Sugarmoon - Spring Edition 2019 Sugarmoon - Spring 2019 | Page 9

OUR VALUES
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO LIVE UP TO
OUR VALUES?
BY: SHAWN HUNTER
I’VE KNOWN communication experts
with dysfunctional relationships,
professional speakers who decline
events because they are horrified to go
on stage, and time management gurus
who are late to meetings. I’ve met
renowned thought-leaders who fabricate
some of their work to get published,
and personal change advisors who are
terrified of change.
Why is it so hard to live our values?
Why is it we can consume so much
new information and knowledge and
yet do nothing new in our daily life? We
watch TED talks about how the mere
presence of a smartphone on the table
between us detracts from the quality of
our conversation. Over 80 percent of us
know this, and yet we do it anyway.
We read studies on the importance of
grit and perseverance, and yet we are
quitting our jobs and hopping to new
opportunities at record levels because
we feel we aren’t making an “impact”
quickly enough to satisfy our ego.
We are constantly reminded that
multitasking is a myth and only leads to
decreased work quality, slower learning,
and decreased attention spans, and yet
we have numerous email and message
alerts active on our computers and
devices.
We know we can accelerate our learning
when we try new things at work, and yet
we go along with idiotic ideas, hide our
opinions, and mask our true identities,
because we are scared of being fired, or
are desperate to fit in.
We know that the quality of our sleep
is directly related to the quality of our
health and well-being, and yet we take
our smartphones to bed, and even check
them in the middle of the night. And we
know that the first five minutes when we
walk in the front door can set the tone
for the entire evening, and yet often our
first reaction is dismay at the mountain
of dirty dishes in the sink. That dismay is
a mood killer.
Excellence requires
work, impact takes
time, leadership
presence requires
being present,
and meaningful
relationships need
kind conversations.
Make it easier on yourself. The expression
“activation energy” was coined 150 years
ago by a chemist. The term refers to the
minimum amount of energy required
to stimulate an interaction between
available reactants.
In other words, we should minimize
the amount of energy it takes to get us
in motion and remove all the hurdles to
taking action that we can. If we want to
start jogging more, we should lay our
gear and our shoes by the bed before
we go to sleep. If we want to become
better public speakers, we need to block
off a doable amount of time — perhaps
30 minutes each day — to actively write
and rehearse our material. And if we
truly want opinions and new ideas at our
meetings, we should make our meetings
psychologically safe for honesty.
When we make it easy to begin
something, we lower the amount of
energy it takes to get started. And if it
takes less energy to get started, we are
more likely to do it. The slow, intentional
approach to learning something new,
overcoming fear, and leading with
confidence requires guided mastery
toward self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is not self-esteem. Self-
esteem is how good you feel about
yourself. Self-efficacy is the strength
of your belief in your own ability to
complete the tasks you set out for
yourself and reach your goals.
Make it easy on yourself. Start small.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Entrepreneur, author, idea developer. Shawn Hunter has
collaborated with hundreds of business authors, executives, and
researchers to create learning solutions. Shawn’s first company,
Targeted Learning, was acquired by Skillsoft in February 2007.
He is the author of Out•Think and Small Acts of Leadership.
Shawn Hunter
Founder & President of MindScaling
mindscaling.com | shawnhunter.com
9