13
October
Reflection on the journey of being our best
Way back in the beginning of March 2012, in my introductory blog, I invited you to join me on to the following journey:
“So … join me on this journey of exploration on what makes us being the best we can be. It will be a journey in which I’d love to share my insights and experiences obtained regarding my personal journey to date within this ever changing world we live in. I will do that with the belief that within this journey some new insights will also emerge from within your own being.”
Having now explored this journey of being our best within the context of a journey framework and the proposed roles to adopt in supporting a balanced approach towards this journey. Also highlighting the importance of being in the attitude of gratitude as well as being in action, whilst managing our travelling companion called the ego.
I now would like to open the floor, so to speak, to invite your comments on your exploring the journey with me so far, whatever your experiences may be. You can do that as a response on this blog page. I would love you to share your experiences with the reading community of this blog and for further reflection by myself on this blog for the benefit of the community.
If you aspire to personally take this journey of being your best to the next level, please feel free to email me directly on dirk@frontiercoaching.co.za so that, via the appropriate medium, I can within a coaching context support you to have you realise this aspiration.
I thank You.
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
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05
August
Our travelling companion called the ego
Within our journey of being our best, we have a travelling companion which is our own “ego”.
This companion has started to appear in our early childhood by a process of personalisation that is constructed according to the norms of society and managed by the good intentions of our parents, teachers and influencers within our community ... this is the way we [including yourself] are and do things around here! We therefore need it as our basic interface to this world in order to survive within it. Eventually, the ego also takes over our sense of identity in the form of a personality ... our personality.
Subsequently, your ego, as your travelling companion, suggests your sense of who you are, and who you are not ... how you see yourself ... the roles you have to play in life.
However, your ego is not you ... it is simply an “adopted” sense of self overshadowing your essential and authentic being which was there from the day you were born. Without this ego we would have ultimate freedom to simply BE, with no limitations of who we “think” and “feel” we are or are not!
There are distinct characteristics differentiating the presence of an egocentric person versus a egoless person. An egoless person is a person where the ego is normalised to its basic interface role and is transparent to the presence of one’s essential and authentic being.
An egocentric person has a “sense of separation” from the community he or she lives in. In order to survive there is a need for command and control in order to protect this position. It’s about the exclusive me, or the shared we as an exclusive club; having conditional relationships in the form of bartering – I will do this for you if you do this for me. He or she operates from reason and emotion as thinking and contracted feeling. In essence the egocentric person always wants to be right and to look good, hence the others must be wrong and look bad if challenged.
The egoless person has a “sense of oneness” with the community he or she lives in. This lead to acceptance and trust as well as surrender to the higher being within. It’s about being inclusive, expressed as us, within the community; having relationships with unconditional love as a basis. He or she operates from intuition expressed as an inherent knowing and sublime feeling.
So, the question now is that within our journey of being our best, do I “own” and manage this travelling companion ... or does it own and manage me ?
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»15
July
Being in action
Having a journey framework with regards to goals, opportunities, attitude, challenges and persistence is great for supporting you in being your best, as dealt with in my previous blog entries. However, these frameworks will not help you as intended if you are not committed to using them.
I have found that commitment in whatever venture you care to pursue is fundamentally important to maximise the probability of making it happen successfully. I have learned that commitment, within this context of discussion, is simply: “being in action to realise results”. Being committed is not wondering about it but is actually doing something about it with a goal in mind. This something can be active planning for it, preparing for it, resourcing it, and eventually walking the talk by doing it. These are all forms of commitment.
What is actually happening whilst being in action is that, as referenced by WH Murray, an established mountaineer, a context is created that attracts all manner of support to realise the outcome of your action. An analogy to that is that the moment a copper wire [the person] is moving [being in action] through a magnetic field [universal law] an electrical potential [context] is manifested that leads to the occurrence of an electrical current [all manner of support] – which is the principle used to generate power for consumption [for realising the outcome].
This manner of support is experienced in the form of the synchronicity of events as well as auspicious conditions and circumstances taking place, that enables you to better realise results. Hence, the importance of being in action (commitment) to maximise the probability of realising results by attracting auspicious conditions and circumstances enabling the latter.
Furthermore, being in purposeful action, draws your attention to the presence in which that action takes place. Consequently, your attention is away from memories of the past and anticipation of the future; bringing a sense of peace and fulfilment within the Isness of that action.
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
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29
June
Being in the attitude of gratitude
It has been a while since my last blog entry ie the 13th of June, mainly due to family and medical reasons. However, I am back on line so to speak.
Since my last entry I have been overwhelmed, and humbled, with amazing responses to the material I have shared. I have not realised until now the number people that are looking for and are in need of as well as having appreciation for such material. Due to personal time constraints I cannot personally respond to each and every reply. Never the less, I thank you all for taking your time to read and reply to this blog. Hence the introduction of today’s blog. By the way, I had one reply on my spelling abilities within my writing. Please note that I am currently residing in South Africa and am using South African English.
