First, I have to admit that the quality of being intrepid is one of my all-time favorites. Check out this definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance.”

We’ve written in our book, Tougher Times, that current economic conditions require persistence and imagination. Being intrepid in the face of difficulty is a worthwhile quality to cultivate.

Being intrepid is far easier if you firmly believe in your cause, your business, your values, and your goals. Can you think of an aspect of your life where you have refused to give up, no matter what?

It may be something that others have told you is impossible; and some may have even tried to dissuade you from your commitment.

How have you dealt with your own doubt or the opinions of others who questioned the wisdom of your commitment to your goals? How have you maintained your persistence?

Witnessing bad things happen to people has been very hard to bear. People experience health issues, financial distress, emotional pain, relationship problems and a myriad of events ranging from merely bad to downright tragic. How do we deal with seeing that?

It has felt easier for me to live in equanimity about my own life difficulties than to have equanimity about others’ sorrows. Why? Because I want to help; I want to do something with and for them to change things and make it better.

Life recently presented me with a situation where I witnessed someone else experiencing great loss . . . and, try as I might, there is nothing that I can do about it, and I was unable to simply let it be.

Have you ever had the experience of being present to the pain and suffering of another . . . and be unable to help? How well have you been able to live in equanimity? Is it easier for you to have equanimity about your own situations or those of others?

Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

Now that Spring is here, let’s explore PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY and put attention on desired results that we’ve been putting off.

What are some highly worrisome tasks that have haunted you because they aren’t complete? Maybe you haven’t touched them in months. Writing, organizing, taxes, bookkeeping, filing, cleaning, etc.?

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE! Things you know you’ve been putting off that have been stuck – things you have held as super difficult, tough, “can’t do right now,” “too big” kinds of things.

When I was a college student, I would sometimes buy $20 worth of gas rather than fill up the entire tank. Try that same technique here.

“I’ll give my (name of project) 30 minutes . . . . . or 60 minutes worth of my time.” No distractions, no emails, no phone calls or snacks. At the end of that session, schedule the next time you’ll use this approach.

Choose something that has lingered, haunted you, made you look the other way . . . . something you’ve been resisting. The time you take to address it incrementally will free up tremendous energy and productivity.

Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

Perhaps, for purposes of this discussion, we can accept that absolute security does not exist . . . in order to allow a practical conversation about relative security. A very simplistic way to define SECURITY is FREEDOM FROM CONCERN OR WORRY.

Let’s take on financial security first. Do you consider yourself financially secure? Why or why not? Without violating any confidence about your personal financial situation, can you share with the group how you define financial security?

Again, ABSOLUTE SECURITY would mean that you had enough money for the rest of your life (unknown duration) and it was always going to be safe and liquid and available to you . . . in an economic climate that did not erode its purchasing power through either inflation or deflation . . . and on and on.

The point being . . . that we have to come to terms with relative financial security to achieve a certain comfort level. A certain amount of cash to last for a period of time that you decide is “sufficiently secure,” a livelihood, macro-economic conditions that allow you to maintain or expand your security.

It’s always interesting to challenge assumptions. In this time of an ailing economy, it’s useful to examine what we require to feel secure. What is it for you? How much are you concerned about financial security?

Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.