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Hello Everyone
Here we are only in the middle of the second
month of 2009 and already there have been two major
happenings for us to reflect upon. The first was the
history-making presidential inauguration ceremonies
and the installment of our 44th president of the United
States and secondly, the ongoing saga of economic
challenges. It is times like these when we get to
examine the strength and resolve of ourselves and
others. In this month's article I wanted to share some
reflections for all of us to consider as we strive to find
useful methods for staying positive in down times.
Steve
What Do You Do When You Don't Know What to Do?
I have heard it said that history has a
way of repeating itself. Noted NBC news reporter,
Tom Brokaw wrote a book called The Greatest
Generation in which he focused on the group we refer
to as "veterans" or "traditionalists" and how they came
together in hard times to build community. So here
we are in 2009 and we have our own set of
challenges. I'm not sure that the people back in the
1940s thought of themselves as great. What they did,
however, was to figure out ways to survive while still
holding onto some basic principles from which to
work and live.
All of us are seeing the effects of cut
backs, layoffs, foreclosures, plummeting stock market
and greed on the part of a privileged few. Add to that a
broken health care system and states on the brink of
bankruptcy. And that's just here in the US - the world
is not in much better shape!
The Chinese define crisis as
both danger and opportunity. The choice is ours as to
how we will respond. It is my hope that you will
choose to see these times of personal / national /
global crisis as opportunity to be a difference
maker. I want to suggest a few ways to help us
stay positive during these difficult days that lie ahead:
Give thanks when you wake up in the
morning: thanks that you are still alive and can
breathe fresh air; thanks that you have friends/family
who care about you
Become more intentional about being
with friends to just to enjoy the simple things in life
that we often take for granted (a walk in the park, a trip
to the farmer's market, coffee at a small café)
In the midst of the changes that will
(not may) occur, try to keep some things as routine as
possible. The goal here is to build in some things that
are still predictable and stable for you to count on or
lean on.
Engage in hobbies or activities that
make you feel good about yourself. Perhaps you can
do something you haven't done for quite some time.
Don't let "shoulds" and "coulds" bring you down.
Serve others who are in need of
assistance. Sometimes helping others takes the
focus off yourself just enough to gain perspective on
what is or is not happening for you.
Be willing to engage in self-reflection.
Ask yourself what you can learn from this experience
that will help in other aspects of your life?
Become more open to diversity. Are
there new and different approaches you can take to
address conflict or problems? Are there new and
different people you can learn from in terms of how
they handle challenges? Ask yourself if this is the time
to try something totally outside the box.
Keep your eyes focused on your initial
goals or purpose. However, it may be necessary for
you to evaluate whether an entirely different direction
is warranted, but where possible stay focused on your
initial dreams.
And finally, surround yourself with
positive, uplifting people. Those people who are able
to see the glass as half full instead of half empty.
Those people you know who go full out and who have
the ability to put a positive spin on a negative
situation. These are very tough times, but we do have
a choice on how we will get through them.
.
Reflections
A few weeks ago my wife and I were
out shopping for a new battery for my cell phone.
Becky invited me to consider the possibility of buying a
new phone. "It's time to update," she said.
As we began our search for a new phone, it became
apparent that this task was going to be more difficult
than we had planned. Every phone we looked at had
numbers that were not distinct enough for me to
touch/feel or had a digital readout which is of no help
to me. We went from store to store and suddenly I
realized that I was being paid a visit by an old
acquaintance - anger.
I was angry because something that
I wanted to purchase seemed to be readily available
only to those who are "photo dependant" or as we
used to say in my blind school days "sighted dudes."
Well the sighted dudes prevail again leaving the blind
folks out. This was an interesting notice. Why was I so
upset? In one store I started to get animated with the
sales person about accessibility. Becky had to nudge
me because this individual was not the right person to
go off on.
What I do know is that anger
surfaces when you don't have control over your
situation or when others have more options than you
do in life. It was a great wake up call to remember that
there are still injustices in the world. People either
intentionally or unintentionally don't think about how
their actions may impact a group who might be
entirely off their screen.
As Becky and I debriefed the situation later we both
began to realize that not only do the tiny phones with
tiny numbers and touch screens leave blind folks out
of the mix, senior citizens and people with arthritis and
diabetes are also affected.
The good part of this experience is
that it helps me remember to never lose touch with
where you come from. I think all too often managers
lose touch with their employees; government workers
clearly lose touch with the real people. You become
both insulated and isolated from the needs of other
people. This cell phone experience is a reminder to
me to work hard to stay in touch with the broader good
for all people.
In the sophisticated language of
diversity practitioners, we might refer to this
experience as an example of a "micro inequity" - that
experience where people in dominance have more
options than do individuals who represent particular
groups. We will write more about this concept in a
future issue. The impact on me individually is that in
the past I used to feel less than because of my
disability. I no longer feel that way about myself. I now
know I have value, something to contribute, and that in
a small way is perhaps why my anger surfaced. I
know what I know and I know what I don't know.
I pledge from this day forward to
continue to stay the course as a difference
maker and invite all of you to do likewise.
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Steve Hanamura
With over 30 years of experience, Steve Hanamura is
a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer. He
is widely sought after in the areas of leadership
development, building effective teams, leading
diversity initiatives and managing generational
differences. With a national client list spanning
Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit
institutions, Steve is highly regarded for his unique
perspectives and distinct training techniques.
As president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc. he is
committed to making a difference in the lives of
individuals and organizations. His goal is to assist
organizations to work together to build constructive
relationships by understanding how we must draw
from the past and work in the present so we can plan
and build for the future.
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