Sunday, February 17, 2008

Getting Off Our Buts (The incompletes)


The reason why alot of people are afraid to go past their comfort zones is that they are very risk averse. Risks can fall into a variety of categories. These are:

  1. Spouse or partner risk. This is sharing what you want or think or feel of your spouse or partner.
  2. Frendship risk which is hared feelings dealing with unresolved conflict.
  3. Work or career risk, seeking a promotion or changing jobs.
  4. Financial risk, setting up a significant retirement programme or investing in something new
  5. Educational risks, taking classes outside your field or even getting a degree
  6. Physical risks, climbing a mountain and participating in team sports
  7. Spiritual risks, making a spiritual commitment and attending a retreat.
  8. Material risk, purchasing a car or house or letting go of excesses that we may have.
  9. Emotional risk, dealing with unresolved issues and looking forward.

To have more awareness, ask yourself in which of these categories do you experience the most comfort in risk taking and the most resistance. Then ask yourself, what is the learning here, what does this tell you about yourself? Creating more possibilities for yourself requires you to move outside your comfort zones and new dimensions actually awaken you beyond that wall of resistance that you have set up. High risk = Low risk, Low risk = High risk. Being risk averse creates a lot of incompleteness in our lives. We tend to leave these incompletes open as well. They affect our integrity. They also affect and infect our moral value systems and our belief systems and have a large impact on our lives.

Relationship incompletes are:

  1. Having unresolved conflicts
  2. Not showing appreciation
  3. Withholding forgiveness
  4. Having importent unexpressed feelings
  5. Being unable to communicate expectations
  6. Withholding an apology
  7. Communicating an untruth
  8. Having difficulty meeting new people
  9. Not letting go of damaging relationships
  10. Not developing intimacy with a special person
  11. Saying, "i will love that person when......."

Integrity incompletes are:

  1. Not keeping an agreement
  2. Behaving differently when the person with whom you have an agreement is not present
  3. Misrepresenting a product or service
  4. Withholding important information

Career incompletes are:

  1. Settling for a dead-end job
  2. Not developing your talents and skills
  3. Ignoring educational opportunities
  4. Doing the minimum just to get by

Financial incompletes are:

  1. Having unpaid debts
  2. Not having a retirement plan
  3. Not having a savings plan
  4. Not having a college programme for your children
  5. Not paying off the mortgage

Physical incompletes are:

  1. Not establishing a healthy diet plan
  2. Not commiting to a regular diet programme
  3. Not quitting smoking
  4. Not dealing with excessive drinking
  5. Material incompletes could:
  6. That dream house
  7. That new car
  8. Sending those old clothes to goodwill

Personal incompletes are:

  1. Putting off that decision to have children
  2. Deciding to have children when you really do not want to
  3. Avoid setting goals or following through on action plans
  4. Not clarifying personal missions and values
  5. Saying "i will love myself when...."

Spiritual incompletes are:

  1. Putting off this connection some later date
  2. Dismissing spiritual guidance as unimportant even though an inner voice tells you to be open to it.

Take a look at these lists of incompletes and understand that incompletes have a more significant on our sense of well being than most people are willing to acknowledge.
A real transformation occurs when you shift your vision from the rear view mirror to the windshield. Incompletes have a way of diverting our attention to the rear view as we focus on what's behind us, our past history. Incompletes keep us living in the past while diminishing our present experiences as well. Break this pattern of the incompletes that have demanded so much of your time and attention! Start to move on! Understand that by taking more risks you start to open yourself to new learning and more exciting relationships with others and with new people and new learning and perhaps even nature. Not just nature all around you but the nature that is within you as well.

No comments: