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Thoughts from your Systems Goddess, Sandye Linnetz, Process Prodigy
Friday the 13th turned out to be a real Friday the 13th for me this year… My cute little vanilla PT Cruiser got a ride on a tow truck and I got a ride in an ambulance! Apparently stopping for a red light doesn’t guarantee that the guy behind you will do the same. Nothing broken… no blood… but, oh the pain in the head, neck and shoulders! My daughter (who was visiting from NYC) arrived at the emergency room just after I did and my son a few minutes after that. The police, firemen, paramedics, doctors, nurses and techs were kind, efficient and actually fun!
So here’s what I discovered as I laid in the emergency room with neck brace and very cool new I.D. bracelet… something I’ve known about for years and years and yet never really, truly, deeply understood… IT IS NOT THE CONTENT OF YOUR LIFE that makes a difference, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE CONTEXT! hmmmmmm
Okay, that’s a thought provoker. Actually brought tears to my eyes. What does it mean? Short, simple answer (though I don’t know if there really IS one): It’s not about the circumstances or the stuff IN your life, it’s what you make that stuff mean.
Let’s face it, we humans attach meaning to everything – all of life’s content, all of the time. It’s how we make sense of the world. We constantly judge and evaluate… everyone and everything. Good. Bad. Positive. Negative. And then, once we give something meaning, we make that meaning be the TRUTH. Even though we made it up, we make it the TRUTH – and then we do something about it. We act and react to the meanings we have given to the people and events in our lives.
I could say “I, an innocent bystander, driving ever so lawfully in a car that I planned to sell in a few days, noticed that the light ahead had turned red so I slowed to stop with the cars ahead of me. Then, a totally self-absorbed, unaware idiot (who was probably on his cell phone) thoughtlessly rammed into me at a ridiculously unsafe speed and smashed me into the vehicle in front of me, causing my innocent little car and my innocent little body crushing, straining damage and set off a chain of events which would prove to be unpleasant, annoying, time consuming and life-altering!” What a jerk!!! Poor little Systems Goddess!!!
What happened is:
My car stopped.
The car behind me didn’t stop.
Our cars collided.
Isn’t that why they call them “accidents”?
You know what content is. (Over the years you’ve read “tables” of them)! It’s the events, people, things… the “stuff” that makes up life.
CONTENT is the “stuffing”… CONTEXT is the turkey… Get it? Ever notice how much better the stuffing tastes when it is cooked in the bird and served with turkey? Your context is the framework, the climate, the background story you made up and live by. It determines how you "hold" and what you do with the circumstances of your life.
As I iced my neck that night, I realized that, far more important than the car, the unused tickets for Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Greek, cleaning the house or going for a run, was my family – my children – relationships and humanity. Oh, and laughter and FUN. That’s what I value. That’s what matters to me most. And that’s exactly how my life is designed – how I designed it.
This Goddess has a CONTEXT of “a wonderful life filled with family, friends and fun”. In that context, “stuff” happens. That’s all, it’s just stuff and it just happens. The stuff doesn't define me... the context does. And that feels really good. That doesn't hurt at all!
© 2008 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc. Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.
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