A Summary of Thought

All things considered there hasn’t really been anything major keeping me from writing. No earthquakes, no close calls with death, no infectious diseases; not much really. I have been busy though. I guess the menial in life got a little better of me, and when combined with a couple of curveballs that required a little more of my attention resulted in an absence from your screens. So I’m over it, I’m sure you already are.

Let’s see what has caught my attention recently. The efficiency of the American visa system (they may not always approve your visa but they are efficient-mine came through though), the monotony of complaints in Zimbabwe (the lack of government, the monopoly money, the dollarisation rumours-same junk different day), the fact that stretch classes work, what three weeks without coffee can do to your mood (clearer mind, not necessarily less grumpy) and raisins (they were cheap what can I say).

So, what does it all mean? Complaints about things you can’t change are a waste of time, extra flexibility is always cool and useful, give up something once in a while-it will make you a better person (I didn’t say quit forever), raisins are a great healthy alternative to sugar on your cereal, and you can’t beat certain systems. Have a brilliant day.

Dancing Tall

I’m standing a little taller and straighter this week. No, I have not had surgery to have steel rods implanted in my spine, rather I have gone back to dance class. The class I go to usually involves 30 minutes of stretching, followed 30 minutes of conditioning (either barre work or core strengthening) before we even think of looking at a routine. Proper barre does wonders for a person’s posture.

Why am I even bothering to tell you all this? I stopped dancing about this time last year simply because there were not enough hours in the day to get it done. My life has been reshuffled a little and I now have a couple of those hours back. Dance also ties in with a couple of my other current goals-to be more fit and flexible and to meet new people and have more of a social outlet. It’s a pretty cool package deal on goals then. Also I really enjoy it. Now, I am not sure if I will get around to doing a show at all as that is a huge time commitment. For now I am content to have fun; I’ll face the pain of overstretched muscles another day.

PS for anyone looking for a social dance class in Zimbabwe you can contact Debbie on 492314

A New Year's Sleep

It’s the second day of 2009 (my autodate in word has just informed me that I can ‘press enter’ to fill in the whole date to save me a whopping 0.1miliseconds of my life) and already the year has been a busy one; a bit of plumbing, a bit of gaming, a fair chunk of work and a little writing.

The idea of the New Year has always fascinated me. I mean, is the second before the stroke of midnight really any different from the one after? Time is, after all, a continuum and it is only humans who divide it into nice little parcels for the sake of management. The measurement of time with its divisions of 12 and 60 is so pre-metric and makes for such dreadful calculations that you would think that someone would have decimalised the clock by now. That would throw a generation of Swiss watch makers into disarray now wouldn’t it.

New Year, and the festive season in general, does at least provide a well needed rest. Most humans (in this case personified by yours truly) need regular breaks. I don’t care what the science tells you, my science says that without routine doses of eight hours of sleep and two weeks off every six months or so I become a run-down, irritable, grouchy jerk who cannot function at full capacity. Now I know many people who survive on less, but that’s just it, they survive but do they really flourish? Most articles I’ve read, probably written by researchers who love their duvet, recommend 8 hours of sleep a night. That sort of article is wonderful for sleep addicts like me. Regardless of your personal preference for dozing habits here’s to a prosperous and fun-filled 2009.

Pondering Employees.

I spent Christmas on the farm with my dad. Had plenty of time to think about things, a little mental rumination. Looking at the general state of farm workers and indeed the state of the majority of employees in the ‘third world’, although many in the developed world could be included here, and pondered on the thought as to how many employers ever bothered to try coaching their underlings to a state of better things. Maybe it is a matter of not knowing how to elevate some ones self worth but it strikes me as something that is not done very much.

Take the average farm worker in Africa-they live in a hut (brick if they are lucky), may or may not have electricity, share a communal tap for running water and that’s about it. Now you can insert ‘slum’ and ‘factory worker’ instead, and some labourers are in a better situation than I have described but the situation hasn’t changed much in the last 20 or so years. I certainly don’t hear amazing stories of the farm worker who has gone and become a successful farm owner, and I hear of very few of labourers going out and building their own brick house, getting water and lights in it and getting a car. Part of it has to do with low wages, but part also has to do with the environment that they are in. When all you know is a hovel it can be a little difficult to see yourself in anything better-especially when the whole system is telling you that you are only worth a hovel and all you will ever be is a hovel dweller.

Now, at the risk of irritating a lot of people, I would say that part of the problem lies with the employer (and no I’m not the perfect boss and no I haven’t got to grips with this either yet). I am not saying that everything should be handed on a plate to the workers-I am rather opposed to the ‘gimmee’ attitude that characterises much of Africa. Rather help people see themselves in a better future. Maybe painting a vision that includes benefit to the employee, not just the self gratification and pocket lining of the boss. Creating the opportunity to do and be better may be part of the solution. One of the risks in growing people is that they may eventually see themselves out of your organisation and into their own. So what, there will always be replacements and there will always be the loyal that choose to stay and build with you-you may just have to pay them a bit more.

Now I’ve rambled for a bit let me know what you think. As I said, I havn’t got the application of this concept down perfect and it could do with a little refining. We live and learn.

A little touch of green.

Envy has to be one of the most destructive and vindictive emotions. It will eat you from the inside out and turn you into a scarred, pitiful wreck of negative energy and dislike. The simple fact is that if you live your entire life trying to be better than someone else, attempting to outlive them and basing your success on their failures you will never really amount to much. If Mr Bolt was to vanish today would it suddenly make every other sprinter a better athlete? Would every golfer the world over have their performance improve if Tiger Woods was to take up market gardening instead? The only person responsible for your success is you.

I wrote last time about Bill Bryson and how I admire some of the qualities of his writing. Now there is nothing wrong with seeking to emulate and internalise qualities that you see in another person that will aid you in your success. I am already trying to incorporate some of the lessons I’ve learnt from his writing, but for me to start trying to better Mr Bryson, to beat him at his own game, to write better than him, to copy him exactly and base my whole life on that would be foolish and self destructive. The world does not need another Bill Bryson or another Tiger Woods. The world doesn’t need another Mother Teresa or another version of your neighbour. What the world needs is you and the uniqueness that you bring into it.

There's nothing like a Dame.

It was with a great sense of trepidation that I went to see the local pantomime this week. The last one I went to a couple of years back was a total disaster, but I was with friends this time and they had a spare ticket.

I had a blast. It was by far one of the best I had seen in years. There were a significant number of senior cast members that helped carry some of the more inexperienced along-not that they were too shabby either. It had all the elements of panto-a brilliant dame, a very evil villain, and the appropriate love story. The dancers were skilled and I haven’t laughed that long in a while. It was a welcome break from all the turmoil around about. Well done Reps.

We were chatting in the car home and someone passed the comment that he had to admire the bravery of the cast coming out night after night to perform it what are less than ideal economic circumstances. Having been involved with some of the cast before, I can only say that they are passionate about what they do. They have fun doing it and despite all the hard effort involved they find it very rewarding. For some it is the self gratification of the ‘thank-you’s’ after, for others the smile on peoples faces, for others the sense of community and the vision of providing people with entertainment. Finding something worth sacrificing into, something that you enjoy doing and have a passion for it will keep you committed for many years to come.

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God...

…and with a mighty thunderclap the rains began. It is bucketing down outside, a veritable flushing of the heavenly cistern. As a result I am going nowhere fast. I cycled in to work today as my car is undergoing some major work. Bad timing that. So I find myself depleting the office caffeine supplies while waiting for the downpour to subside. The alternative is to make a rather wet way home and with no guarantee of a warm bath at the other end (who knows what the Zimbabwean power has done today) I am a little reluctant to give that one a try. Given the water situation in town it may be the quickest way to get a free wash though, we must look on the bright side of things here.

What to do? I never thought that I would say it but I have exhausted my desire to play computer games today. As the year draws to a close I have set myself a whole bunch of annual tasks to do. A slowing in client numbers as we approach the festive season has given me ample time to sit down and get on with the non-treating part of my business. I have actually surprised myself with how efficacious I have been this week (and it’s only Tuesday). The reason for the bout of energy probably has a lot to do with the fact that I wrote a list down. Writing goals settles them in your mind as things to be achieved. That and some heavy utilisation of the visualisation tools from TPI have seriously increased my output. I think also watching my team leader for our trip to Kenya made me realise just how much you can get done.

This year has seen bouts of less than normal client numbers as a result of the economy here. This can induce a false lethargy of what is ‘normal’. I am fully capable of pushing out a full days work treating; I just haven’t in so long that I have to remind myself of what is normal. In some ways it is similar to another hazard of the job-when you continually treat stiff backs you can forget what a normal back feels like. The cure is to find a normal back and go ‘oh that’s what I’m trying to achieve with my clients’. The occasional ‘reality’ check of what is normal when faced with underperformance is necessary.

Well it looks like it has died down and the roads are drying up so let me hit the road (odd phrase that as though I’m going to step out and pound my fist into the tar, how I love English).