Measuring The "Well Being" Of Your Circus

We often ask "how's your circus?" when helping people get a picture of their current situation. While doing some research, we found one another way to evaluate your circus. It's called the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index. It's a daily assessment of American's health and well-being. They poll 1000 people every day on 55 indicators of happiness or well-being from work to eating habits to social life. The site can be a bit overwhelming, but the data is interesting to review. If you want a quick synopsis of the results, a good blog to read is in the Economix section of the NY Times from a few weeks ago.

If you review the indicators, the big question you will be left with is, "What are the indicators for me that things are going well?" If you find that the indicators are constantly changing for you, it might be a sign that you have become a little fuzzy about your purpose. If the indicators tend to be the same, you most likely have a better idea of what you are striving for on a daily basis. The level of satisfaction with the various indicators will change, but not the indicators.

The next time you're trying to get a better idea of how things are going in your circus, it might be of benefit to first stop and ask what you are basing your answers on.

Evaluate Every Influence

Here's an earth shattering statistic: According to researchers at the University of North Carolina and Rhodes College, the increase in Wal-Mart Super Centers accounts for 10.5% of the rise in obesity in the United States since the late 1980s. The study is published in the Journal of Urban Economics. Their research found that it was due to the low cost of food sold at these super centers. In other words, since it's highly convenient and accessible, people eat more. Talk about stating the obvious.

In Juggling Elephants we talk so much about focusing on your purpose and not being distracted by emotion, laziness, convenience or other factors. There will always be negative influences (like inexpensive, highly processed food) around you that can take you off course (i.e. add to your waistline). The flip side of the Wal-Mart effect is that they offer healthy food at lower costs as well-people just tend not to buy them in the same volume.

The key is to evaluate every influence and determine whether it is helpful in moving you toward your desired outcome or pushing you further away from it. If you can't remove yourself from a negative influence, at least minimize your exposure to it. In other words, don't stand in the candy or snack aisle and say, "I can resist the urge to buy that 3 pound bag of chips." Spend more time in the fruit and vegetable area admiring the oranges and apples-and then buy some.

Give Time Not Just Gifts - Again

We probably have written a blog about giving the gift of time, this time of the year, for every year that we have been writing blogs. But it is a principle worth repeating over and over again.

The gift of time is probably the most prized gift that you can give your friends and family this holiday season. Ask a parent who doesn't see their children or grandchildren regularly. Ask a child who would love to play a game with their father or read a story with their mother. Ask a young couple who has been apart for an extended period of time. Time spent together is precious. Build in time together as a part of your holiday plans. The good news is that is isn't expensive and the memory of that time together will last forever.

Getting That First Laugh In Your Performance

Any comedian will tell you that getting that first laugh from an audience is critical. It establishes the mood for the performance and also positively connects the audience with the comedian. The longer the comedian goes without getting the laugh the more strained the event and the less spectacular the performance.

What about the items in your lineup today? What's the one or two things you simply must get done? How will delay on these items affect your ability to quickly connect to your purpose? Prolonging action on them could have disastrous results on getting what you want most-a standing ovation from others... and yourself.

A Tip From The Literary World

While working on our next book, I came across a writing tip that offers insight for those struggling with too much to do. The tip is, Eliminate unnecessary words. Sounds simple enough, but in writing it is easy to add lots of words to make sure you get your point across in full detail. Unfortunately, in that desire to get the message across people can get lost in all the explanation or illustration.

The tie with time management is simply this-Eliminate unnecessary activities. Within your ability to control, take out as many things as you can that don't contribute to your purpose or help you accomplish what's really important to you.

The goal is to bring clarity to your day, focusing most sharply on those 4-5 things you can undertake that will make the biggest difference. Making a mile long to do list and then trying to pick out what is most important is like reading a book that's too "wordy." It's easy to get lost.