Author: Jay Forte

“It is not about extraordinary people; it is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things….like taking ownership.”

Has this ever happened to you: You drive to work but you can’t remember any part of the ride? Were you paying attention?

The good news is that you were watching and paying attention, although indirectly. How your brain seems to watch when you aren’t has been explained to be this way: There is a part of your brain, in the middle of the back of your head, and is about the size of the top of your little finger.

I am sure it has a proper anatomical name but for now I’ll call it the “secretary.” This secretary takes over when what it perceives looks like what it knows – it all looks the same (like the same ride to work each day). It remembers where to stop, where to turn, how fast to drive and as long as things are as expected, the secretary takes over and does a good job. When the secretary takes over, it allows the rest of your active brain to do what it does best.

..think about other things; call it daydreaming or just thinking, it is not actively focused on the drive. When the secretary encounters some stimuli that it does not recognize, it reactivates the active, thinking brain for help (this is called “shocking the secretary”), road bike sale
, . So on your ride, it may be a siren, a clap of thunder or a detour -, road bike sale
, something out of the ordinary that shocks the secretary and reactivates full brain thinking.

Once reengaged, you are now more in control, thinking and you remember.

So what does this have to do with our recession? For the longest time we have been in, road bike sale
, autopilot – the secretary had taken over; we were doing the same things over and over without any real direct thought of or connection to its impact. Life got faster and faster so we moved along with it, pulled in directions that made us work longer, spend more, spend less time with loved ones – we got busy doing what we always do.

Life had gotten to be like standing in line at the coffee shop – another day of “the usual.” Everything looked the same – the secretary, road bike sale
, was in charge; we didn’t notice, we didn’t challenge, we didn’t remember.

Then, in what many people felt to be a sudden event, the recession was on us; the economy was in a free fall. Corporate institutions started failing, retirement plans lost 40 or more percent of their value, jobs were cut and much of life started changing.

We moved out of autopilot – the economy “shocked our secretary;” it got our attention. No more just showing up in work or life. No more standard reactions. It reminded us that it is time to think, reassess, reevaluate, redefine and realign. It is time for full brain thinking. The recession got our attention; we now must learn from it and use its tough but valuable lessons.

I am not a proponent of a recession.

There are so many people suffering because they now lack fundamental things that they need. This commentary by no means minimized the challenges that many people face. Because there are many downs,, road bike sale
, we must also look for and find the ups – our success is in our ability to weather any tough period – to be optimistic and to find the value, the lessons and the improvements in any challenge.

We can never throw in the towel; no matter how tough things become, we must commit to finding and focusing on the positive. Our ability to, road bike sale
, survive, be healthy and grow as people, families, communities and a nation is in our collective optimism and our collaboration in ideas and effort. We cannot always control events but we can work to remain positive, so that we find the energy and value in today to help us focus on building a better tomorrow.

History shows that a recession every now and then is a “shock the secretary” type of event that can help us redirect and relearn in areas that have moved out of control. It can be used to regroup, reconsider and realign. It has forced us to think differently, own our performance and decisions, and be more accountable to those at home, at work, in the country and on the planet. No more living life on autopilot, like the morning drive to work.

It is time to see what a jolt to our pattern behaviors has done; it is time to get reconnected to thinking through the day and owning our performance.

We all had a hand in bringing about this recession. How we over-spent, over-borrowed and let autopilot behavior take over, is now creating our challenges. So, as we take greater accountability for our actions, we must learn to be better, to be more in control of our impact and to think instead of respond.

To start this process of always getting better, let’s dwell for just a minute on the positive outcomes and a few of the lessons learned from our recession:

• We realize we can’t spend what we don’t have; credit and credit cards are not the same as cash.

• We now spend more time at home, we eat as a family, we are learning to spend time again with each other and talk to each other more.

• Dinner out is now more a treat than a routine.

• Dessert out is as much fun and more affordable than dinner out.

• We do more family events using what we have; we look, road bike sale
, at photos, remember events and reconnect to our kids, parents, cousins and grandparents, and what to what they remember, share and think.

• Track shoes and a two-mile jog around the neighborhood burns as many calories as a tread mill, stairmaster or elliptical stepper at a gym.

