This specific episode is, “Have You Already Peaked (is it downhill from here)?”
Is the best of your life already over? Remember when…? Back in the Good Ole Days… I used to be… Those who live in the past are prevented from experiencing the present. The challenge is that the past does not exist. It is a memory, a shared story, a photo, a memento; yet it is not tangible today. It is part of who we are but it does not define who we are. When our past had wonderful, extraordinary accomplishments it presents an additional opportunity for us to challenge ourselves to redefine our present day value. If a person is publicly known (and identified) by their past accomplishments it presents a unique situation. On one hand, the person is proud of the past accolades yet they understand that it is their burden to craft a broader, richer, updated and more sophisticated identity than a shorthand public image. In many ways this is similar to the burden we all share to cut through shorthand stereotypes and force ourselves (and other people) to see us as a multi-faceted individual and not a simple caricature. We are not simply “former homecoming queen,” “woman,” “Olympic medalist,” etc. We are more than our past and our particular identifiers.We have dreams, goals, fears, hopes, favorite foods, stupid jokes and an array of yet to be discovered talents. New adventures await us. We must take up the mantle of our own value and fight to redefine ourselves. The past shackles many people in apathy and disappointment. (“I’ll never live up to that again.”) We are susceptible to that “glory day, groundhog day” syndrome (the desire and action to relive the same past days of glory over and over again). We must admit and acknowledge that no matter what we achieved in the past, it is just [...] You are craving a new mountain to climb. This series, “SATISFACTION SATURATION™”, is for you. We will address the challenges in reaching the SATISFACTION SATURATION state in regards to specific experiences, how to recognize it, how to treat it, how to prevent it, and how to handle the feedback from other people (“Must be nice to have that job, that house, that car, that award,” etc.).
This specific episode is, “I Am Successful. I Am NOT Happy. Why?” 1) You are not successful if you are not happy. 2) Why did you do the things to be partially successful? To please others? Because they were easy for you? As per number one above, if you are in a prolonged, chronic state of unhappiness, you are not successful. The entire purpose of our “Joyful Art of Business” practice is to prevent an outcome where we have some limited success (in prestige, income, accolades, reputation, etc.) and we are miserable. We should focus on our emotional and psychological return on our investment (ROI) of time and resources in our work endeavors. That means that we do not accept a job or professional opportunity because “everyone thinks we should” or because “it is what our parents wanted for us.” We are going to monitor our individual feelings and reactions to our work. If we dread our work and have a headache every time we go to our office, we need to make some changes. We should have some level of anticipation and excitement about the work that we do! We all are aware of stories of rich [...] You are craving a new mountain to climb. This series, “SATISFACTION SATURATION™”, is for you. We will address the challenges in reaching the SATISFACTION SATURATION state in regards to specific experiences, how to recognize it, how to treat it, how to prevent it, and how to handle the feedback from other people (“Must be nice to have that job, that house, that car, that award,” etc.).
This specific episode is, “I Am Used To Having Things MY WAY and I Have NO PATIENCE When They Aren't. Help Me!" Who are we after an extended time period of being catered to by others? When we get used to having our needs and desires met (because we are the boss, the important client, the well paying supporter, etc.) it may result in us starting to believe that we deserve to be catered to and treated as a “special” person. We get used to having our meals served as we prefer and not having to wait in lines (because we are granted special access or we pay for extra convenience). Our ability to tolerate discomfort and to simply wait passively for attention is reduced. We start to think that any obstacle in our path is simply a temporary issue that with money or other resources will be removed from our life. We know that we can often leverage our income and/ or power to make our lives easier. This is one of the primary reasons we made the sacrifices that we did to surpass our goals! We treat ourselves to our favorite experiences and why not? Yet, we are quick to anger and become frustrated when we hear that magic word that no human likes directed towards their request, “No.” We hear this word more rarely now (for some it is a faint memory from an earlier time that they try to forget). Everyone is usually so “nice” to us (asking us if we need anything, checking on our preferences, paying attention to us, etc.). Instead of that dreaded word “no”, in a stressful situation (where we are not immediately receiving what we desire) we may be told, “let me see what I can do for you.” We change our thinking and behavior and start to expect attentive deference. Why not? We pay top dollar. We are a great customer or client. Why shouldn’t we be treated as someone who is important by employees, vendors, and even family or friends who we “help” with our guidance and generosity? The prolonged exposure to having our needs and desires met, to not hearing “No” may result in us becoming intolerant, impatient and a pathetic caricature of the pampered, incessantly demanding and insensitive “successful” person. STOP! We are not that spoiled, insipid, whiny baby who always has to have things our way. So, why are we acting like that? “As a person’s levels of wealth increase, their feelings of compassion and empathy go down, and their feelings of entitlement, of deservingness, and their ideology of self-interest increases,” (http://blog.ted.com/2013/12/20/6-studies-of-money-and-the-mind/) How did this happen? Because [...] You did it! You climbed that mountain (literally and/ or figuratively) and you are now resting at the summit. Breathe in that sweet air of accomplishment! Very nice. Okay, you take it all in (the view from here, the beauty, the joy of surpassing your goals, etc.). Feels awesome. Wait, are you starting to feel a bit bored? What are you going to do next? You could do nothing. You have already proven yourself and achieved many things in life. Why aren’t you simply resting on your laurels? What is the itch, the craving for the next part? It is SATISFACTION SATURATION™ and you are experiencing it.
You have “been there, done that and have the t-shirt.” You do not want anymore of this mountain. It has reached a point of saturation (as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, “the act or result of supplying so much of something that no more is wanted”). You are craving a new mountain to climb. This series, “SATISFACTION SATURATION™”, is for you. We will address the challenges in reaching the SATISFACTION SATURATION state in regards to specific experiences, how to recognize it, how to treat it, how to prevent it, and how to handle the feedback from other people (“Must be nice to have that job, that house, that car, that award,” etc.). This specific episode is, “I am financially comfortable! How do I stop that from making me complacent?” Is it a “real problem” for someone to worry about being complacent if they have financial resources? Yes. Have you ever known about a person with wealth who hurt themselves (or even self-destructed)? Abuse of alcohol, drugs, food. Addictions. Greed. Being victimized by people. We know the story so well. It is partially due to the challenges that we face when we accomplish financial stability. We forget, in our quest to surpass our goals, to examine how our lives will change after we accomplish what we set out to do! How will our options and daily decisions change once we live out our dreams? What do we do afterwards? Striving for financial independence takes up an enormous amount of time and energy (budgeting, working, saving, planning, commuting, visualizing, sacrificing, etc.). Once we achieve it, how do we adjust to all of the time and energy that we now have available? When we no longer “have to” work for income, will we? When we have the financial resources available for our current situation, short term and long term goals (and those of our descendants and/ or charities, etc.), how do we fill our days? How do we fill our dreams? Do we stop dreaming? Do we stop... |
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