Part 2 – You Go First
“When my children grow up, I want them to be…”
Thus begins the Coda in Marshall Goldsmith’s new book – Mojo. This is the question Marshall asked thousands of parents across the world. They could only respond in one word. What do you think it was?
Tweak the question…
“I want all my loved ones to be…”
How would you answer it?
Now-
“You go first.”
That is Marshall’s challenge. You lead the way. Do what it takes. Go for it. If you don’t, who will?
But how? This is easier said than done. Sometimes all that we are left with is a niggling sense of dissatisfaction that eats away at us from the inside out. The feeling that something is missing. That we would rather be somewhere else, doing something else, chasing some other dream, following some other call. How, then, do we head back on the road to happiness?
You could start by reading the book 🙂 And after you are done, pass it to your loved ones, so they can do the same. Until then, try three things that I learned from Marshall-
1. Change you
2. Change it (the situation)
3. If you cannot do 1 or 2, accept it (the situation)
And a bonus –
4. Keep the score.
Like a golfer who keeps the score after every hole, you keep the score during the day to see how you are doing. What cannot be measured cannot be managed. The first step in managing happiness is to measure it. Frequently.
But how can we measure happiness? It is ethereal and feels inherently immeasurable. Read Marshall’s article on Measuring your Mojo and print out your Mojo Score Card. If you like, you can download the Free Mojo App.
Or you can do what I do – take a short cut. Each day, pause what you are doing and take 10 seconds to ask your self these questions –
1. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is my mojo right now?
2. If it is lower than 10, what can I do different to make it higher?
– Can I change me?
– Can I change it (the situation)?
– Can I accept it (the situation)?
I ask myself these questions around four times a day –
1. In the morning, either when I wake up, or when I am drinking my coffee
2. Around lunch time, after I have finished the first half of my day
3. Around evening, when I have finished work for the day
4. At night, as I am about to go to bed
The results are very interesting. Happiness, or the lack thereof, starts getting demystified. Measauring my mojo four times a day helps me understand my choices in life. And their consequences. And it gives me valuable insights to alter the course of my life so I can shrink the gap between the mojo I expect and the mojo I create.
Try it. Tell me what you learned. And remember to read Marshall’s book – Mojo.
Copyright 2010 Org Whisperers
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