our life lessons from the compilation of our experiences so we don’t waste our precious energy spinning our wheels and repeating life lessons over and over before we get it.
Once we recognize certain recurring themes in our lives as our life lessons, then we can spend our energy solving the issue and move on to other things instead of spending our energy on the same thing over and over again. Why not be a fast learner and save some of your emotional energy for new lessons down the road. What are the recurring circumstances in your life? What are the arguments, discussions, or power struggles that keep creeping up in your life? Are you learning from these so you can free up your energy to be put to better uses? Try seeking out some aha moments in the near future.
