This is the second in my series of sharing the BIG THREE lessons learned lately. The first was focusing on solutions not problems. Today I want to talk about tension, attention, and intention. Applying the right one at the right time has given me great control over my chaos.

T. Falcon Napier and me in front of his ChangeGrid®

Meet T. Falcon Napier. As trainer, coach, and friend, T.’s  a major influence in my life and career .  Many of my individual clients and work teams use the ChangeGrid®  to “see” the conversations they are having about mission critical activities. Solutions and outcomes important to your mission or purpose are your mission critical activities. T. invented and trained me to map the subjective experience of your ability to complete the activity in relation to the way you perceive the challenge of that activity. The result literally pictures your level of tension. What T. discovered and I have validated time and time again is

You pay attention to where you find your tension! 

 

 

Think back to your last panic attack. It wasn’t fun, I’m sure. But you’ll recognize your attention was locked on to whatever horror movie was fueling your tension. Now erase that picture, and remember the last time you were head-over-heals in love, or so absorbed in the “zone” that you were in a sate of flow. Tension and attention were high and focused.

The more there is on my “To-Do” List, the more I rely on the ChangeGrid® to maximize my control. The last time my plate was overflowing I completed a ChangeGrid when starting and when ending my day. I could see what to focus on to build my confidence and energy and what I needed help with. When I became one of my best Life Coaches, I knew I had something of value to offer you. Want to accomplish something? Maximize your tension, and your attention will lock onto it.

What about “intention?” I very much like what Peter Block wrote in The Answer to How is Yes,

“The primary concern here is the world that we create collectively,
for when we commit to bringing our deepest selves to the table,
we are transformed by the act of creating something together
that we cannot create alone.”

 

 

So living by our deepest intentions is living in the service of what you value – what matters to you. Having the intention of coming to understand what’s important to you is a great first step. I felt pretty empty until I found my voice and heard my own words. I’m honored to be with others who are now in the process. Here’s one of mine:

 

If most of the day is spend living by the stories we tell ourselves, I want to bring some miraculous stories to life. The idea of spending my life contributing to others what I learn from continuing to grow up and wake up is a legacy worth leaving.

Would you like someone to engage with you as you define and accomplish what’s important to you? Would you like a no-cost opportunity to see your mission critical activities on a ChangeGrid®? Email me from here.