Life Lessons from Winnie the Pooh

Life Lessons from Winnie the Pooh

Several generations have grown up on the tales of Winnie the Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. Since the loveable Pooh Bear was first introduced to the world in 1924 by writer A.A. Milne, stories of the ragtag gang have captivated the hearts and imaginations of millions.

Rarely does a child—or and adult, for that matter—read or watch a Winnie the Pooh story without coming across a moral lesson. Four of the life lessons that permeate throughout the franchise are:

1. Optimism is better than pessimism.

Contrast the adorable yet morose attitude of Eeyore with the ever-upbeat attitude of Winnie. While Eeyore always focuses intensely on the cloud, Pooh always seems to find the silver lining. Pooh and the others seem to tolerate Eeyore’s pessimism, but it is clear that the better approach to life is the optimistic one.

2. True friends are always loyal, even if it costs.

Winnie and his friends frequently overcome their fears in order to rescue one who is lost or in danger. They are even willing to set aside personal agendas and desires for the sake of the one who is in trouble, such as when Pooh set aside his search for honey in order to rescue Christopher Robin from the dreaded Backson. In so doing, the Hundred Acre Wood residents demonstrate true friendship to us.

3. Expect the best in each other.

Piglet, Winnie’s timid friend, often finds strength in the encouragement he receives from Pooh. Even when the others express doubts about another’s abilities or intentions, Pooh remains positive. Similarly, when we expect the best in someone else, often that person will rise to the occasion. As a bonus, positive expectations can also lead to less stress and fewer interpersonal conflicts.

4. Have an unquenchable hunger for more.

Fans of Winnie know that the one thing that occupies most of Pooh’s time and energy is his never-ending quest for honey. He has an insatiable thirst for the sweet nectar. Likewise, we can have an insatiable desire to grow beyond where we are right now. We can have a healthy hunger to grow personally, professionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually.

These and other lessons expressed through the Winnie the Pooh series of books and videos can enrich the life of a young child as well as a seasoned parent. Winnie the Pooh and his friends may reside in a fantasy world, but they teach us valuable lessons for living in the real world.

Lane Resources (c) 2011
Lynn Lane

Act Small, Achieve Big

Act Small, Achieve Big! What?

Four Motivations That Drive You

Four Motivations That Drive You

Four basic drives are common to all human beings, but which ones affect your daily life and behavior? How do they influence the choices you make?

At the start of the 20th century, psychoanalysis pioneer Sigmund Freud proposed that people are driven by sex and power—but there’s much more to it than that. By the 1950s, psychologist Abraham Maslow identified our “hierarchy” of basic needs, which include shelter, food, clothing, ego and belonging. After these needs were met, he said, we’re driven toward self-actualization—a state very few achieve.

In the 1960s, MIT management professor Douglas McGregor applied Maslow’s ideas to the business world. He asserted that once basic salary needs were met, workers had higher drives that weren’t contingent on rewards or punishments. If managers could tap into people’s inner motivations by granting more autonomy and respect, they would spur greater performance.

Harvard psychology professor David McClelland later identified three motivators in leaders: drives to achieve, attain power and affiliate with others.

Despite all of these studies, businesses continue to use monetary incentives instead of tapping into employees’ intrinsic motivations. Perhaps one can chalk this up to fuzzy, anachronistic notions about what motivates people.

A new theory suggests each of us has four basic drives that have existed since our cavemen days. These drives, which have allowed us to survive, are embedded in our DNA and actively chart the course for our daily behaviors.

Acquiring, Bonding, Learning and Defending

In Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices (Jossey Bass, 2001), Harvard Business School professors Paul R. Lawrence and Nitin Nohria draw evidence for their four-drive theory from evolutionary psychology and Charles Darwin’s teachings, as well as the social sciences and organizational life.

Human beings seek ways to fulfill the following drives because our evolutionary heritage compels us to meet basic survival needs:

1. The drive to acquire objects and experiences that improve our status relative to others. We’re driven to seek, take, control, and retain objects and personal experiences. In the course of evolution, humans have been naturally selected to compete for food, water, shelter and sexual fulfillment.

We’re driven to acquire both material and positional goods, as well as social status. But the drive to acquire is rarely satisfied; we always seem to want more and seek even greater status.

1. The drive to bond with others in long-term relationships of mutual care and commitment. Human beings have an innate drive to form social relationships and develop commitments with others—drives that are fulfilled only when the attachment is mutual.

   Groups of individuals who bond to one another have always had a better chance of surviving environmental threats. This drive induces us to cooperate with others.

1. The drive to learn and make sense of the world and of ourselves. Humans have an innate drive to satisfy their curiosity—to know, comprehend, believe, appreciate, and develop understandings or representations of their environment and themselves through a reflective process.

   This drive, without doubt, has enabled mankind to survive the elements and has given us distinct advantages over other creatures.

