Misaligned

-by Matt Leedham

As many of you know, I injured my back in early May while on the road (in case you were wondering, the ‘regulars’ at Northwestern Memorial ER in Chicago are quite charming). Since that time, I’ve had knee pain and neck pain, and three days ago re-aggravated my back injury. As a result, I’ve needed to take a fair amount of narcotics to ease the pain and the muscle spasms, as well as visit a handful of health professionals including orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and chiropractors (I’ll also be giving acupuncture a run soon).

Regardless of the practitioner I am visiting on any given day, I hear two things that are always the same. Whether it’s the physician, the surgeon, the chiropractor, or the therapist, they take one look at my back and say 1) that I’m ‘misaligned’ and, 2) that my back is ‘not happy.’

Seriously, they say my back is ‘not happy.’ I’m not sure if that’s a medical term they learned in their extensive studies of the human body, but that that’s the term they use. And I’m not poking fun at this term as it very accurately describes what’s going on. I mean, my back is NOT happy. I can tell just by looking in the mirror. My spasms are so bad on the lower left side of my body that my muscles are pulling my spine that way – it looks like an “S” shape. It’s actually quite alarming when you see it for the first time – just ask my wife!

So, as I lay there for hours with heat packs or getting an excruciating deep tissue massage, or am all tangled up in a ridiculous traction machine that pulls my spine apart to relieve pain, I can’t help but notice some similarities between my ‘misaligned’ back and our clients ‘misaligned’ lives. More specifically, if someone is not ‘in alignment,’ this often results in them being ‘not happy.’

When it comes to goal setting, life planning, and dream catching, your own personal alignment is critical or you will not be happy no matter how much you accomplish. There are three components in your life that need to be in alignment to sustain happy progression toward a better life. They are:

1. Core Values. Everyone has core values, but most people are unaware of them or have not taken the time to define them with great clarity.
2. Personal Vision. We find that most people have not clearly defined a future for themselves, however when they do, it must align completely with their core values. To define a vision for the future that is contradictory to any or all of your core values is to set yourself up for unhappiness.
3. Interim Goals. The 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year goals that you set for yourself need to be directly tied to making progress on your Personal Vision and should be reflective of your Core Values.

True alignment among these three components in your life will have you engaging in activities that relevant and productive to both who you are and where you want to go.

Be Authentic

- by Matt Leedham

Authenticity is an interesting word, but an even more fascinating concept. It has Greek roots from autos “self” + hentes “doer, being.” You could interpret this as “being yourself.”

The first step to being yourself is knowing yourself. Have you asked yourself why you are where you are in life? Why you have the things you have? A few years ago, I really started to notice that question pop up in my head. Why did I go to college? Why did I study Sociology? How did I end up in this career path with these possessions? Was it intentional or was it a result of expectations of other people, one after another, that has led me here? Or worse yet, was it a result of pressure from that amorphous group of “other people,” our society, that has led me here.

I started asking myself the tough questions. I started getting myself aligned. I reflected and defined my core values, and then to took the time to ensure my personal vision and the goals I set were in alignment with those core values.

So, if the first step is knowing who you are, the second step must be “doing what you are.” As Seth Godin says in his post on authenticity, “you could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just act like that all the time.” Well said! As we know, actions speak louder than words.

Let go of preconceived categories and labels of what you should be. Reflect on who you are. But most importantly, ACT on what you are. That is being authentic.

Thoughts? Questions? Use the comment section below.

Be Strong

- by Matt Leedham

“You are only as strong as your purpose, therefore let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal.” - Barry Munro

Quick disclaimer: I typically research the quotes I use to be sure that proper credit is given. However, I have Googled and Wiki’ed the heck out of Barry Munro and cannot seem to find a note or description of who this person is or when he said this, but he is credited in multiple locations for this quote. If you have information on Mr. Munro, leave a comment!

Regardless of who Barry Munro is, his words are important to those that seek to set meaningful goals in their lives. In fact, it is perfectly aligned with my post from last week (Dare to be Powerful). The point being, all of us have the potential to be as powerful, strong, and influential as we want to be…all in service of our purpose and vision.

Munro goes on to say “let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal.” Don’t be confused. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t think this means that you need to be the next Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, or Mother Theresa. Your purpose doesn’t need to be ending world hunger, or stopping social genocide (although, hooray for you if it is!). We all have the ability to be strong in our own personal sphere of influence.

Your purpose from which you choose to act may be building a strong family, helping those in your community, sharing your thoughts and creativity with the world, bringing people together collaboratively, or being a great friend to those around you. Whatever your purpose may be, chose reasons to act that are BIG and bold. You might just be surprised how strong you really are.

Please share your thoughts on purpose in the comment section below.

The Importance of Core Values

- by Matt Leedham

Most people look at me sideways when I mention personal values or core values. I’m sure it’s because they either think of the lame corporate values that executives try to push down on their employees, or they think of moral or religious values. Let me spare you all of the spiritual, religious, corporate, or new-age mumbo jumbo and get right to the point – core values have an extremely practical application when it comes to goal setting and goal execution.

Simply put, your personal core values serve as a decision filter for the 10,000+ decisions you make each day. Decisions are conscious choices with real consequences that will either help us achieve our goals, or lead us astray. Unknowingly, most of us make decisions with little to no regard for our personal values. And some decisions carry weight, making it absolutely critical that we have our core values in order before we charge off into another day of a thousand questions.

What are values? How do you come up with your core values?
Start by thinking about someone you admire – either a family member, a friend, or someone you’ve read about in the news or history books. What qualities did they have that made them special? Was it unrelenting integrity? Generosity? Did they put their family first? Were they adventuresome? Why are you drawn to them? Core values can then be determined by the qualities it takes to put those things first in your life. In other words, if presented with two choices, you would choose this value over something else.

Let’s look at an example of how these values might act as your decision filter.
After the birth of your first child last month, you’ve recently put some time into reflecting on your core values, and you review them regularly. Your core values, as you’ve ranked them, are 1) Family First, 2) Service to Others, and 3) Explore the world.

Your best friend calls to tell you that there’s an airfare sale to Las Vegas this weekend and that the two of you should go live it up while prices are cheap. You’ve never been to Vegas and it sure sounds like fun!

What do you do?

Does going to Vegas on the spur of the moment fit your core values? It’s a new city, and would meet your criteria for value #3. But clearly, leaving your spouse behind with a newborn violates your most important core value.

Image Courtesy of Destination360

What makes it so clear is defining your values prior to the tough decisions. If you haven’t taken the time to think about and write down your values, these decisions become murky and all of sudden you find yourself at the craps table in Mandalay Bay.

Living your personal values takes discipline, but if practiced over time, you will find yourself “living from the core” and grounded in making the right choices in your life.

Next question to ask – how will your core values impact what you choose as your life goals this year?

Aligning your core values and personal goals will dramatically increase your likelihood for success and happiness.