Where do you go when the thrill has gone?
The gleam has gone out of the Axis on his desk. Even his pridein the Cannes Lion has waned. Jeffs agency is on the shortlistfor a blue-chip client theyve been courting for years. Yet ashe gazes out of his elevated office, across the silver harbour,his head throbs. His mouth feels dry. The thrill has gone.
Thousands of creatives, suits, planners, managers and directorslive their lives focused on the next award, the newest client,the best campaign. Were groomed and conditioned that way. Butwhat happens when it stops being all there is? What happens whenaward winning ideas are replaced with questions? Life-altering,soul-splintering questions.
“We are trained in our society to live into, strive for, afuture,” says Legacy Coach Sally Anderson. “People seekvalidation in their self-worth through external goals. But whatfrequently happens is the goal never quite matches ourexpectations. Our barometer on our level of happiness is alwaysreliant on external circumstances shifting.
“What,” she asks, “would life look like if how you feel aboutlife was not reliant on something external?” Anderson encouragespeople to get present to three key areas of life: integrity,responsibility, and commitment. These, she says, are the key tofreedom and they form the framework for people to live life inthe present.
“I am not discounting the importance of achieving goals but I amcontesting living in a world which looks like there is alwayssomewhere else to get. Like someday is the 8th day of theweek. To sustain any level of happiness or satisfaction in thislife does not, contrary to popular opinion, lie in theachievement of goals.”
Anderson proposes that its important to charter your boat(you and your goals) in the direction you wish to head, but notbe attached to the outcome. This is where most people experiencedissatisfaction, for it did not meet their expectations.Anderson notes that most peoples thoughts on a day-to-day basisare either past-based or future-based. In other words, we arehardly ever present. This is a human phenomenon.
Daily, Anderson listens to people saying they are “not thereyet”, or theyre “getting there”. But she questions where arethey trying to get to? The fact is, there is nowhere to get to.That “one day” in the future doesnt
exist. This is “it” hereand now. The past is but a thought, and the future an illusion,a projection from the moment that is now. But by focusingwholeheartedly on the present, arent you running the risk ofremoving the essential drive – the thrill of the chase, thedelayed gratification – that this industry thrives on?
“I work with executives in the creative industries and a commontheme is that there is lots to do, in order to achieve X, Y,Z. Their experiences range from overwhelm, struggle, no freedom,pressure, anxiety. They operate from a state of doing, or tryingto make it happen.
“When they look outside of themselves for gratification, theywill always be left disappointed. But a life where theindividual learns to take responsibility for their state ofbeing regardless of the circumstances, is a different life.
“Imagine living a life where you are operating at peakperformance, high energy levels. You are able to de-trigger fromany situation within a millisecond, silence the internaldestructive voice (I call the inner critic), the one thingthat destroys human potential. Youve transformed yourrelationship to fear, and are living in the zone, being theconduit for attracting synchronistic opportunities to come toyou.”
All this is possible, says Anderson, when you start living inthe present. What role, then do drive, passion, enthusiasm takein this new life? “These are functions of choice. Most people donot know what motivates them to do what they do, nor do theyknow what they are committed to. In three years of developing mycoaching practice I have met few clients who could articulatethe core motivators that drive them in their lives,” she says.
“Passion doesnt lie in something external, nor does happiness.It lies in you choosing it as a way of being, regardless of thecircumstances in your life. If you are not clear on whatmotivates you to do what you do, or to breathe for that matter,how can you live a life of passion?”
About the author:
Sally Anderson is New Zealands first Legacy Coach for LegacyLeadership. As an Executive Coach, Sally facilitates sustainabletransformation in individuals, which is frequently lacking inthe corporate world. To find out more about Sallys coaching anddevelopment work, visit www.sallyanderson.co.nz
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