1. The drive to defend ourselves, our loved ones, our beliefs and our resources. Humans have an innate drive to defend themselves and their valued accomplishments whenever they perceive them to be endangered. The fundamental emotion manifested by this subconscious drive is alarm, which in turn triggers fear and/or anger. This drive has obvious survival value and quite possibly may have been the first drive to have evolved in our earliest ancestors.

In modern life, the drive to defend manifests in many ways. Much of human activity is generated by this drive. It is activated by perceived threats to one’s body, possessions and bonded relationships, as well as by threats to one’s own cognitive representations of our environment and self-identity.

The Balancing Act

The four drives are intrinsic and universal, found in some physical form in our brains. While independent, the drives are highly interactive with each other.

Each drive also has a “dark side,” as when the drive to acquire becomes excessively competitive and diminishes respect for others, or when the drive to defend one’s current thinking diminishes the drive to learn new perspectives.

These four drives exist in each of us; no one is immune. They determine the choices we make.

In some people, one drive will be more developed than others, creating an imbalance. And in some jobs, specific drives will be emphasized over others.

Using Drive to Your Advantage

Understanding how each of these drives manifests in your life can help you understand how and why you make particular choices. Working with a professional coach can help you identify your strongest drives so you can understand yourself better.

You may be relying too much on your drive to acquire or be placing too much emphasis on the drive to bond, while neglecting your drive to learn. Often, the drive to defend can overwhelm other important drives that must be satisfied to achieve and enjoy a well-balanced and successful life.

Which drives are guiding your choices—and which drive do you neglect?

The answers to these questions lie in acknowledging that all four drives are basic to human nature—and that a balanced life must include some satisfaction in all four areas.

As Lawrence and Nohria write: “The challenge is to find a course forward that fulfils all of our basic drives in some creative, balanced way…The way forward must be to use the best side of each drive to check the dark, excessive potential of human nature.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

√ Would you create the life you always wanted?

√ Would you like to be significant,

successful & satisfied?

√ Are you contributing to others?

√ When will you start growing in your personal development?

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Live Your Purpose!

Victor Frankl psychologist and author of man’s search for meaning said; “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

As a young boy I had a poster on the wall in my room. It was a picture of a very busy and crowded city street. The city was full of confusion. People everywhere, crowded streets, with signs and billboards. The words across the top of the poster ask the question. Why am I here? My question to you is why are you here? What is your purpose on this earth? Maybe you’ve ask yourself that question before. Maybe you know your purpose but you’ve never made the decision to act on it.

Peter Drucker says; “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” The majority of people never live a life of purpose because it takes hard work and discipline. Most people just settle for what comes along. They live the life of quiet desperation. They talk about what they should do and dream big dreams, but never go forward. A life without action is a life without purpose.

Success has been studied and researched for years. We have more information on success today than ever before and one outstanding similarity is that the winners in life all have a major definite purpose.

You see, it’s your purpose that keeps you in a forward motion. Your purpose gives you momentum. We need to know that we are growing and making a contribution. Each time you reach a goal your self-esteem will grow and then you’ll build on that accomplishment, like an avalanche it will grow as it pushes forward.

 That’s why winners have goals and a major purpose for their life. Tony Robbins says, “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.” Some people have a goal to get up and go to work. Go back home set down in front of the television have a couple of beers and go to bed, only to do the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day. If you don’t have a major purpose in your life, you will always be bound under the power of the people who do. I believe that many people you find in hospitals, prisons, and in the court system are without a major definite purpose. Without purpose you have no compelling future to look forward to.

Without a compelling future you give up on life and find yourself in a state of mind that’s not productive. And through the law of attraction you attract more depression and more of the things you really don’t want. Without a compelling future, people turn to drugs and alcohol to change their state of mind which is only a temporary solution and then it’s repeated over and over.

I worked as an EMT in my twenties and witnessed people without a compelling future many times. On one occasion we got a call to a railroad crossing in a little out of the way country town. The call was that a train hit a man on the track. As I was driving to the scene I was trying to imagine what to expect. I was thinking of different scenarios in my mind. We didn’t know if this person was alive, if they were in a vehicle or what. So I was trying to prepare myself for action.

When we got there I could see the end of the train way down the track and a figure of a body laying on the track about thirty feet away from the crossing. Then I realized that it was a man that had been ran over by this train. We later found out by a witness that this man had set there on the tracks for hours drinking beer waiting on this train. And just at the last second as the train was roaring down the track this man stood up in front of the train and his life ended in a tragic way.

I have no doubt that this man had no definite purpose in his life to look forward to. If you’re not growing in this life you’re dying. This world will eliminate you just as nature eliminates plants and animals. Think about all the things in your world that at one time served a purpose that you no longer have. You’ve gotten rid of those things because they no longer serve your needs. If you don’t know your major purpose in life, that’s ok. Most people don’t know what their purpose is. It has been estimated that only about three percent of the population ever have clear goals in life. As you learn to set small goals that are consistent with your values you will begin to see your purpose unfold.

Some people decide on a purpose at an early age, some wait much later. Col. Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC as they call it today in his sixties. He said; “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me.”

