4 D's to Get and Stay in the Driver's Seat

GrantH

Registered
Tremendous teleseminar!

We spoke three years ago on this topic and it really exicted me. This is so timely. Thank you!

The 4 D’s - Decision, Desire, Details, Deliverable

Most people are so conditioned to run on their emotional states as the initial stage of any process of accomplishment. They often sit around waiting for inspiration.

All true desire, passion, enthusiasm and direction are preceded with decision, not desire. This is where so many people drop by the wayside.

It seems in our culture that people have marshaled their minds to live by emotional states and have lost the concept to control their emotions and determine their direction by simply making a decision.

As we make clear decisions, determine outcomes, the enthusiasm and inspiration and the desire will build. Then the details will come into clearer focus. And we will arrive at the deliverable, the outcomes we so desired.

Like David said, "I still have to work this everyday and I teach it."

Sometimes that frustrates me but more and more I am beginning to think that we are just humanoid units and this is life.
 
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dannybader

Guest
Decision and Desire

Grant - Very well said - I particulary agree when you write about how people control their emotions and move forward when they "determine their direction by simply making a decision."

And send me that email I owe you so we can solve the mystery....I hope at 45 years old it is not time for me to start blaming age. (ha! :)

Great to have you on the call today.

Be well.
Danny
 
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dannybader

Guest
Just knowing there is a "driver's seat"

Just reflecting on yesterday's teleseminar and thinking that just knowing there is a "drivers seat" creates - for me - the foundation for getting in it.
 

Ben Atwater

Registered
4D's - recording

Will/When the recording of the call yesterday be made available? Outstanding session that I would like to listen to multiple times.

Thanks!
-Ben
 
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SarahB

Guest
Teleseminar Audio

Ben Atwater;62155 said:
Will/When the recording of the call yesterday be made available? Outstanding session that I would like to listen to multiple times.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Teleseminar! The audio should be available within GTD Connect by early next week.

Best wishes,
Sarah
 

Ben Atwater

Registered
Reflection

In reflecting on Grant and Danny's comments here and the call yesterday I offer the following thoughts...

Putting yesterday's call in context, in particular Grant's comments about emotions, I was struck by the parallels of my own journey in the study of the martial arts and GTD, an ahha moment if you will.

I am a student of Shotokan Karate with a rank of 1st Kyu (brown belt) at a very traditional dojo. One of the primary focus areas of our training revolves around the use of breath control to manage our emotions. It is foundational to everything else we study. Put simply; your emotions control your breathing, your breathing controls your emotions. If you are in an elevated state of emotion your breathing is out of control likewise if your breathing is out of control you are more than likely in a high state of emotion thus you are not in a good position to think clearly and/or act/react with your environment. I am constantly working on this empty state, it is elusive, it is frustrating because the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes. There is hope…

The simple act of being aware of muscle stress in my body (a physical manifestation of emotions out of control, an unknown stress) and the ability to instantly relax because of my karate training is very liberating. The release of the stress instantly opens my mind up to what is at hand. The awareness of the muscle stress is one thing, how it got there is quite another. Now that I have relaxed I can pursue why the stress is there reflecting on what happened in my day that led to this state. It’s an interesting thought process to follow and by doing so you arrive at an empty state without trying to “get empty.”

Working at mastering GTD is similar, the more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes, yet if you empty yourself of all of the gobble-d-gook in your head with mind sweeps, projects clearly defined, weekly reviews, empty inbox, etc and let go of the self inflicted emotional stress the head stuff creates, your decision making is much more likely to be a deliberate fact based act (breath under control) vs. react (breath out of control.)

One aspect of GTD that I have reached black belt on: The act of keeping my inbox empty on a daily basis allows me to manage my focus in a non emotional non-reactionary mode. As soon as my inbox gets out of control I tend to become reactionary to the influx of email. This reactionary mode results in stress, usually physically manifested in my shoulders. Now I am self aware on 2 fronts; shoulders are tight and my inbox count is high. When this happens, I stop, I relax my shoulders, stop reacting to email, process the email, then I go back to acting on the email if appropriate. Thus I reach an empty state not by chasing it but by deliberately acting. Today after nearly a year I rarely land in the email stress mode. Now I’m on to mastering clearly defining next actions in projects…

The common threads between my Karate journey and GTD journey are emotional control, breathing, the end state of an empty mind unencumbered by the stress of emotions resulting in clear and deliberate actions and decisions. This does not in any way suggest a robotic approach to life, but instead what Grant states so well, “All true desire, passion, enthusiasm and direction are preceded with decision, not desire.” This does not suggest a lack of emotions but simply a deliberate act of not letting out of control emotions influence what actions are taken.

The bottom line for me as has been stated here and by David yesterday, you have to work at it constantly, there is no arriving; mastery is the acceptance that the journey is the destination and accepting that it is never ending.

In our dojo the attainment of Shodan, 1st degree black belt, is not the end but the beginning, for the definition of Shodan means that you have learned how to learn thus your journey is truly just beginning.

Sorry for the ramble and if I got too deep again my apologies, this conversation really resonated with me...
-Ben
 
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SarahB

Guest
Teleseminar now available!

The "Staying in the Driver's Seat, No Matter What" teleseminar has just been posted inside GTD Connect. You may access it here. Have a nice weekend!
 

Nairod

Registered
Beautiful Ben, thank you!

The main direction of my life is my study of painting and there are many similarities between martial arts and drawing/painting, as well. Staying relaxed and focused, not getting sucked into frustration when something isn't working, etc.
If this interconnectedness resonates with anybody I highly recommend reading "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin, (he's a chess phenomenon, tai chi world champion and now training in brasilian jiu-jitsu) there's also an audiobook version read by himself and a great "authors @ google" interview

One of the great lines from the talk (I think by Dave): "I don’t need discipline, I need direction!"

Thank you guys for putting this together!
 

sarahg

Registered
Cool teleseminar

I listened to the podcast on the train today & when I arrived at the city I almost stayed on the train just to keep listening :) (I listened to the second half on my return trip). A lively & creative discussion, thank you.
 

Barb

Registered
Telecoaching

This seems like a good time and place to throw in my 2 cents on telecoaching. I did just one session with Meg Edwards about 6 months ago and it made a HUGE difference in my GTD Practice. I implemented GTD many years ago, but like so many others I was a bit stuck when it comes to the higher levels.

While seminars are great for those just beginning the journey, telecoaching is a great way to move more quickly to black belt status for those who have been at it awhile. Meg gave me new ways to look at things, lots of tips and tricks for my system (GTD Add-In and Outlook) and most of all some reassurance that I really do "get it".

Consider asking for a coaching session for Christmas. You will not regret it!

(Nobody asked for this endorsement--I just wanted to share my own experience)
 
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