accountability and consequences-prequil

While I was writing the previous post (and resolving to write more in 2012--LOL), I developed some content and ideas about how little accountability exists in our institutions and culture in general. People behaving badly or merely behaving with a lack of competence and foresight expect few if any consequences. This perverse pattern extends to Washington, Wall Street, Banking and other corporate environments, not to mention trade organizations, non profits and even to individuals. Trickle down theory is pervasive!

Abject disasters, such as the diverse and global mortgage meltdown, are dismissed with a simple "gee, who woulda thought?" Then, the perpetrators generally continue on down the crooked path smiling at the 99% over their shoulders. Why is this happening?

The answer isn't simple and it extends back thousands of generations to the beginnings of humankind. I'll refrain from mentioning the facial similarities between some subjects testifying in Congressional hearings to artistic renderings of pre Homo sapiens taxa!

Assuming I have the patience to get the hip boots out and wade through the muck, the remainder of the exposition will involve regulations, generally accepted standards of practice, regulators, regulatees, the "public" (remember them?) and accountability in a one size fits all world. Real estate is right there rolling around in the swamp with the rest of the luminaries, so check back for the next installment of Muck Wrestling 101.

How to have more FUN in 2012, and why.

Happy New Year! 

2011? It came and went with a diverse assortment of challenges, transitions, examples of fate run awry and evidence of why the human condition inspires countless books but few answers. 

Rather than simply move on with 2012, we might check for lessons embedded in the struggles and successes of 2011 to illuminate smoother future paths.

Einstein allegedly stated that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. By that definition, we are all insane. Sanity appears when we recognize what doesn't work and resolve to try something different. Different may not work either, but in trying it we might learn something that could suggest a still better different to try next.

The alternative to trying new flavors of different is to persist doing your old thing in hopes that the universe will magically shift to an alignment in which your exact attributes come into heavy demand producing abundant prosperity and sustained well being. Wanna guess the odds?

Here's an exercise for 2012 centered on different ways of getting what you already want. FUN! That is WAY BETTER than making (and breaking) resolutions!

In Column 1 list five FUN activities you LIKE to do and that you didn't do enough in 2011.

Column 1        Column 2            Column 3

1. _______  __________  ______________

2. _______  __________  ______________
3. _______  __________  ______________
4. _______  __________  ______________
5. _______  __________  ______________

In Column 2 list the key reason WHY you didn't enjoy enough of those FUN activities last year (that could become a big column, but cut to the chase!).

Now, add a 3rd column to list a way to overcome the key obstacle listed in Column 2.  Be creative, think outside the box! Ask yourself "what resources (personal, financial, friends, family, etc.) do I have that might help me make that kind of FUN a bigger part of my life in 2012? If you don't think you have the resources now, describe what it could take to get them. Maybe think of different resources that would get the job done. Is there any good reason you couldn't identify or create and then nurture those resources? Imagine all the FUN you missed in 2011? That’s not going to happen in 2012!

Having doubts at this point? Here's a scary way of doing something different. If you're having trouble completing Column 3, ASK someone for help. Sound radical? 

When was the last time someone came up to YOU--in person--and said: "I've made a difficult decision to make a change and try something different, would you be willing to give me some ideas about how to do that and also let me know how I'm doing as my progress unfolds?" How would you respond? After getting over your initial surprise, you'd help them! I bet if you were the one asking the question, they'd help you! 

If you have more FUN in 2012, it's likely the year will bring surprising moments worth remembering long after you forget the challenges you dealt with and moved beyond. BTW, in the process of trying different flavors to increase your FUN, you'll develop skills at trying different solutions to challenges too and that sounds almost like a resolution.