Surfing the Chaos

So, I’ve just got to come clean. The last few weeks of my life have been on the edge of absurd in terms of commitments, big decisions, to do’s, and responsibilities. There have also unfortunately been some renegotiated accountabilities, several totally dropped balls, and at least one big miss. I know you all have been in this place of extreme chaos too. Between doing your own work, coaching others to do their work, all the internal processes and responsibilities, finding time to grow and develop, not to mention the professional networking and affiliations, it’s a lot to keep up with. Then sprinkle in your version of personal and community commitments for yourself, your family (including pets), your friends, and the list goes on. It’s a lot, I know. And it’s the new normal, isn’t it? All of these pieces and particles of our busy lives
are like waves on the beach. A constant ebb and flow and we adjust and get used to it. Then, from time to time, we run into a really, really, really, big wave. The huge, overwhelming set of life circumstances that threatens to pull you under, chew you up, and spit you back out broken on the beach. But what if, instead of paddling the other way or letting it pound you silly, you decide to swim right towards this massive wave of chaos? What if you ride it, surf it, or dance with it instead? You may still get thrown into the spin cycle, but you just might enjoy it.

The next time that extra big wave of crazy is headed your way, could be today, think about these strategies in dancing
with chaos…

• Clearly Choose Your Yes’s and No’s It’s a good first step to block time to evaluate all you have on your plate and take a good look to see if you really must keep it on your plate, or if it’s something you can say no to, delegate, or de-prioritize in some way. It’s helpful to look at your values and life purpose in evaluating what stays and what goes.
• Get Comfortable with Mediocre I’m serious! This is hard for all you perfectionist types. Lower your bar, adjust your expectations, let go of any kind of perfection you might have. You’re going to drop sh..tuff (period). Get used to it. Have you ever skied down a mogul run on the edge of crashing the entire time, and it didn’t look pretty, but at least you made it? It’s kinda like that. You are going for the finishers ribbon, not the gold.
• Focus on What’s Right in Front of You, Now It is mentally and physically impossible to multi-task, aka worry, fret, juggle, or otherwise do it all. So, notice what’s right in front of you, right now, and do that really well. Now is all you have, so choose to be present.
• Get Clear On What’s Most Important Think in terms of big themes, chunks, or groupings of stuff. What’s most important? What the priority? What is the Single. Most. Important. Thing.? Keep your eye on that. Block your calendar accordingly.
• Keep Breathing Please take care of your mental and physical self. I’m not kidding… sleep, exercise, eat your vegetables, and meditate every day.
• Roll with It Shift your perspective. What if you get curious about the wave, or consider the opportunity? Receive the luck and chance and gift of the chaos rather than sit in the denial, regret, and resistance.
• Take Responsibility As you ride this wave and drop some balls.
• Enjoy the Ride Surf and experience the ups, downs and emotional journey. You are not a robot on the board surfing this wave… you are HUMAN! Let the wave move you through thrills that tingle, breath-taking scary fears, heart-breaking sadness, or heart-pounding joy.

In CTI’s Co-Active Leadership Program, I learned to look at the chaos and rub my hands together in glee (yes, really…) because I know now that chaos presents a huge opportunity to create something new and extraordinary. It’s much better to dance with it than fight it. As my 12 year old son told me today, “Life is kinda like writing an essay with an ink pen… of course you’re going to make mistakes, but you just need to keep writing anyway.

Be well and have a ball surfing the chaos!

Love,

Barb