by Amy Butterfield, CCE – LKL Associates
Our May ICEL speaker was Troy Dircks. Troy started off asking us the following questions. What do you want to be when you grow up? How many are living your dreams or a version of your dreams? How many of you feel you could do something different to better your life? His presentation gives us some tools to help us achieve our best life.
He first went over the Importance of Vulnerabilities. Troy was very open about a personal struggle that he felt he would never overcome. He shared it with the group I believe, to help us all think about things we might be struggling with. Troy helped us see that being vulnerable doesn’t mean that you are weak but can actually help you to overcome your struggles. We can improve ourselves by taking the following steps:
- Identify your weaknesses
- Ask for Feedback
- The Power of Humility
- Allows us to accept & work on our weaknesses
- We are all works in progress.
- “Pride makes us artificial & humility makes us real.”
He then continued by stating we need to Confront, Don’t Hide. Troy asked, “Would you rather spend your life hiding your weaknesses or improving them?” What is easier? People had different opinions so he continued by stating that we should “Embrace Conflict.” How? Respectfully, immediately & truthfully. We can then “Listen with Empathy” because we don’t need to be like everyone else and this can help us to:
- Avoid Judgments
- Ask questions & listen to what they have to say
- Seek to understand rather than solve the problem
- Practice active listening
Troy then stated that “Vulnerability Fuels Change” and he asked us to go through our “Hierarchy of Values” and list what we value most. For Troy, what matters most to him are his family, his spiritual well-being, his career, his health, and his growth.
We can set manageable goals by using these ideas:
SMART Goals =
- S:Specific
- M:Measurable
- A:Achievable
- R:Realistic
- T:Timely
There are a total of 1440 minutes in a day – use14.4 minutes to make something better in your day. Making micro changes in your life can have macro results. The more positive habits you can create, the easier it is to get rid of those things we should not be doing.
Troy finished by asking us to “Make Your Time Count.” The best things in life take effort. Be patient with yourself because success takes time. There is no one like you and there has never been anyone like you. Use that and use what is in you to change the world.