WAKE UP!

By Daniel & Ellen Borowka, MA & Nancy Croix

Waking up can be more than just opening your eyes in the morning. It’s setting a tone, finding a theme to center on for the day. At another level, it is becoming more aware of what we need to learn to grow and mature in this brand new day. What we want to be more alert to or recognize in our lives to work on. There are various definitions of “wake” or “awake”. One is to be or remain awake – to keep watch. Another is to rouse from or as if from sleep – to arouse conscious interest. Some synonyms are to stir, kindle, challenge, inspire, ignite and provoke. That’s something thought provoking for this topic! First, we will explore ideas of how to set a tone for one’s day. Then we will look at how to become more aware of ways to inspire, challenge and ignite our growth process.

What’s guiding you?

Daily routines are an important part of our lives. When you wake up to start your day, are you allowing yourself to be guided by the events of the day or are you taking the time to mentally prepare for the day? The first option is leaving everything up to chance. The second option is to take responsibility and make choices for your well-being. A great way to start the day is to think of a quality, which you would like to express during the day. Taking the time to mentally prepare for the day can make a tremendous difference in the day’s events that happen, expectedly and unexpectedly.

Word for the day

This can actually turn your daily routine into an insightful way to wake up. As soon as I wake up, I focus on my word for the day. Once I have the word, I think about what it means to me. I write it down in my journal with the date and then share my word with my family, friends and co-workers. People will come up to me first thing in the morning and ask me what my word is for the day. I like to share my experiences associated with my word throughout the day with people. At the end of the day, I write about my experiences and what I’ve learned. When I find myself feeling sad, afraid or angry, I stop and think about my word to refocus my thinking so I can keep on track and have a healthy outlook on life. I have found that through this process, I learn more about different qualities so it becomes easier when I’m confronted with a problem or crisis. Then I can draw upon these qualities for insight and comfort.

What am I to awaken to?

I also constantly look at things I want to change, improve or resolve in my life. It can be hard to be fully honest with one’s self, as it means uncovering or adjusting how we respond to others, handle things or what we truly stand for in our lives. One thing that is helpful to become more awake is to first look at our priorities.

Our priorities in life

Recently, we have been exploring our priorities. Some main areas could be our relationships with others, professional, intellectual and spiritual challenges, and our emotional and physical health. We can ask some questions to determine those priorities. What and who is important to us? Are we taking the time for what is crucial to us? Do we say that certain people or beliefs or activities are important to us then put something else first? Do we pattern our goals, objectives, our lives around these priorities?

Who do we hang around?

A friend once pointed out that who we hang out with reflects where we are psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. There’s a great quote, “Our attitudes toward others and toward ourselves, far from being contradictory, run parallel. How we feel about ourselves is how we feel toward others.” So, who do we spend time with? Are they supportive to us or do they drain energy? Do they inspire us to grow or cause pain and sorrow? Yet, before just cutting someone out of our lives, it’s vital to look at why we have them in the first place. What attracted them into our lives? Do we have someone who is struggling, so we can be the Savior, the one in control or so we can feel better about ourselves? Do we have people who control our lives so we don’t have to take responsibility for when things go awry? Do we seek out people to demean and devalue us to fulfill our feelings of worthlessness or low self esteem? Or do we look to control others so we feel in control and safe? It can be so helpful to look at who and why we have those around us.

Ask questions

Becoming more awake, involves challenging ourselves and what we do. Monitor and ask yourself questions. Why did I do that? What was my ultimate goal – good and bad? Do I follow through on what I believe in or do I let my fears or issues take over? Look at your motives – what is driving your actions, your words to others? When you can answer those questions honestly and take action to revise what doesn’t work well, then you have made some great progress.

When we know why we choose the people, the activities, our beliefs then we are more awake to where we are and what we truly want. At that point, we can start to let go of what or who doesn’t work; redefine our relationships and what we do; or to appreciate that which is around us. Thank goodness that every day we have the opportunity to wake up anew and to explore and enjoy each day.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014 This information contained in this article is not meant to be a substitute for professional counseling.

Dana Borowka, MA, CEO, Ellen Borowka, MA, Senior Analyst and Nancy Croix, Senior Operations Administrator of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC (LCS) with their organization constantly remain focused on their mission statement – “To bring effective insight to your organization”.  They do this through the use of in-depth work style assessments to raise the hiring bar so companies select the right people to reduce hiring and management errors.  LCS also has a full service consulting division that provides domestic and international interpersonal coaching, executive onboarding, leadership training, global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training, operational productivity improvement, 360s and employee surveys as well as a variety of workshops. LCS consultants have over 25 plus years of business and human behavioral consulting experience. Dana and Ellen is co-authors of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”. To order the books, please visit www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA  90403, (310) 453-6556, [email protected] & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching.  Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.