We are hurtling through space at 67,000 mph while spinning at 1,000 mph... all while moving with the sun around the center of the galaxy, as it drifts through space. Perhaps then it's no wonder the fast pace of change we see all around us, or why it is that movement is not only important, it's vital. To add vitality to individuals and to companies, movement is key. If you find yourself or your department stuck or fatigued, try movement.
Hit the gym, the stairs, or the parking lot and take brisk walks, jogs, or other vigorous exercise together while thinking about the problem to resolve, or the opportunity before you. This never fails to work for my company. We may be lethargic around a certain area of endeavor and out of solutions, concerned that we do not have time to go to the gym because we're behind schedule.
But no amount of caffeine-infused meetings will help as quickly as a shift in energy through movement. So next time you find yourself or your department stuck on something that's not productive, take yourselves--and the issue--to the gym...pound it out on the treadmill, push into the weights, and come back ready for a dynamic brainstorming to accomplish more in less time!
Movement represents growth and growth is a universal principle. If we're not moving and growing we are unhealthy and stagnant. The principle of movement is essential for healthy bodies and applies equally to individuals and to corporations. The great news about this simple tool is that it's free. So get off the chair, pick up a couple dumbbells and do a few sets of squats. If this feels a bit silly, consider how it's not nearly as silly as eating a mixture of flour, sugar and oil, dunked into hot grease!
Dumbbells, not donuts. Nothing lasts forever. No currency, no government, no corporation, no healthcare system... no-thing organic lasts forever as it is. It's not supposed to. At the very core of our existence, from the tiniest particles, called quarks, to our galaxy and beyond, the consistent theme is movement and change.
So if something isn't working in our lives, relationships, corporations, health...whatever it may be, that's the good news. It's good news because that's advanced warning that change is needed. We missed this principle recently in one of my companies. We have vacation rental property in Costa Rica, and the change that we missed was the water bill: it was unusually high, and getting higher over three months.
We complained about the increase, and queried the property managers about it, but no one really changed what we were doing or investigated it more deeply. The answers didn't really satisfy the issue, but we let it go rather than push through that resistance when we should have.
Then there was a landslide. What?! A landslide in Costa Rica in the dry season? That didn't make sense! It turns out that there had been an earthquake a couple months before that had ruptured the underground water pipes. The change we noticed did not get our attention enough. If we had tuned into that first big red flag, it would have saved a lot in time and repair expenses.
Like exercise...taking the time to exercise up front is not convenient, but it's a whole lot better than the time it takes to be sick by letting a problem go. Resistance is necessary for growth. Resistance allows our tires to move the car along the road, or our muscles and bones to get strong from the resistance of weight in lifting and of gravity in jumping.
So resistance is a natural law: the right kind of resistance helps us to grow strong. Motion is a natural law: our universe is in constant motion. Balance is a natural law: without balance, the earth would not remain in orbit around the sun, stable on its axis. Healthcare is not the issue. Health is. Wellness is.
Living in accordance--or out of accordance-with nature-with the divine order of the universe, is a problem. When things get too far out of balance, a fall is inevitable before the imbalance can again be righted... unless we're agilely able to tap-dance our way back to stability, through quick steps in the direction of recovery and resolution. Today's problems are the billboards of our age, screaming to bring our attention to the warbles in our systems.
The signs say it's time to get off the road well traveled, because it's deteriorating and we need to take another route. Besides, our tires are retreads and they're wearing out too. But there's good news here. These warning signs are supposed to get our attention. They are the 'Construction Work Ahead' signs, and the flashing 'Hazard' lights, all telling us to pay attention... to be alert... to wake up to the need to take a new route.
We've had fair warning. The journey beyond the exit ramp may not be all paved and it might be time to down-shift, engage the four-wheel drive and then accelerate. We might run out of gas, and we might need to get out and push. We might need to slog through some mud, and we might need to keep on going when we're ready to stop, and when we're not sure of the way.
If this were a weekend, we'd call it an off-road adventure. So back at work, why not see it the same way... only just a bit cleaner. Usually.Like a four-wheel drive vehicle, the more each unit within the system is empowered to do, the more the vehicle can accomplish in rough terrain. Four wheels, all working toward the same destination, while independently capable and engaged.
Corporations are systems of people and the larger the system-or vehicle-whether it's a human body, a van, an 18-wheeler, the Titanic, or a corporation, the slower it moves, turns, and changes. Thus, heeding the signs along the way is all the more essential, when the turn radius is slower. Even as obesity threatens the health of an individual, so too can it threaten the health of a company.
In nature, when things get too big, they fail. Today, corporations regain agility through decentralization for greater autonomy and individual power to work and achieve within departments, departments within divisions, and divisions within the corporation. The more in alignment with natural laws, the greater power is unleashed at each level of an organization or an individual.
Engage your full corporate body in workouts and you will have a stronger corporation. We might, on occasion, lose our way, but the more fit, agile, and prepared we are for change by being alert, awake and open to adventure, the greater our progress will be and the more we will learn along the way. This journey can be fun, if we are open to it. If we resist the new route and the need to sometimes forge our path, then it will all be drudgery.
If we are excited to take on the new and explore, experiment and even make mistakes, then we are in for some really good times.We've had an economic wake-up call... and we have a healthcare wake-up call. Do you think these two are connected?
In the universal scheme of things, natural law does not mandate that others should manage our lives for us, nor pay for our poor decisions, nor feed us if we choose not to work. The natural order does not force knowledge down the throat of the reluctant student, nor force vision upon one who will not see.
If we observe and contemplate nature, these and more shall we see. Our destiny as humans is to do, and become ever-increasingly, the best of these. What is the destiny of your corporation? Your department? That destiny, that purpose, becomes the sun around which all in your company orbits and is that which forms the flow of all things within your corporate solar system.
The good news is that signs are everywhere and we have time. Time for action. For motion. For exercise. For agility. For endurance. For courage. For strength. We have time to recover and reorient forward to a natural state of elevated balance, and that which is not a part of your corporate mission becomes that which is thrown off during orbit, as the water flees the laundry during the centrifugal spin cycle, and what remains is cleaner, fresher, and ready for the next cycle.
The heart patient who has had the mild heart attack has been forewarned. This is good news because now he's awake. The cancer patient who has recovered... this is good news, because now she is well, AND awake. When the road is too smooth, it's easier to fall asleep at the wheel.
So heed the billboards and hazard signs, take the exit ramp to new vistas, shift into four-wheel drive, bounce into the rough new terrain and feel the thrill of this adventure called life. Reawaken from the slumber of safe to attend to this new and challenging journey. That's the good news economy. Let's hit the floor running and enjoy the journey!
About The Author
LeAura Alderson is CEO of My Trainer Fitness, publisher of do-it-yourself workouts to-go on laminated cards in books of 24 and packs of 6 complete workouts for accessible anywhere fitness for corporate benefits, incentives, and premiums. For orders and motivational presentations, contact: LeAura@MyTrainerFitness.com. www.MyTrainerFitness.com