As my main theme for now is our journey for being our best from a more principled perspective I am grateful that there is such a community in the world that can appreciate the value of that. A lot has been referenced regarding the principle of gratitude, specifically by writers and compilers like Eric Butterworth on Spiritual Economics - the Prosperity Process, Sandra Anne Taylor on Quantum Success, and Rhonda Byrne (The Secret) in her latest book called The Magic; as well as having released a while ago a Gratitude Journal which I use personally. Most motivational and spiritual writers do reference having an “Attitude of Gratitude” as the basis for a joyful as well as a successful life.
My take on this is that there is also a huge distinction between being grateful for all that you have and being grateful in all that you have, whatever little that may be. I chose to take on the latter distinction as the principled attitude of gratitude to live by. The reason for that is by having an attitude of gratitude for a specific thing is placing your focus and state of joy conditionally and dependent on that specified something, and therefore outside yourself. On the other hand being grateful in all things, places your focus and state of joy within yourself, appreciating the presence of it, but not becoming depended on it!
The Greek philosopher Plato said, more than 2500 years ago: A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things. My insight here is that a grateful person is also attracting great things because he is just being grateful unconditionally in all things.
So, what does this mean for you to be grateful?
What needs to happen or has to be in place in order for you to be grateful?
In order for you to come to an answer that is personally meaningful to you; I invite you to reflect on the above for say 5 minutes per day for a 3 to 4 days. You may find that the answer coming to you on the last day is the answer from the heart, from your true self!
I also invite you to share some of your answers on this blog - if this would be to the benefit of the community as a whole.
As always ... it remains you choice to do so.
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»13
June
Roles to adopt in supporting a balanced approach towards living your journey (continue)
On my previous blog entry I touched on basic roles that can be adopted to support a balanced approach towards being your best, which are:
- Being a Health Maintainer
- Being a Principled Individual
- Being a Family Member
- Being a Profession Practitioner
There are 3 more basic roles with associated affirmations that will complete this balanced approach, and they are:
- Profession Educator:
I am enabling practitioners of my profession in their work through teaching, coaching, and sharing knowledge and experiences I have gained in this profession.
- Enterprise Member:
I am contributing to the realisation of the mission of the Enterprise and relevant projects by executing my work with joy according to the precepts of my profession, as well as within the context of agreed assignments.
- Community Member:
I am adding value to the well-being of my community through participation and contribution of my efforts and resources in specific community initiatives and structures.
It is my experience that these seven roles do bring out the best in you, if you are and remain committed to the affirmation that comes with it. Again, if you would choose to pursue this approach, what will it take to adopt these affirmations on a continuous basis to the best of your abilities?
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»31
May
Roles to adopt in supporting a balanced approach towards living your journey
As we move along our journey towards being our best, we also need to be cognisant of certain roles that can be adopted to support a balanced approach towards living this journey.
It is my point of view that the following roles, with an associated affirmation, will do just that and they are:
- Being a Health Maintainer:
"I maintain good health and fitness in body (physical) and mind (mental/ emotional/social)"
- Being a Principled Individual:
"I express self respect, including respect for others, as well as the drive and confidence for pursuing and actualising “principle Centred Living” in my day-to-day walk of life."
- Being a Family Member:
"I accept my family role with grace and do the ‘right things right’, pertaining to such a role, in harmony with the other family member roles."
- Being a Profession Practitioner
"I take command of the subject matter of my profession and practice it to the benefit of the enterprise I work with, as well as to the community I live in."
Herewith then 4 basic roles supporting a balanced approach towards living the journey of being the best you can be.
There are 3 more basic roles that will complete this balanced approach, but to be reviewed in my next blog. In the mean time, if you would choose to pursue this approach, what will it take to adopt these affirmations to the best of your abilities?
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»19
May
Journey Framework: Being Persistent
In my blog dated 19th March 2012, I made reference to a specific journey that needs to be followed in order to successfully realise the experience of being your best. In it, I posed the following questions:
“What needs to happen along the way in order for you to be appropriately positioned to effectively address this journey? What is the framework of operation required to successfully make it through this journey?
My point of view on this framework is as follows:
- That there are clear goals made as milestones on which to focus !
- That opportunities for realizing those goals are recognised along the way !
- That the appropriate attitude is obtained to approach those opportunities with !
- That the challenges are identified that lie ahead of us !
- That the courage to deal with those challenges is in place !
- That, above all, there is persistency to see the journey through !
If one follows this framework of operation, the probability for me is high that one can journey successfully towards being the best you can be. Can you be with this possibility?”
So far in my blog writing I have dealt with the framing of the above, but on one aspect of this framework I have not yet commented on, and that is the value of persistency to see the journey through.
