A Day of Transformation

Remembering September 11th 2001  memorializes the heroes who gave their lives trying to save others, but it should also remind us of what's important to us. So many people thought their lives would change forever that day. We would be kinder, love our families more, choose the more important things in life first and cherish each moment. Ah, then life comes along, we get on the treadmill and the next thing we know we are years away and have fallen back into the same ruts.

The morning of September 11, 2001 dawned bright, clear and crisp over New York. Jan and I had business in midtown so we took the Path train over to New York and had breakfast at a cafe in the World Trade Center. After a leisurely breakfast, we took the subway to midtown only to find fear and confusion when we arrived at our destination. The first plane had hit the Twin Towers after we left. In the events that followed I've never been prouder of my fellow NewYorkers and all the others who were in Manhattan that day. It was us at our best.

Why does it sometimes take tragedy to bring out the best in ourselves? Why do we need to lose or almost lose something in order for it to become important again? As we walked down toward the towers that day the streets were eerily quiet. The only sound were the radios playing news of the attack and people comforting one another. But what we saw was the best of who we can be.

People were amazingly considerate to strangers. Giving out water, helping people with directions, speaking gently and kindly. Everywhere we went people were speaking about those they loved and hoping they were okay. The frustration of trying to leave messages for family and friends was evident and people rejoiced when they got through. And people began to think about what was important to them and what they wanted to live for.

Curiously in that moment of national tragedy and loss we saw the best that people can be. They were transformed into generous, kind, unselfish human beings. Perhaps this day can serve as a memorial both to those who gave their lives and perhaps to the rest of us, for those who found their lives that day. I pray that we don't need tragedy to bring out our best, or to understand what is really important to us. Perhaps just a day when we remember. It can transform our lives.

Afraid to Taste Something? You Might Be Holding Yourself Back.

Working in Tokyo this week there are multiple opportunities for me to try different foods; foods that I don’t normally eat, and some foods that I’m not even sure what they are. At lunchtime the company delivers “Bento boxes” to the training room. As I gaze into the box I’m aware of two things. First, I never knew that food came in these colors. Second, I have no idea what I’m about to eat. What struck me about my gestational challenge was the similarity to moving toward personal greatness. Let me explain.

Most of us are creatures of habit. We get up at approximately the same time, tend to wear our favorite clothes, keep roughly the same schedule and eat most of the same things. As habitual creatures, we also tend to process information the same way, trust the same data, reinforce what we already believe and eventually create ruts for ourselves. These ruts are more critical than just making us boring people. They might be hindering us from fully exploring our personal greatness. Why? Because the old saying is very true: “if you always do what you always did you’ll always get what you always got.”

Exploring new ways of doing things, or new ideas is challenging. We might not like what we see or experience. It is venturing into uncertainty and that can be frightening. So it is easier to return to that which is comfortable, that which we know. But the challenge is that we won’t broaden our knowledge or experience and we will be limited in our choices.

Of course trying new things can happen within the structure of some certainty. For example, I know that here in Japan the boxes that arrive every day in the training room won’t poison me or make me sick because the company that hired me isn’t going to poison its employees. And, as I sit down to lunch with those in my session, they are eating what’s in front of them. Yet even with this certainty I won’t ask what I’m eating until after I’ve tasted it. Why? Because I know I have my concepts about what I will or won’t like and it helps to ignore those sometimes. I’ve learned to like seaweed.

Growth and development require new ideas, new ways of doing things, new practices and habits. Our unwillingness to try new things simply gets in the way of our personal growth. Pick one area of your life to try something new. Just that experience alone might unlock your willingness in other areas. And besides, you might find that when you taste something new, you like it.