Mental health commissioner kept centers problems quiet
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A top state official last year quashed a move to publicize significant problems at a childrens residential treatment center run by a major donor to state politicians.
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May 31, 2010
May 30, 2010
How You Can Learn Vision From Leaders
By Nicky Michael
One of the key reasons why a vision is successful is in the attitude of the leader of it to allow others part ownership in it. Our western philosophy of ownership can be quite selfish. I am not talking of negating our responsibility to lead the vision, but would question the way some visionaries are unable to let go areas that would grow better under someone else’s care.
The Japanese have several traditions. One is binding the feet of babies in order to keep them small in later life. Bonsai is a process of miniaturizing the root system of plants and trees so as to allow the characteristics of a full-grown tree but in a stunted form. Vision must fully mature unstunted.
If we consider these principles in the same way we handle vision, we can see that restriction of the natural growth points of vision will result in a dwarf version of what could have been. There are several factors that will stunt vision and none more so than unnecessary restrictions on the root system.
The root system of any vision is similar and without due awareness and care, we result in a stranglehold that will reduce the life flow needed for natural growth.
Vision is not “for me alone”
In making the switch from leading charitable organization dependent on donations from the public sector, to a small business whose objectives are to make and distribute wealth, has provided some challenges. My core values for living are to provide resources and skills to those who are not in a position to pay for them. I live my life as close as possible to these values.
When I started my practice I made a decision to give away at least ten percent of my teaching resources, finances and skills to benefit others. My site is loaded with tools for coaches to develop their practices without charge. I have another website designed for supporting fellow coaches and I coach at least three individuals without charge at any given month. Saint? No! I have a commitment to the betterment of those around me. My vision is my responsibility, but it must touch others in a way that improves their quality of life and challenges them to do likewise, otherwise I am not seeing the results of the purpose of my vision.
Currently I am designing a website for developing leaders and training coaches.
If all you see is yourself, you missed the plot
A mirror reflects the image it sees and so does vision. What we put into vision will return to the visionary. Living life self-centered is living life at its poorest form. As you have worked through the different aspects of vision, you will become aware of the sovereignty and power that vision has within it. One learns to understand that the vision owns you, not vice-versa.
This means our future is in part way determined by the momentum that vision generates. This is in no way drudgery or chain around our ankle; on the contrary it brings a synergy and empowerment unlike any other purpose. As we identify the true nature of vision, we will view all other activities through this newfound perspective.
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Mental health group can pay only half wages
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The state’s oldest and largest mental health advocacy group is in such deep financial trouble it cannot fully pay its workers.
May 29, 2010
How You Can Manage Your Expectations
By Nicky Michael
When I was a newbie in ‘the game of life,’ I wanted to succeed beyond my wildest dreams. I wanted to make it big and take on the world, all at once. My expectations were so high that not even Jack could reach them on his beanstalk. However, over time, after much frustration and burn out, I shifted to the other extreme by dropping my expectations, and dreams.
The idea of lowering our expectations is a contradiction to the ‘parental voices’ that tells us that we should ‘reach for the stars,’ ‘raise our expectations,’ and ’shoot for the moon.’ In theory, these are excellent ideals when chasing a dream. But, without some control, such ideals can burn you out, create frustration, and literally destroy your drive to attain any goals, lofty or otherwise. We’ve all either been there, or are there.
If you feel like you’ve run into a wall, or bumped your head on the ceiling, your expectations of what should be are probably forcing you to take ‘too big of a bite.’ But, don’t necessarily lower your expectations. Try managing your expectations to keep your dreams alive and continue your pursuit at a reasonable pace. Again, it seems like a contradiction to what we’ve all heard at one time or another. But, actually, there is a way to keep your ultimate goal in sight, while managing your expectations, so that you can keep your sanity and still achieve success in life.
— Look at it! —-
Evel Knievel jumps canyons on various wonder-bikes, for fun! But, don’t think he just hopped on his bike one day and jumped over the Grand Canyon. Consider that he developed his skills over time to execute his lifetime of phenomenal jumps. But, if he had taken the jumps without building up to them, fear and inexperience would have destroyed the stunts. He had to start with small jumps to gain confidence until, eventually, he was able to make his jumps without hesitation.
High expectations can place you in a position of trying to jump your own canyons right out of the gate. Too many failed attempts can lead you to frustration and eventually, complete surrender of your goals. However, if such an attempt should succeed, it could land you in a situation that, while it looked good from a distance, might not be the place where you wanted to land.
— Break it down! —
Before you go too far on that jump across that canyon, make sure that you know exactly where you want to land. It is imperative that you define exactly what it is that you ultimately want in your life. Once you know what you want, break the process to reach this ‘vision’ down into reasonable steps.
Instead of trying to jump the canyon immediately, try jumping a puddle to see if you can do it with confidence. Once you manage the puddle, take what you’ve learned, put it behind you, and go for something just outside of your comfort zone … perhaps a ditch. Such steps allow you to take on smaller pieces of the whole so that you can set reachable goals on the way to your vision.
— Changing directions! —
Not only is this ’stepping stone’ approach to attaining lofty goals and managing high expectations effective in moving you in the right direction, but you might also find that, the destination is something that you didn’t ‘expect.’
Here is the key—’did not expect.’ High expectations set on a vision that is ‘unknown’ can lead you sometimes place you further away from your vision then when you started. We see where we want to go, want so badly to get there, but have no idea what it takes or what it is that we’re pursuing. Even though the vision might be reasonable, it is the perception that we have of the vision that adds unnecessary stress to our daily lives in our pursuit of that vision.
If we take small steps to reach our vision, we can adjust our path along the way. As we move toward and learn more of our ultimate destination, we might find that we don’t want the original vision. We learn that we might instead want the objective about 30 degrees off of our original. By moving along, one goal at a time, we are able to adjust to ensure that we land were we want to on the other side of our canyon.
— Reapplying the expectations! —
We all develop a certain perspective of things based on the way that we’ve been raised, the experiences that we’ve encountered, and the successes or failures that we’ve had in our lives. Based on our perspective, we develop extraordinarily high expectations of things when we’re not sure of the results of our plight or goals in life. These expectations are built up to cover the doubts that we might have about the goal.
Realize that things are what they are, regardless of our perception. But, by accepting things as they are, and not what you would wish them to be, it makes it much easier to maneuver yourself in the direction you want to go. We must sometimes readjust our perspectives, our values and belief systems, to gain some control in our lives and obtain a clearer view of our paths.
— What’s next? —
By taking on small pieces of the whole, we can easily adjust our path along the way. In this way, we must research our goals so that we can understand where we’re going. In breaking up the path into the smaller goals required to reach our vision, our expectations for our vision become clearer and less imperative. By managing our goals in this way, we automatically manage our expectations because we only have expectations of the immediate goal leading us in the direction of our ultimate vision.
Establish a new plan based on the individual components of your overall vision. Try moving forward with this new plan and see what happens. See how the newly managed goals and expectations work in your life and how you feel as you accomplish the smaller goals on the way to your vision.
Not only will managing your expectations provide you with a more solid path to reach your vision, but it will also enhance your quality of life. Instead of being stressed, frustrated, and disappointed, you can now feel good about your forward momentum in your own life because you will know where you’re going and be able to handle the journey.
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