Many a word has been said about persistence. The SA Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as to continue firmly or obstinately on a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. A Japanese proverb on persistence states: “Fall seven times, stand up eight!” Even as far as the 13th century, a known English saying at that time was: “ constant dropping wears away a stone”. The most perceptible reference to persistence for me is the following: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins ... not through strength, but through persistence.”
Persistence for me is like the stamina of the road runner to see a marathon through, being in it for the long haul, to be constantly at it with whatever strength you may have at that moment to reach your destination – by just keeping on doing your best, whatever your best is at that moment, in faith that it is within you to reach your destination in due course!
Can you be with this possibility of persistence ?
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»06
May
Journey Framework: Being courageous
An old English proverb of the early 19th century states that “You never know what you can do till you try it”.
As we facing our challenges, some by force or by choice, there is always an initial reluctance to deal with the issues at hand. The reason being the anticipated difficulty, fear of failure or even the unknown that one has to deal with. That is when courage needs to be summoned from within to get us through it.
Courage has been defined as the ability to do something that frightens one, as well as to act on one’s convictions and believes despite danger or disapproval ... even to lose sight of the shore ... or the familiar.
Subsequent to that, J. M. Barrie even states the importance of courage being: “Courage is the thing. All goes if courage goes!”.
What stands out from the above is that courage is an ability to act, regardless of fear, but sourced from your convictions and believes. In the words of Joyce Meyer: “ ... to seize victory by stepping out to do it afraid!”.
So, on deciding to take up the challenge to be the best you can be in any or specific situation, have you got the believe to source your courage from and to do it whatever it takes? If so then choose to do it!
As such, let then our motto be – within the presence of my thru self and my convictions, I have the courage and subsequently the strength to take on this challenge, continue with it and to complete it to the best of my abilities.
With reference to my opening statement, let me conclude with the following words – you never know what challenges you can deal with till you choose to deal with it from within the courage of your convictions.
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2011
»16
April
Journey Framework: Being aware of challenges
As opportunities come along our way, are we also aware of the challenges that accompanies them?
Challenges can take on different forms like:
- - having a limited duration to complete this opportunity in
- - having to deal with a level of complexity regarding the execution of this opportunity
- - having limited resources to work with.
Sometimes the environment itself, to realise this opportunity in, is so challenging that only a few people will want to do it and succeeding at it, i.e. “anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm”. However, it is in accepting a challenge that one consciously lives and is called to be your best. Betty Davis frankly states that: “The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he's dead.”.
To be challenged is also to be put outside your comfort zone. Perhaps it is when we are out of our comfort zones that we experience ourselves the most. This is well described in the words of C. Joybel C.
“I have realized; it is during the times I am far outside my element that I experience myself the most. That I see and feel who I really am, the most! I think that's what a comet is like, you see, a comet is born in the outer realms of the universe! But it's only when it ventures too close to our sun or to other stars that it releases the blazing "tail" behind it and shoots brazen through the heavens!”
It is also during challenging times that I have the opportunity to measure myself on where I am on being my best.
So, with opportunities come challenges ... are you up to the challenge?
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
»09
April
Journey Framework: Holding an appropriate attitude
As we progress in our journey towards being the best we can be, it is important to recognize the opportunities for improvement along the way, even in the midst of difficult situations.
However, attitude plays an important role in seeing such opportunities as well as our ability to engage and deal with them successfully or to avoid them all together.
The Oxford dictionary defines attitude as: a way of thinking or feeling with subsequent behaviour, indicative of a particular state of mind. Lou Tice in his course on ‘Investment in Excellence’ further describe attitude as: “an internal, emotional opinion we have towards someone or something, which affects our outside action, causing us to lean towards something (positive attitude), or lean away from and avoid something (negative attitude).”
Helen Keller relates attitude to keeping your face to the sunshine so that you cannot see the shadows. Now, within the context of her thinking, having a positive attitude towards opportunities for improvement will not only provide the light to see them, but also not to be unduly distracted by the difficulties surrounding them, those shadows pertaining to these “frightful things” along your way.
In addition, by approaching the opportunity in a positive light and with a commitment to actively embrace this opportunity, a context is created that attracts all manner of support to realise this opportunity. In the words of WH Murray, an established mountaineer: ”That the moment one definitely commits, then providence moves to. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred ... raising ones favour all manner of assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”
The question now is: how do we get and maintain the appropriate attitude as described above? If our attitude is an outcome of a particular state of mind, by changing our state of mind we change our attitude. Furthermore, Dr William Glasser states: “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behaviour” and engage in that new behaviour (or action) over a period of time.
A way then to change your state of mind is to express an affirmative statement regarding your willingness to see opportunities along your way, which in turn creates a context that supports your subsequent commitment for action in order to consolidate this change of mind .... if it is your choice to do so.
Henry Ford states: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”
However, according to John C. Maxwell “You are only an attitude away from success!”
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
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