one hat at a time

Last week I was working with a 29-person strategic planning team in Plano, Texas. They were two weeks out from rolling out the initiative and soliciting feedback as a part of a highly visible, major annual meeting. The meeting was devoted to nailing down lots of the details surrounding the presentations and small group decisions they were responsible for facilitating.

The anticipation and stress were almost palpable.

We started the meeting talking about all the roles they play and the importance of showing up to at this meeting with a "hattitude" that would help them be great ambassadors for the strategic plan team. Each person picked a hat from the One Hat At A Time deck and shared the hat and the why with the group as a whole.

There were several coach hats to keep the focus on everyone getting equipped to get in the game, several high-risk hats (cowboy, parachute, firefighter) that acknowledged the thrill, danger and risk in doing something new. Some chose the artist's beret as a reminder of the powerful force of co-creation. Still others chose  astronaught/diving hats to emphasize the thrill and history-making opportunity that comes with exploration of new terrains.

The next time you show up to a big opportunity, choose your hattitude with intention!

As a rose bush grows new shoots, the growing of thorns occurs in a perfect thorn-to-stem ratio. The thorns beneath the beautiful flowers provide a system of defense that is always there without the rose having to do anything but grow. This caused me to wonder:

• Is there something like a thorn to stem ratio built into my DNA?
• Are my defense mechanisms organic and triggered by growth?
• Or are they triggered by something else (e.g., fear, loss of control, etc.)?

Intuitive impulses that warn us of danger or make us suspicious are an example of one kind of organic human defense mechanism. This wariness can help us mitigate threats by crafting new solutions or it can shut us off from possibility. Sometimes our intuitive sense tells us to avoid the very situations where our next lessons and breakthroughs lie.

If you are facing a decision and one choice seems to send up intuitive red flags, ask: What would it take for me to say "yes"? Collect these answers and watch some new possibilities emerge which allow you to smell the roses without getting pricked too badly by the thorns.

I don't need any more email and I'm sure you don't either. Sorry if our system has filled your inbox with strange emails in many different languages. In the attempt to stop the madness we have totally shut down the old site and are working to rebuild it.

Until then, I've decided to provide information and food for thought in this space. Please let me know if you receive any junk mail from (nonsense)@onehatatime.com from this time and date forward.

Thanks for your understanding and patience!

We offer up this special streamlined holiday issue as our gift to you. Our one and only article this month encourages you to use whatever hats needed to create the holiday experience you want.

We wish you a season of peace and wonder as we prepare ourselves for another new year.

Play on!

When Holidays Become Horrid Days, Change Your Hat!

When the holiday season finds you overwhelmed and out of sorts, the best gift of all might be a new hat.

No, we're not talking about keeping your ears warm. The hats that can help keep you sane and even jolly are perspectives that are always available to you.

Your list of to-do's makes you feel like jumping off a cliff? Try putting on a climber's hat and focus on finding your next foothold. Even though the terrain looks tricky, one pull at a time will get you through it.

Too many out-of-the-ordinary demands on your time and energy? Control the chaos by calling on your inner police officer. What rules and boundaries do you need to maintain and uphold to keep yourself from climbing the walls?

Dissatisfied that what you've planned and bought doesn't seem like enough? The chef's lofty hat reminds you that you have the power to transform the mundane into the magnificent. How can you personalize, spice up and present whatever you have to give this season, so as to create wonderful moments and memories?

Feeling that family togetherness is overrated? When the behavior of the kids or the in- laws or your sister is driving you round the bend, shine up your trusty halo. Step into the light, where you can see past the irritating trait. How you can infuse the situation with some positive energy? What petty stuff is getting in the way of living each hour to the fullest?

A little blue because the season seems like all work and no wonderment? Go for the beanie with the propeller on top. Let go of having to make it "right" and approach every situation as if it was brand new. Ask how, why and what if. Allow yourself to be amazed.

Cell phones, email, TiVo - all the technologies we depend on conspire to diminish our sense of place and time. Thank heaven for Thanksgiving, the holiday that brings us down to earth! As we prepare for this harvest festival, the Farmer's hat reminds us that not everything is virtual and digital. Some things are tangible and temporal.

The Farmer's perspective is one of operating in sync with nature and natural laws. Wearing this hat, we know that the tomatoes won't ripen until July no matter when we put the plants in. From this point of view, we understand that we need to cultivate the soil, or nothing will grow well.

Reach for the Farmer's hat when:

• You're trying to rush something into bearing fruit, when it may need time to develop roots underground.
• You're seeing projects -- and even people -- as objects to managed and maneuvered, instead of as living, growing entities.
• You're trying to control it all, when you need to remember that not everything is in your control.
• You feel like you are fighting to make things happen or your environment isn't supporting the results you really want.

Compared to a century ago, very few people today are fulltime farmers. Yet the more speeded up and stressed out we become, the more we need the wisdom that tells us that we and our work are deeply entwined with our environment. The more time we spend in front of screens, the more we need the deep refreshment of seasonal change and variety. The more we strive to do too many things at once, the more we need to discern, what is it time for?

It may be time to be grounded and grateful.

Whatever your tradition, wherever you call home, Happy Thanksgiving

Container Gardening

Are you feeling like your life resembles a jungle more than a garden? Do you feel like the weeds and vines are winning? Whether your weeds come in the form of emails, papers, emergencies or errands we'd like to share a secret for creating gardens that flourish.

1. Define containers for the top roles you play. Too often we allow our roles to smear together which allows plenty of room for weeds. Start by identifying those roles that are most important and that would benefit from intentional gardening. The container is defined by purpose (what am I seeking to create in this role) and time (how many hours a week do I want/need to devote to this purpose?) My favorite hats for this task include the captain's hat and the royal crown

2. Transplant only the important things first. Now that you've defined your containers, it is time to make some decisions about what to put in it. Some find it useful to don the surgeon's cap or the detectives hat at this stage to help keep the "shoulds" out of the picture.

3. Farm one container at a time. Lots of stress and dropped balls happen in the juggling act otherwise known as multitasking. Strap on the mountain climber's hat or the miner's hat to help keep focus on the task at hand.

4. Celebrate progress. Put on the beanie or artist's beret to help savor each stage for what it is instead of dwelling on how far away from the ultimate objective it is. Have you ever rejoiced in uncovering a gorgeous plant after an hour of weeding or do you tend to be frustrated with the weeds that remain? Put on the party hat or graduation hat and celebrate what you've accomplished.

One of the best things about container gardens is that you can move them around to adjust the amount of light they are getting AND there is very little room for weeds! One Hat At A Time momentum cards can help assist you with container gardening and much more.