Affirmative Action
November - 2010
Dear Friend,
I’m very excited to be gathering a great group of women for the Creating a Path with Purpose workshop/retreat on November 13th in Western Massachusetts. There is still space in the workshop for a few more women, so let me know soon if you are interested! Find out more at http://actiononpurpose.com.
November is the season of harvest, and I am thinking of what I can offer to others from the bounty of experiences, strengths, and wisdom I have gathered so far in my journey. It is one thing to affirm what is good in our lives, and yet another to take meaningful action rooted in that goodness. This is what I explore in the article this month on affirmative action.
The purpose of this newsletter is to share with you simple and effective tools for personal, spiritual and professional growth. I have used these tools in my own life, so I know their power as well as their challenges. I have also utilized them in more than thirty years of professional work with others as a life coach, educator and psychotherapist. I offer them to you to try, adapt, and practice as methods to nurture your own growth.
Please send this issue to any friends who might be interested. Also, I would welcome your thoughts or comments on this newsletter. Have a great month!
Warmly,
Natalie
P.S. Interested in some support in clarifying your purpose or taking action on your purpose? Contact me for a complimentary coaching call to explore whether coaching could help you reach your goals!
“Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
~ Bishop Desmond Tutu
Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people,
can transform the world.
~ Howard Zinn
I use the term “affirmative action” to refer to a reciprocal process of affirming the best qualities we find in ourselves, intentionally manifesting these qualities through our actions in the world, and experiencing that our engagement to “make the world a better place” reinforces and enriches the best of our inner worlds. By setting clear intentions, we focus the energy of our actions in directions that are meaningful to us. Through the experience of taking mindful action, we become more attuned to our inner compass – reinforced in our intentions. In such a reciprocal process, one can enter at any point to engage with the process – affirming intentions, taking mindful action, or reaping the wisdom and joy from positive efforts in the world.
Intention
The key to acting in an affirmative way is intention, which functions to align our actions with what we choose to affirm. Generally considered an act of conscious thought, I would extend this definition to include acting from one’s moral code or deep sense of what is right, even if it cannot be articulated in words. Jack Kornfield refers to intention as setting the compass of the heart – a way we choose to honor the true north in our hearts.
Affirmative action, in my view, is rooted both in our hearts and our minds. It involves moving from a blend of our deepest intention or purpose and our understanding of the world at any point in time. The greater our wisdom and our compassion is, the purer the action. The roots of our actions are often not visible to those around us – many different motivations or intentions can be behind similar actions taken by different people. When we do not set a conscious intention, and are acting on auto-pilot, we can only uncover our motivations through honest reflection and self-understanding. Still, we always have the opportunity to set our intention to move from the deepest and best places we know within us – perhaps to act from love or compassion as we know it. For myself, my intentions usually are held as a sense of “how” I want to act in the world, and less about “what” actions I may want to take.
Doing Good in the World
Another way to access the affirmative action process is to look at our response to things in the world we want to support or to change. When we consider charities or non-profits, it is easy to see how we support what we wish to affirm through volunteering time or financial resources to the success of their mission. However, it is also easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of urgent needs we see in the world – addressing global poverty, environmental destruction, and disease or disaster relief. I find I can quickly feel immobilized by a sense that “there is nothing I can do that will make a difference.”
This is where perspective becomes critical – to be able to take action on the one small thing we can do today, and join with others whose small deeds can add to ours to create a greater impact. Regardless of whether our action will result in a measurable impact, taking a step that brings us into the affirmative action cycle will positively impact the well-being of ourselves and unknown others touched by our action. We can get out of balance by looking too far into the future, or too far from home, and miss the simple step we can take right now, right where we are. A smile, or a kind word, can be what shifts us into affirmative action. It will have a ripple effect in the world, and also serve to move us out of our own paralysis into action. An example of this is practicing random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty!
What Do My Actions Affirm?
In taking a quick inventory of what I am already affirming through my everyday actions, I come up with several examples. My beliefs in relational healing and personal change are affirmed as I bring a mindful presence to each meeting with a client. My commitment to a healthy lifestyle is affirmed as I engage in exercise, yoga, or meditation. Driving, listening, or doing laundry for family members affirms the values I hold in supporting each of them.
I also notice that it is easy for me to get sidetracked by focusing attention on the things I don’t get done. I may start reinforcing self-judgments that “I don’t do enough,” or “I am lazy and inefficient.” This line of thought drains me of energy, and pretty soon I forget the affirmative nature of recognizing the positive intentions I am acting on. I fall out of the cycle of affirmative action, and into a habit-pattern of self-criticism which constricts me. Today I was able to catch myself and redirect my thinking to what actions I have done that reflect my deeper beliefs and values. When affirmative action trumps self-criticism, I feel energized to stay in the affirmative action cycle.
Affirmative action is a process that links affirmative thought, intentional action, and experiential learning or growth - all motivated by what is best within us. What do you affirm through your typical daily actions? See my article on Affirmations to learn more about creating and using positive affirmations.
~ Action On Purpose Challenge ~
Reflect on what your typical daily actions are affirming in you, and in the world. Can you stay attentive to the actions you do take without getting sidetracked by what you have not done? Are there examples of “refraining from an action” that you might describe as an affirmative action?
Experiment with setting an intention to hold throughout one day -an intention that grows from what you value in your heart.
“Dreams pass into the reality of action.
From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence
produces the highest form of living.”
~ Anais Nin
~ In the News ~
For Women: Creating a Path With Purpose – I will be facilitating this day-long workshop in Leverett, Massachusetts on November 13th. Click here for more information.
Next Steps - Want to get going on a plan for the kind of life you want to lead in the future? Contact me for a complimentary coaching call to explore whether coaching could help you reach your goals! Natalie@EldridgeWorks.com For a great list of readings and resources, go to http://www.lifeplanningnetwork.org/index.cfm?action=main.resources
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At www.EldridgeWorks.com, my virtual professional home, you will find information about coaching and psychotherapy services, as well as more about me. I would love to hear from you about the website, or the Action on Purpose newsletter. Contact me at Natalie@EldridgeWorks.com.
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