Some words from Al Killeen, Personal Mastery Programs
Hi,
Several years ago, I wrote this newsletter at time in the world where people were challenged by external circumstances and, accordingly, feeling under siege and disempowered.
I thought it was time to revisit where our power comes from, and how might get back in touch with it... to control what we can, and to live with what we can’t...
Please feel free to share it with whomever you feel it may help at this time.......:)
"How To Put The Power Back Into Your Life"
In America today, we are living in a vast population of disempowered people. It isn't government's fault, or the economy's, or the hand of fate.
It is self-created by multitudes of people through the way they approach the issues of power, trust, and commitments.
Power in individuals is a direct reflection of the congruity with which they take actions aligned with their core values and clarity of purpose in life. Trust in individuals is created through the consistency with which a person acts in accordance with their stated purpose. In other words, people have power and can be trusted to the extent that they know themselves clearly, and that they are willing to take actions that are direct reflections of their "word".
A person's "word" is a person's expression or declaration to the world of their deepest promise, their purest expression of being. A person's promise is a powerful and sacred thing. When it is given, it should be so solid that there is never any doubt as to the extreme likelihood that whatever has been promised will occur, to the absolute extent of the giver's ability to make it happen.
I'm going to call people who operate in the above-described manner "whole", or "Commitment type 1" people.
"Commitment type 1" people are people who:
- show up at appointments or meetings on time or early;
- never make flimsy excuses for breaking their word;
- are in control of their lives as much as any human being can be;
- are clear as to who they are and what they stand for in life;
- are courageous in standing up for the core values and principles they believe in;
- are willing to be ruthless in controlling their calendars, commitments and circumstances in life, rather than being controlled by them;
- can be trusted to do what they say they will do in life;
- have power to direct their lives to selected futures with great certainty of the outcome;
- rarely have to make excuses for breaking commitments or appointments;
- operate with a discernable air of control and calm, regardless of circumstances.
Now let's talk about the other type of person, the "incongruent" or "Commitment type 2" person. This person is disempowered in life by being untrustworthy to complete what they commit to. They don't mean to be this way. In fact, they are often the most noble and well-intentioned of people. Therein lies the problem. They are so "well-intentioned", they treat commitments as mere intentions subject to non-fulfillment should any circumstances arise that cause a change of priority. Often times, these circumstances aren't even that important. It simply becomes a methodology of operating where commitments are treated as intentions, and then violated (i.e. not completed or fulfilled) because a new commitment or circumstance comes up that interrupts the willingness to honor the original commitment.
The problem with "Commitment type 2" people is that they rob themselves of power and trustworthiness in life. Other people know that they treat commitments as mere intentions (rather than promises), and accordingly accommodate the anticipated violation of that commitment. These are the people who are always late to appointments or meetings. These are the people that other people shake their heads at and laugh when they make commitments. They are expected to dishonor their commitments, and the world supports their disjunctive, incongruent behavior.
The sad reality about "Commitment type 2" people is that they really can't even trust themselves. They know they mean well, but a sense of powerlessness sets in when a person operates in this manner in their life. Also, a sense of emptiness can occur, because these people often have the highest of core values that they believe in, yet are unable to build a life that reflects those values.
"Commitment type 2 people":
- often show up late to appointments or meetings, or cancel them at the last minute;
- are often afraid to say "no" to others, which results in still more over-commitment and further disempowerment;
- fear the confrontation of saying "no" to others, more than they realize the devastating effects of being incongruent to their stated values in life;
- often have to make excuses for consistent violation of what they commit to (which others may take as promises, but they exhibit as mere intentions);
- feel a sense of being out of control of their lives, and their calendars;
- cannot be trusted when making commitments, even by themselves;
- are controlled by circumstances in their lives, rather than controlling their own life;
- often grow discouraged as to their actual ability to create what they desire in their lives;
- often display a sense of anxiety or angst in their daily activities, as though they are barely in control.
So, the final decision is up to you. Are you going to live your life as a "Commitment type 1" person who can trust himself or herself to treat any commitments made as though they are promises, expressions of their "word"?
Or are you going to settle for being a "Commitment type 2" person who gives away their control in life to circumstances by treating commitments as mere intentions.
You are not doomed to continue being a "Commitment type 2" person in the future just because you may have been one in the past. In fact, you will experience transformational epiphany with the courage to declare yourself a "Commitment type 1" person from now on, and hold yourself accountable to being so.
It's your choice.
The choice you make will determine, directly, the power that you have over the results that you will achieve in life, whether in business, relationships, or in any other domain...
I Promise....
"Our deeds determine us,
as much as we determine our deeds..."
- George Eliot –
--
Al Killeen
Personal Mastery Programs
4730 Walnut Street, Suite 108
Boulder, Colorado 80301
(Ofc) 303-544-2113
(Cell) 303-478-6344
(e-mail)
(web)
(fax) 303-544-2117
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