• We use our now more limited weekly food money on real food and have eliminated, road bike sale
, many of the, road bike sale
, snacks that are not good for us; we are starting to eat healthier.

• We reconnected to our neighbors and learned to share our extra when they did not have enough; we are building our social networks face-to-face.

• We hang up our clothes instead of leaving them on the floor or on the chair; we do less laundry, and we make things last.

• We watch the movies, wear the clothes and play the games we forgot we had; we treasure what we have.

• We waste less food, create less garbage and leave less of a footprint on the planet; we are more aware that supplies of things are limited – and once gone, they may be gone for good.

• We are less fixated on whether we have the newest, shiniest, best or most expensive, in favor having the right things that keep people healthy and safe.

• We drive our cars less, consume less gas and learn about the great things in our neighborhood; in the process we make our cars last a little longer.

• We slow down on the road knowing that it conserves fuel and offers a view of some great things we generally didn’t notice in our rush to get places.

• We spend more time with each other; we rekindle friendships that evaporated when life became too busy to stay in touch.

• We recycle more, go to garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores. Bohemian and trendy salvage styles are making a comeback.

• We buy local produce that saves on fuel and gives us healthier things to eat.

• We have learned to extend any meal by adding cans of things we had in the pantry; we invent new family recipes; we use what we have.

• We borrow books and movies from the library instead of buying new ones.

• We spend more time with crayons,, road bike sale
, glue, paper and a box to make great things and have a great time.

• We are beginning to realize that a gift is truly based on the thought instead of the cash value – and that a flower picked or a handmade card delivered at the right moment creates the right memory.

• We learn how to talk to each other again.

• We get by without 700 cable channels of chatter and stuff.

• We now turn lights off when we are not in a room, reduce the amount of heat or air conditioning and are still fine.

• We live by the rule, road bike sale
, that for every bag that comes into the house, two must go – one to trash/recycle, one to the needy.

• We buy day-old, discount and reduced-cost foods that help us save money and improve our creativity in the kitchen.

• We now treat things with more respect – a person, book, toy, car or other important thing.

• We take a, road bike sale
, bike to work. We get our workout, get to work and leave less of a impact on the planet.

• We rent out or share an extra room with someone who can’t afford their house.

• We give all of the clothes that don’t fit or we can’t use to organizations that ensure it gets distributed to those who use them.

• We use coupons and look for the best deals before we buy; we understand what, road bike sale
, we buy instead of thinking that we’ll throw it out and get another one.

• An afternoon out is now a walk around the neighborhood, time at a park or appreciating nature, architecture, a view or the weather; there doesn’t have to be a purchase to make the afternoon valuable.

I remember how our lives changed after the 9/11 tragedy. Major events shock us out of being complacent; they remind us we must be more aware, more accountable and more responsible. Today’s recession is a reminder to step up and be fully present to sort out the challenges, invent a better response and learn a better way.

If we are to survive as a culture – and the world needs the optimism, creativity, innovation and regard for life, liberty and freedom that we bring – then we need to move ahead, chin up, learning some hard but meaningful lessons. Stay positive, get back to your core, go through life with your eyes open and your mind thinking. This will equip you with the abilities to see and respond. No more mindless meandering.

Extraordinary thinking powers your world; it also creates a responsible, mindful and fully accountable world.

Jay Forte, a former financial executive and educator, now performance speaker, author and talent management consultant, is a nationally ranked Thought Leader and President of Humanetrics. Jay teaches organizations how to ignite passionate employee performance and audiences how to live more powerfully by refocusing on what is critical, core and inspires our true happiness. He uses the today’s recession to help us relearn some of the most important lessons we have ignored in our “speed-of-the-click” world.

Check out his “Getting Stronger, Getting Better” Idea Center on his website, http://www.Humanetricsllc.com Click on “resources” then on “Idea Centers.” Add your comments to help others stay up when the world pulls us down. Also check out his new site, http://www.FireUpYourEmployees.com, a site dedicated to igniting passionate performance. He can be reached at jay.forte@humanetricsllc.com or at 401.338.3505

Source: ezinearticles.com