“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.”

… Robert Cody

I am sure that every religion known to man all has one thing in common, that would be faith. Faith is about living your life and going forward without all the answers.

Faith allows you the freedom from being held back by worry, doubt and fear. You may find it hard to have faith, and to believe in yourself when people around you try to cut you down with words of discouragement. No matter what others say about you, your plans, your dreams, or your vision, faith in yourself has to remain. You lose the power of confidence when you forsake your faith and belief in yourself. Never allow others to shake your belief or faith. Having faith in yourself releases you from the opinions of others. The only opinion that’s important is the opinion you have of yourself.

Without the belief in yourself you’ll never find the confidence to overcome fear and challenges when the time arises. Any good fisherman will tell you that the best lure you have is the lure you have the most confidence in. The best martial artist will also tell you the best technique they have is the one they have the most confidence in. That is the same belief and confidence you need for yourself.

Without it; how can you sell an idea, communicate your needs, elicit help from others along your journey?

Life Purpose Quiz

Finding True Meaning – The Quiz
Article June 2011

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it. ~ W. Clement Stone

Does your life have a clear sense of purpose?

Most people have a fundamental need to seek and find their calling in life, be it through work, hobbies or volunteer activities. While philosophers have long weighed in on the subject, it has recently come under scrutiny by researchers who seek to understand the science behind human happiness and success.

Psychologist Michael Steger and his colleagues at Colorado State University created the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) to measure the presence of meaning in our lives, as well as how much we seek to further our understanding of life’s purpose.

This five-minute test will prompt you to think about these important topics, and it can serve as the foundation for discussions with your significant relationships, mentor or coach.

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ)

Take a moment to think about what makes your life and existence feel important.

Using the following scale, respond to the 10 statements on the questionnaire as truthfully and accurately as possible. Keep in mind that each statement is subjective, so there are no right or wrong ratings.

Untrue True
1. Absolutely untrue 4. Can’t say if true or false 5. Somewhat true
2. Mostly untrue 6. Mostly true
3. Somewhat untrue 7. Absolutely true

Statements

1. _____I understand my life’s meaning.
2. _____I am looking for something that makes my life feel meaningful.
3. _____I am always looking to find my life’s purpose.
4. _____My life has a clear sense of purpose.
5. _____I have a good sense of what makes my life meaningful.
6. _____I have discovered a satisfying life purpose.
7. _____I am always searching for something that makes my life feel significant.
8. _____I am seeing a purpose or mission for my life.
9. _____My life has no clear purpose.
10. _____I am searching for meaning in my life.

Scoring

You can create two subscales from this measure: one for the “Presence” of meaning and the other for the “Search” for meaning.

Presence: Statements 1, 4, 5, 6 and 9 (reverse-coded)
Search: 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10

Note: There is no manual for interpreting this questionnaire. To understand it better, please contact Dr. Steger through his website: http://michaelfsteger.com/MLQ.aspx. The quiz is reproduced here solely to stimulate your thinking and facilitate a conversation with your coach or mentor.

There are no definitive methods for discovering what really matters to you, but passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will normally find that it’s something about which you are tremendously passionate. You will be energetic and experience positive emotions.

In reviewing your life, you’ll find that you have already invested considerable time and effort in pursuit of what really matters to you. Responsibilities to others, however, often sidetrack and distract us from focusing on our core purpose, which may evolve over time. Look for recurrent themes and core interests.

The Daily Search… or the Daily Grind

Many people organize their lives to such an extent that they begin to feel like robots after a while. While routines help us conserve energy, they also lead to boredom and disengagement.

As you complete your daily activities, ask yourself these important questions:

1. What is this task’s purpose?
2. How can I bring more meaning to this activity?
3. How will this task bring me closer to my passion(s)?
4. How can I find a way to express my true values?

Finding Meaning at Work

As humans, we require a sense of belonging in the world—a place to make a contribution. For most, this comes through work, which is as much about spirit and passion as it is about salary.

Renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow defined the human “hierarchy of needs” on four main levels:

1. Security
2. Relationships
3. Self-esteem
4. Self-actualization

As our basic security needs for food, clothing and shelter are met, we are free to focus on fulfilling other needs. Depending on your personality and drive, you have opportunities to discover what motivates you and create your own sense of purpose on the job.

Meaning, purpose and passion are often hidden in the little tasks and events that make up each day. It’s up to us to pay attention, find our focus and spend our time on what matters most.

Here Is What I Have For You:
Personal Coaching and Mentoring with the Warrior of Success Group.

Discover how you can become a part of this powerful community of success-minded individuals and future superstars as you start creating your own success!

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“Our Mission is to encourage, inspire and educate people to live a life of Success, Achievement and Joy through Purpose, Power and Passion.”

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Send me an email if you want to work one on one! lynn@warriorofsuccess.com

I Am Grateful For You!

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others” ~ Cicero

What are you grateful for today?

Thank you for being part of this great journey in my life!