Dear ,
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 Welcome to Issue 135. If you did not receive a previous issue, you may use the archive link below to view it now. The mission of "Marvelous Mondays" is to offer an inspirational thought, a practical exercise, some humor, or a simple tip to jump-start your week and to enhance your life, business, outlook or relationships.
Please feel free to forward "Marvelous Mondays" to others who will enjoy it.
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FOCUS & GOSSIP
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In our last issue I listed co-workers and drop-ins as the #1 interruptors. Unfortunately, some of these interruptors lead to gossip which serves no good purpose and makes it even more difficult to regain focus on our real task.
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| A NEW DEFINITION OF GOSSIP |
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Let's experiment with a new definition of gossip that will be more productive and powerful. As you will see from the following definition, it makes no difference whether the statement made is true or speculative. Here is gossip as defined by my friends Matthew and Terces Engleheart in their book Sacred Commerce:
"We distinguish gossip as anything that is said or listened to that diminishes a person in someone's hearing. In other words, gossip is often something you probably wouldn't say if you were saying it directly to the subject of the gossip. We say, if you have a committed complaint, then be sure you are talking to someone who can do something about it, beginning first with the person with whom you have the issue."
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| EXERCISE |
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This exercise will help keep you in focus and preserve the integrity in your business and other relationships. So I invite you to do the following exercise this week in your business or other relationships:
1. Pick an accountability partner (you can always pick me).
2. Explain to that partner that you are committed to a "no gossip" policy for 7 days.
3. Explain to the people in your work place or other environment that you are following this "no gossip" policy for 7 days and that you would really appreciate their honoring this and also holding you accountable. Let them know that if either of you "gossip", the conversation needs to be changed or one of you needs to walk away from the conversation.
I realize that this exercise requires a change of habit and that we will probably slip and fall down in the next week. Be assured, that's okay because again this is a process and the results will be well worth the effort.
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