Los Suenos Institute
In Memory Of, Thank You, We Miss You
by Sueños on 05/28/17
This holiday weekend is a weekend of remembrance. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Today is a day we honor Courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is action in the face of fear. This is always a solemn day for me. As a veteran. I think of all the men and women who have served their country and all they sacrificed, their dreams, their youth, their lives. They did this to protect us, to protect the place and the people they love. I am forever grateful. We need to honor our Veterans' ultimate sacrifices by pursuing our dreams in the face of fear. We still can!
Task Vs. Trust
by Sueños on 05/26/17
As we begin our career it is common to get rewarded for how quick and effectively we complete our tasks. The more tasks we complete and the quicker we complete them the more we get rewarded. The more we get rewarded the more hours we dedicate to completing tasks. It feels good to get rewarded and recognized. And such the tasks reward cycle begins. It becomes encoded in our professional habits DNA. Then we reach a plateau. Regardless of how many tasks we complete and how quickly we complete them there is no increase in reward. No longer will simply pulling an all nighter get me anywhere. It is expected! You have reached the limits of the tasks reward strategy. Sometimes we internalize this and believe they don’t appreciate us. We ask,” don’t they realize how hard I work?”
Above a certain level reward comes from trust. It is a rather simple rational. If I am going to reward you with more, it be capital or responsibility I must trust you in direct proportion to the more. Early in our careers we engage in very few trust activities. It is simply about getting the tasks completed. The ratio is probably something like 90% tasks /10% trust. As you advance in your career the trust percentage increases in proportion to your scope of responsibility. Which means if you expect to get rewarded it will be for more trust activities than task activities. You have maximized how far doing task well and can take you. Remember Tasks activities maintain our career. Trust activities promote our career.
What are trust activities you may ask? Well let me tell you what they are not. They are not brown nosing! They are informing. Trust activities are activities which garner confidence that you can contribute far beyond your current capacity. Look at your daily routine from the time you arrive in the office, check e-mails, review dashboard, weekly numbers, conference calls, etc., and ask yourself are these tasks or trust. What is your Task to Trust ratio and compare against what is the Task to Trust ratio of the opportunity you are looking for.
Task or Trust you decide!
Why I Do the Work I Do
by Sueños on 05/23/17
Before beginning my work at Los Sueños Institute, I was like many people. I went to college because that's what I felt I was supposed to do, got a part-time job that paid okay because that's what I was supposed to do, and rented a small house with some friends because that's what I was supposed to do. It was all fine, and I knew, compared to many, I had things pretty good. However, there was this discontent with my life as it currently was. It felt as though I was living a life meant for someone else, and my discontent ran rampant. Then I experienced my first EFL, and the transformation was truly extraordinary.
It was like touching something entirely different from my everyday experience. There was a sense of peace I found in the mountains, that I had never felt. It was a profound appreciation for the simple, and a mindset that no goal was too extraordinary. My life continued as it had previously, but this time it felt like I was floating. Obstacles were not so anxiety inducing, and life, as it were, was so much more peaceful and serene.
It was a gift that I felt responsible to share, still do. It's a setting free of people, so that they may continue onward with a feeling that life is at all points a joyous experience. It's a system that empowers people to write their own story, and craft their own narrative. The tools Los Sueños Institute offers are compelling, data driven, but most importantly, enriching to all those who experience them. It truly is a blessing to help people find this peace, and I pray I can always continue to do so.
Why You Should Always Take Time For Your Wellness Routine
by Sueños on 05/22/17
Perhaps among the most common testimonies among my clients when I recommend my wellness regiment is, "I don't have the time." While I understand in any given day it can feel as though you're overwhelmed, a wellness routine directly counteracts this feeling. It is, as it were, a suit of armor against feelings of frustration, and anxiety. Our founder, Juan-Manuel, describes a day without his wellness routine, like a day without properly getting dressed.
The reason you always have time for your wellness routine, is because it adds time to your day. It improves concentration, decreases the amount of time it takes to learn something new, and effectively counteracts feelings of stress. While going home in the evening and doing something like popping on Netflix may seem like the most effective way to rid your body of a long day of work, watching something intense or stressful can actually stimulate a stress response in your own body. So you've, in this case, experienced a long day at work, and now you're adding additional cortisol to your blood stream. This is problematic as cortisol actively degrades your telomeres, the shoe laces at the end of your DNA.
So, not only is your day adding stress, going home and watching TV can add to it. Meditation, on the other hand, reduces cortisol levels and may have a preventative effect. While the benefits of meditation are continually being discovered, the science is very clear that is incredibly beneficial.
While the initial investment may seem time consuming, remember that meditating, being active, and watching the quality of your calories all add more time than they take in the end. You have time for these thing because they create it. What I always remind me clients is that it doesn't have to be sudden. It starts gradual. It's the decision to wake up just 10 min. earlier to meditate, have a salad at lunch, and watch a short, guided yoga session on youtube when you get home. All of these things build on each other, and all of these things build your dreams. As always have an incredible week, and let's make this one count!
Turning Your Chores Into Meditation
by Sueños on 05/19/17
The concept of using cleaning as a form of meditation isn't a novel concept, and has been the primary form of meditation in many monastic practices. For those unfamiliar with the practice, however, it can seem like an odd concept. "In what way is mowing the lawn relaxing?" Well, I hope today that I can help you find enjoyment in even what seems to be the most meticulous tasks.
After three, long days of rain, the weeds in my garden began to grow at rate so fast I thought soon they would be calling me Seymour. After hour 2 of weeding, I began to get discouraged as I still had more than half of the vegetable garden to go. It was then that I had remembered reading about the practice. So, I re-framed my mindset, and instead of looking at the goal of weeding the whole garden, I began to focus on each weed one at a time. I started to take the time to notice the different plants I was actually pulling out, how their roots differed, and how some required more effort than others. I developed a rhythm, and kind of found myself getting lost in it.
While perhaps it still took quite some time to weed, it certainly didn't feel it. In fact, it seemed like it took no time at all. This can be done with just about any task that begins to feel remedial. Instead of getting frustrated, try and lose yourself in it. In no time at all, you'll be wishing those weeds would grow faster.
