Sunday, April 15, 2007

A Personal Mission Statement? What Is It? How Will It Help Me? Tools to Build One.




A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT? WHAT IS IT?

It is a brief description of who you are and what you wish to accomplish including what actions you will take and the time frame you will do it all in.

There are many ways to write them and many versions, but basically they consist of two parts:
  1. What do I want to accomplish?
  2. What strenths and talents do I have that I want to use and build on?

Stephen Covey describes a personal mission statement as, "an adventure of self-discovery" a chance to " connect with your own unique purpose and the profound satisfaction in fulfilling it".

It is a statement that can guide how you live your life and is deeply rooted in your values and signature strengths.

HOW WILL IT HELP ME?

  • Writing one helps you focus on what matters most to you in your life.
  • Research shows that just the act of sitting down and writing out your thoughts leads to greater accomplishment.
  • Awareness of your values and strengths gives you the opportunity to make more satisfying life choices.
  • Living your mission will increase your effectiveness in life because you will use your strengths and talents and seek out ways to express them.

As Earl Nightengale says, "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It is as simple as that."

GREAT TOOLS ON THE INTENET TO HELP YOU WRITE ONE:

There are two very helpful websites that have tools to help you write your own personal mission statements: www.franklincovey.com and www.nightengale.com

Both have tools where you answer a series of questions that lead you to identifying core values, choosing actions that express those values, and setting goals. They also have products they want you to learn about, but the mission statement process is free and very helpful.

USEFUL BOOKS: If you prefer to read and use a book to help you accomplish this, here are two classics to get you going:

  • Covey, Stephe R. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press First Edition, 1989.

  • Jones, Laurie Beth, The Path: Creating YOur Mission Statement for Work and for Life
    Hyperion, 1998.

Monday, April 9, 2007

MSCR (Madison Community Recreation Department) Not Just For Kids!



The Madison Community Recreation Department (MSCR) www.mscr.org is a great place for people 50+ to expand your world, make friends and learn new skills, all at a reasonable cost.

The programs and classes are open to everyone,
(If you live outside the Madison Metropolitan School District the course are available at a slightly increased cost.)

MSCR offers a whole smorgasbord of fitness classes in the Goodman 50+ Stay Active and Alive Program, ranging from pilates and tai chi to belly dancing; golf, tennis, stretching, nature walks, bird walks, history walks --all kinds of fitness classes to help you incorportate more activity into your life.

Research shows that one of the best ways to retain mental abilities is to do some form of physical activity for a half hour 3 times a week. These programs help you achieve that goal, and meet interesting people too.


Team Sports? For those who enjoy team sports they sponsor adult vollyball, baseball, softball, golf and tennis leagues.

Artistic? Always wanted to learn to draw? Paint? Digital photography? Throw pots?

They offer all those classes, and for pottery there is a chance to fire your pots in a wood fired kiln, where you join others in keeping a woodfire kiln going for 14 hours to create the magic that makes art.

Love plays? They have bus trips where you can join others traveling to theatres in the surrounding area to see great shows like the Lion King.

Grandkids? Want to learn with your grandchildren? They offer intergenerational classes.

Give back? Volunteer? They also have many opportunities if you want to get involved and become a Friend of MSCR- You can learn to drive a pontoon boat, help a child with a disability exercise, tutor a middle school child, or get involved in helping to offer all these great programs.

You can even enroll online, just go to their online catalog
www.mscr.org

Classes for spring and summer are enrolling now.
It is always better to sign up early so that there are enough participants for a class to be held.






Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Voluntary Simplicity, an Antidote to Worry about "The Number"


The press is filled these days with stories that focus on just how much one needs to have accumulated to "retire" successfully. There is even a book titled "The Number" that talks about how people are very focused on just how large this nest egg must be to sustain their lifestyle. We are bombarded these days with messages in the media urging us to plan ahead, invest and attend to accumulating more and investing more and obtaining more and never really ask...

What for? To what end? Is this what will make me truly happy?


There is fascinating new research in the positive psychology movement that shows truly that after basic needs are met that more money does not mean more happiness. Research shows that that accumulating is not the path to fulfillment.

So what does make people happy?

Research done by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author of Finding Flow shows that being engaged in meaningful activities that use your skills and abilities leads to greater life satisfaction. Richard Johnson, PhD who has studied life satisfaction in "retirement" has found that having a life purpose and giving back, contributing to others, are key elements in life satisfaction. Cornell University conducted a study and it found what people miss most in retirement is purposeful activities with others.

So chasing the Number won't get you where you want to go.... what will?

An exciting alternative you might wish to check out is the Voluntary Simplicity Movement.

Wikipedia defines "Simple living (or voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle individuals may pursue for a variety of motivations, such as
spirituality, health, or ecology. "

People choose to live simply for reasons of social justice, personal taste, fairness or economy. It is also referred to as downshifting. An example of this, is moving to a smaller home after the kids are raised because you just don't need all that space. Shopping the resale shops to buy the clothes you need, recycling, basically focusing on experiences and relationships rather than accumulating things.

The movement has been around since the 1980's, Duane Elgin's book, Voluntary Simplicity is the book that started it all. But now with attention to global warming and people concerned about their carbon footprints and sustainability there are increasing opportunities to learn about it, and explore this lifestyle choice.

Here in Madison, Sustain Dane sponsors classes teaching ways to live simply.

There are classes starting this month!

Voluntary Simplicity Course forming - call Ann at 819-0689 if interested


Dates: TBD (sometime in April)

Location: TBD - west side of Madison, also Willy St. Co-op possible locations


Sponsors: Sustain Dane

Contact: Ann Scheerer 608.819.0689 Email: Sustain Dane
Web site:
http://www.sustaindane.org


Course description:
This 9-session discussion course explores the meaning of voluntary simplicity, explores the material and psychology distractions that prevent us from caring for the earth, consider how life might be enriched through the practice of simplicity. Contact
www.sustaindane.org for more information.