The Intersection Of Messages
(Dec. 26, 2017, Playa Almadrava, Catalonia, Spain)
Some of my most memorable conversations with friends are accompanied with cups of coffee.
Such was the case a a few months ago.
While on a short trip back to the States to visit my father in the Washington, DC area, a friend and I got away to an in-town espresso bar to grab a cup of… you thought I was going to say “Joe” didn’t you? Joe… of course.
My friend is an attorney for one of the top Silicon Valley tech companies. He asked me what was the biggest change I made in my life that led me to better health — as well as what spurred a lifestyle change that included moving with my family to Spain?
I replied, “The biggest thing was all of the smallest things.”
“Which small things?” my friend asked.
I thought about it for a several moments as a few practices popped in and out of my thoughts — meditation, creating, gratitude, play, etc. One idea stuck.
“Conversations like these,” I said. “Listen. Learn. Change. Conversation to conversation. Moments with friends, just like this, do it for me these days.”
It’s not like I didn’t have great conversations at other stages of my life. As I look back at times in my life that challenged my health and output, positive conversations with family and friends are what pulled me through.
Back then, such conversations happened infrequently and when they did, the “traffic” in my own communication system happened to be, unfortunately, noisy.
The intersections I had installed to listen and respond were poorly maintained and built by contractors like Facebook, the news, and negative people.
As I’ve alluded to over the past few posts, I am trying to do a little better in working with the self-made obstacles that impede important incoming messages.
I want to hear more clearly
I am my own work-in-progress, but, today’s conversations and how I listen are different compared to a few short years ago.
So, what did I do between then and now to clear out the noise in my communication systems? I built better intersections and regulated the traffic.
What was the hardest part of doing that? Trying to escape my own traffic jams.
Do you feel stuck in your own internal and external communication confusion?
Try these steps (all of them):
- Filter. Allow the other traffic to pull ahead. We will never outpace the traffic on our own clogged roads. Let them get ahead. Let them race it out amongst themselves.
- Filter. Add barriers to reduce the volume of people who travel through your life. Make your roads less desirable for people who are there for no other reason than to run you over or block your way.
- Clarity. Remove the trash from your roads. Why would someone else respect your roads if you don’t?
- Clarity. Create better signals and life navigation patterns. Speak your truth with clarity and direction. I call this: Expect-Respect. This is a big one to which I’ll give deeper focus in the future. Stay tuned.
- Step Back. Find the courage to shut the roads down altogether from time to time. Just because you have roads doesn’t mean they always have to be in use. This allows you the break necessary to slowly begin re-construction of your communication systems.
The right message needs to reach you
Perhaps in this early part of the year, when drive and motivation tend to be a little higher than normal, it’s worth considering what *mindfully building better communication systems* looks like.
Use 2018 to re-design your roadways and intersections with an aim of *clarity combined with filtering* so the meaningful messages reach you unobstructed… and maybe accompanied with a cup of Joe.
With gratitude,
Joe
Hi, I’m Joe, the owner of 5 With Joe Performance Coaching. My clients are leaders, organizations, and teams who utilize my Olympic Gold Medal performance strategies and 40 years of navigating whitewater river rapids to streamline decision making and actions when engaged in complicated river currents of business and life.
The best way to interact with me is though Sunday Morning Joe, my weekly newsletter that explores the art of improving performance, overcoming challenge, and aligning with purpose for Sunday readers in search of more depth and motivation. Subscribe HERE for free.
