ROL: Define Yourself.

ROL (return on life) is a qualitative corollary to the quantitative metric, ROI (return on investment). Just as ROI strives for incremental investment driving disproportionately large returns, ROL strives for small incremental changes that greatly increase quality of life. This week's ROL is about defining yourself.

Time Flies.

source: morgueFile

Yesterday, the incredible Bruce Sallan posted on the great 12 Most blog (If you've read Bruce or seen 12 Most, you know the adjectives are not hyperbole). Once you get beyond the whole considering my own mortality thing, Bruce's post is really uplifting. Bruce lays out in spades the most important gifts he can leave his boys.

Who Am I?

Bruce got me thinking, What do I stand for? If I can't define myself and my beliefs, how can I assist my kids or my friends? Many of life's choices are tougher than mayo or mustard, Cheddar or Swiss? If I'm not clear on who I am once life goes beyond the sandwich board I'm in trouble. Fly by the seat of my pants management is no way to approach the tough times of life and no way to set an example for my kids.

What Do I Do?

Take a look around. You don't have to go far to find someone who believes in theirself, first, last, always. Turn the other direction and you find someone dedicated to alcohol fueled infidelity. The worlds of politics, entertainment, finance and sports are full of "role models" parsing words to describe their activities until the sentences are mere gibberish.  I'm not moralizing or judging, but these examples don't work for me. Perhaps, by establishing self definition, (some of) these situations could be avoided before they begin.
One of today's must-do activities is crafting a personal mission statement. Usually a personal mission statement is part of job search. Often a personal mission statement is part of developing a personal brand. Defining oneself shouldn't be merely career oriented nor does it need to be as formalized as a personal mission statement.

Make A List.

Start with one self definition. A single sentence or a simple concept built by short sentences. Wait a day or a week and add another. Keep the list handy. Refer to the list often. Add to the list when required. Share the list when appropriate. Here's my first self definition:
Life is one-third of what happens to me, two-thirds how I respond. That one-third that happens to me can be rough. Still, two-thirds of life is via response. That means full responsibility. I am responsible for my life.
What do you think about self-definitions? Do you have a list? Will you share a self-definition?

ROL: Don't Drown, Drink It Up.

ROL (Return on Life) is a qualitative counterpart of the quantitative marketing analytic, ROI. ROI greatly increases when a little input generates a significantly greater output. Likewise, ROL increases when small life changes produce a greater quality of life. This week's ROL is...well, read on.

I can't believe it's already Thursday afternoon and I'm not set to go with an ROL topic. I have two posts nearly done but can't get what I need in time to make my self-imposed Thursday deadline. I've posted just once since last Thursday. What's going on?

As a starter, the Trust30 prompt for Tuesday was a great idea to help promote my website, "Crowdsourcing A Good Life". Unfortunately, I've been blocked and hadn't posted a new question to the site in over a month. Luckily, Gini Dietrich posted about Spotify. Gini's post planted the seed that lifted the block. The site was updated along with the corresponding Facebook page. A large portion of my social media time allotment was tied up with the site and FB updates but there was more going on, as well.

This past Sunday, my wife rejoined the workforce after a 12 year absence.  Given current conditions and a gigantic hole in my wife's resume (Hole? Spending 12 years concentrating on a household. Birthing and raising two kids, 1 of which is special needs lite and the other which is special needs lighter. This is a hole?), we're thrilled she landed as a 2nd shift CSR at a call center. My wife's new schedule required me to become a primary with the kids. I'm responsible for lunch and dinner and clean up and putting leftovers in a container for wifey's next day dinner. A large portion of computer allocation disappeared with the 1st week of the new schedule. I expect to reclaim this time, but change is turbulent.

My point? I consider building my brand and sharpening my skills in the e-community as part of my day to day responsibilities. When cooking for my kids took my time and energy I could have become angry; the new schedule was stealing my time. A wave of frustration and self pity could have washed over me and gotten the rest of my household wet, too. Instead I relished in literally feeding my family. I chose to enjoy the after dinner time alone with the kids (very challenging during the kids non-medicated hours). Sure, I'm not pleased to have blown a week without promoting me, but frankly that was "money in the pot" anyway. I didn't lose a week of family time along with the unwritten blog posts.

No matter how much we resist, change happens all the time without permission. Those changes will take that which we all hold dear. If we persist in ongoing anger about those already happened changes we lose the joy that new circumstance can bring. Occasionally, changes can be life altering and not in a good way. Too often, meaningless crap consumes us and robs us of the ability to adapt and turn those challenges positive.  

It's a waste to get lost in what has slipped away. 

Find all the good that awaits the next day.