History Starts Now

About a week ago now I was watching the season premier of a favourite show ‘Criminal Minds’ and as the show was drawing to a close, a song was played that captured my attention. The words were amazing which spurred me on to doing a search on the internet to see if I could figure out the name of the song and the group that performed it. I mentioned to my son that the group sounded so familiar but when I did the search and came up with the name of the band it didn’t ring a bell. Not anything unusual for me as I’m pathetic with names of bands, movies or songs, but their voices remain imbedded in my mind forever.

However once I did the search and other songs came up as well I realised I knew the band well and loved their songs. They’re called Five for FIGHTING and are quite distinctive, never mind socially aware in their work. I emailed the group asking permission to use some of the lyrics in my blog and was pleasantly surprised to get an answer within an hour. John Ondrasik, the lead, was more than gracious in giving me permission to share a bit of their work with you through my insights and comments. And, I hope you’ll run out and buy their CDs as their music really is extraordinary.

The song from the program was called ‘World’ and has many messages to it. My favourite of them all is “History Starts Now”. There is so much about that phrase I could write about in many contexts. History starts now in life as we create our life from this moment on…..every choice determining what our future will look like by our relationships, ideas, ideals, values and passions. It’s also very relevant in history when it comes to relying on an individual, judging one person by the actions of another, and using something in the past as a ‘written in stone’ guideline as to how a person might respond in the present or future.

That’s one of my biggest challenges in the workplace. Those I partner with as clients work very hard at changing what isn’t working in their ‘worlds’ and it’s very hard to break past history with colleagues and implement that change when others don’t give them the benefit of the doubt. People see what was, not what is. Using the ‘History Starts Now’ changes that paradigm. You can create a new history by how you relate to someone in the present. You can create a new history by seeing the best in people and acknowledging the changes they’re making.

“What kind of world do you want?
Think Anything
Let's start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now... "

Years ago I decided to build a life I love. Slowly but surely I pruned my life of toxic relationships and replaced them with those who enriched my life. I’m happy because I choose to be, not give the power of that choice to circumstance. I look to learn something new every day, connect with people in all facets of life. I will soon attend an international symposium for coaching and we’re going to look at Stewardship in Coaching. This ties in beautifully. Coaching from a framework of stewardship is normative: “with accountability for affirming human rights and dignity, ecological health, and care for the health and well-being of the whole”. It also shifts focus from “Being the best in the world” to “Being the best for the world” (a triple bottom line: economically, socially, ecologically).

If you reach out to make a difference in some way every day, look to learn something new, speak to someone you’ve never spoken to before, make connections for you or connect other people, you will build a masterpiece of a life. No time like the present to begin. History starts right now.

Best!
Donna Karlin