Tag Archive for: success with change

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2019 Highlights – 2020 Preview – Arc Integrated

Arc Integrated - 2019 Highlights - 2020 Preview

Arc Integrated – 2019 Highlights – 2020 Preview

Greetings and Happy New Year!

I hope that the first few weeks of 2020 have been a success.  It was an exciting year in 2019 and there are some wonderful upcoming releases and events from Arc Integrated in 2020.

As I look back on the last year, here are some the highlights of 2019:

  • Traveled the country serving a wide variety of leaders, teams, organizations and events.
  • We continue to learn the client that we serve best. We have been doing our very best work while serving organizations and leaders that are driven to create and maintain cultures with purpose, accountability, sustainability, empathy and collaboration.
  • In May I launched my book – CHANGES: The Busy Professional’s Guide to Reducing Stress, Accomplishing Goals and Mastering Adaptability.
    • It hit best seller status in three categories!
  • I also launched the audio book a few months later.  If you’re not yet an Audible user, you can get a FREE audio version of the book here.
  • Earlier in 2019 I graduated from a 9 year martial arts program which continues to influence ways in which we train, facilitate and coach teams, leaders and organizations on how to be their very best. Stay tuned for some more posts about how martial arts influences the work we do and how some of the philosophies get incorporated.
  • There have been a number of podcast interviews done in 2019 which set the stage to do many more in 2020! These interviews have acted as massive resources for our clients. If you’d like to browse our list of interviews- https://www.arcintegrated.com/about-us/
  • Later in the year I went through a certification program called XCHANGE.  This has been the most powerful professional certification I have received in my career thus far. I’ll be doing an upcoming blog post about this approach and how we are incorporating it into our work with clients.
    • This training led to a number of work engagements, including an all employee company retreat, an executive leadership summit and a industry wide collaborative.
  • We continue to have an impact on the lives of the leaders and organizations we are honored to serve. Here’s what one of our client’s said in 2019 –

“Our Executive Leadership Team has worked closely with Michael for the past year and the results of this engagement have had a profound impact on our company. We utilize the many of the strategies that we have learned from him on a daily basis as what he has to offer is practical and implementable Individual and group coaching has helped us to improve our communication skills and function on a higher level as a leadership team.”

– Stand for Animals Executive Team

As well look ahead to 2020, here are some of the exciting things we have in store:

  • Continue to travel, internationally, serving a wide variety of organizations, leaders, teams and conferences!
  • The launch of the CHANGES CARDS. Available for order now (discounts for bulk!). Available on Amazon by end of Q1
  • Releasing my book in hard cover
  • Developing the Changes Journal.  There has been much feedback about the valuable exercises within the book.  Because of this, we’ll be releasing a book with just the exercises and places for reflection, so people can optimize their work.
  • Speaking a lot more! There are a number of events already lined up. We have been getting great feedback about the high levels of engagement and experiential nature of Michael’s events. To inquire about Michael’s availability in 2020, schedule a time to chat today!
    • See some previous speaking reels as well as testimonials here – https://www.arcintegrated.com/consultation/speaking-engagements/

What I’m most excited about are the surprises.  I am consistently in awe of how much can change, every year.  Certainly not all surprises are welcome, but I continue to learn the value of perception and how all experiences can be teachers.

Looking forward to a year full of growth, success, excitement and education.

Wishing you all the same.

With Gratitude,

Michael

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The Pace of Change

 

The Pace of Change

Maintaining change takes time, and you will probably experience some hiccups along the way.  As you may have heard, change is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  But what does this mean?  To me it means that to be successful with change there needs to be regular diligent practice over longer periods of time.  This isn’t the only key to maintaining change, but a key component.  Remember that to reach a change of pace you need to understand the pace of change.

I recently entered into a 100 day challenge, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.   This challenge is around being very intentional with my mornings.  This has proved to be an effective strategy in implementing a new change.  I have learned a lot about my strengths and challenges and what things push me back towards old habits.  I have taken an approach of diligence and curiosity though, not embracing failure when things didn’t go the way I expected.  This took some getting used to though.  Today is day 85 and by now my routine feels pretty normal, I’m enjoying it.

Any change in behavior or pattern takes time.  To help drive home the point of maintaining a successful change over time, I’ve created a reminder.  The reminder is to pace yourself.  To help you remember, consider this device –

P.A.C.E.

P – Patience

A – Acceptance

C – Control

E – Empathy

Interestingly, the terms patience, acceptance, control and empathy are all very important should you want to be successful with a change. Let me explain –

Patience – Since we know that change takes time, patience is of the utmost importance.  Often time’s changes are not successful because we don’t practice long enough, or wait out the new pattern long enough for it to truly set in.  Being patient in your process as you create a new way of being will lead you to continue on and not give up prior to completion.

Acceptance – In the midst of a new lifestyle, some days will be great, others not so much.  Accept this.  The fact that you’re having a bad day or that your practice in implementing a change was not as great as yesterdays, does not mean failure.  Some challenges may get in our way when we are in the midst of a change.  It is important to accept what may be out of our control.

Control – Very connected to acceptance, knowing what is in our control and what isn’t, is an important part of the path towards change.  However, the reason I separate acceptance from control is that ultimately we are in control of perception, just not the event that precedes it.  What this means is that when we are faced with challenges, we always get to control our own perception and interpretation towards the situation.  We have the choice to be victims or masters of our challenges.

Empathy – Times of change can be hard.  Having empathy for yourself through the process of change is crucial.  So what does self-empathy mean? It means staying connected to yourself in the process and allowing yourself to make mistakes along the way and knowing that it is ok.   Allowing yourself to make mistakes along the way and not giving up is a recipe for long lasting change.  For example, there will be times when you plan to implement a change or practice a new behavior and you get set back by old patterns and ways of being. Its ok to have setbacks, just don’t let those setbacks be translated into a quitting mindset.  Having empathy towards yourself will help to increase the likelihood of not giving up at setback and ultimately reaching your goals.

So next time you are facing a change or working through a goal, consider pacing yourself.

Questions to consider

What changes are you working towards?

How can you implement the PACE acronym in making your desired change successful?

What holds you back from taking action?

Please feel free to comment below with any answers to these questions, new ideas or other questions.

Best,

Michael

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