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Passengers, Tourists and Players
31/12/2009
As we begin a new decade, it’s decision time! If our time management programme had one rallying cry, it would be ‘Live Deliberately!’ The call to live our lives on purpose.
I’m not necessarily suggesting we have some great and noble purpose - although, that would be good. I am suggesting that we simply use our conscious mind to make deliberate and purposeful decisions on a moment-by-moment basis.
And to that end, I’m writing to you today about ‘Passengers, Tourists and Players’. You can tell which one you have been by reflecting briefly on last year.
‘Passengers’ are those of us who say, “What happened?” or “Where did that year go?” It’s as if we’ve just been carried along without any major direction or input from ourselves. This is usually an easy ride because we leave the purposeful decisions to others, but let’s remember that very few people have our best interests at heart.
‘Tourists’ are a little more engaged. They are those among us who ‘enjoy the journey’ - who are consciously paying attention to the changing landscape around them. This is more deliberate and purposeful, yet they are often still carried along by others in a passive manner like the passengers. Tourists enjoy the landscape, but they do not become an active part of the territory.
‘Players’ say, “Let me in there Coach - don’t leave me on the bench!” Players are not simply on the tour bus, they want to drive it and decide its next destination - heck, they’ll plan the whole itinerary. (I was going to say, “...given the opportunity,” but this isn’t true for Players - they take the opportunity. They seize the moment.)
Your 2010
Normally I could safely assert that it would be fine (if nevertheless a waste) for you to coast along in 2010 as a Passenger or a Tourist. Both were low pressure, low intensity options in the past. But I would have to say, “were,” because of the way the World has behaved over the last two years. As Passengers and Tourists, we have watched and observed as a few greedy bankers have put us all at risk. Notice how many of these rogues have actually come out on top. This is because they have a criminal mindset (according to Transactional Analysis) of “I’m OK, You’re not OK.” As far as they are concerned, you and I just don't mount up to much - we don't count.
It is no longer safe to leave to others the decisions that impact your life. If 'Rage Against the Machine' can get the Christmas Number One through internet campaigning, this just proves that we can all have a say and make a change.
We used to talk about the circles: circle of control, circle of influence, and circle of concern. In time management, most energy must be poured into our circle of control and then some into the circle of influence. However, we have surely reached a time where circles of concern are being swallowed up by an ever increasing circle of influence and an increasing circle of control. These are the realms of the Players. These are the circles they move in.
As Churchill said, “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.” The Internet offers us unprecedented tools to influence the World - that’s one reason we talk about the 'World Wide Web'. So, step up to the line and boldly decide this year to be a Player - one who is fully engaged in making a difference to your own life and those impacted by your presence on this planet.
To help, I’ve created a template Mind Map that can be found in the Blog entry, “The Most Important Mind Map... Ever!”
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