Ripple Riddle 1 – Reflections on the daily grind, cell phones, lattes and irritating people

Ripple Question 1 – How can I tell what kind of ripple I am being toward myself? 

I took my irritation to the gym this morning so it could have a change of scenery. It could work out on the bike instead of on me. How did I know I was irritated? Could not focus on anything else but. I listened in on the conversation going on in my head. “Learning how to do this blog thing is hard. Figuring out how much to edit my book before releasing it on the blog is frustrating.”

I know when I’m skipping steps, trying to get to the end before I’ve barely explored the beginning. “Evolution is a journey… blah, blah, blah.”

So what did all this listening in do for me?

1. It told me I feel frustrated with what I am trying to do because it’s new for me. Did you know that adults learning anything new are the biggest whiners? Or is that only me? We don’t like not being good at something immediately. It is uncomfortable. Yeah, it’s why most of us don’t change our behavior much until its affects are glaring us in the face. I mean kudos to Courtenay Love. She saw what 182 lbs looked like and then did something about it. Immediately. Set up a plan and followed it. Now if she can be that disciplined, can’t you and I? So if I feel frustrated about something, I better do something about it right?

2. The hard part can be figuring out what to do, rather than continuing to roll around in the frustration like a pig enjoying it’s mud puddle. So what do I do after listening, hearing frustration and accepting that’s what my ripple is about today? Think of one thing I can do to alleviate that frustration. Now I have a rule here. You may like to have some new rules for yourself here too. The solution to the frustration will not come from: eating, shopping, sugar, taking it out on someone else, channel surfing or a glass of fine Australian Cabernet.        Sigh. Instead I ask myself “what is one creative thing I could do or one person I could ask that would be a step toward making this situation better?” And Whoo Hooo, some cool ideas show up to help me resolve my issue! How come? Because creativity emerges only after we’ve listened in, accepted what’s there, had a moment of compassion for the fact we’re rolling in the mud and then asked an opportunity question. (What did I do? I called my friend Troy: champion blogger and mind mapper for help. He reminded me to be a grasshopper, at peace with being a beginner blogger. Ok. Hop, hop… hop one hop at a time.)

Ripple Answer:

The gym is a good place for reflection. Reflection is a valuable tool in my box so that I can be a positive ripple with myself. That’s the first answer to the Ripple Riddle.  Find time for reflection – in the car (better than talking on the cell phone and drinking your latte at the same time… yields a longer life expectancy), during a walk at lunch, while chatting to a long winded friend on the phone (OK, maybe that isn’t respectful but if you find yourself running back commentary on everything the friend says, let me tell you, it is time for some reflection!). Listen in on the conversation in your mind and find out what agenda you’ve got running today. Whatever tone you’ve set in your head is going to be the tone you have with your work, interactions and yourself. So… what kind of ripple are you having today?