Shyam Barr

Blog

 

PREFACE

This blog discusses topics that exist between the fields cognitive psychology and leadership, teaching and learning. Although I make connections between research and personal experience (my attempt at bridging the age-old ‘theory-practice’ gap), I write for a general audience. It is as Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi stated in the preface of his book FLOW:

“To take this step is somewhat dangerous, because as soon as one strays from the stylised constraints of academic prose, it is easy to become careless or overly enthusiastic about such a topic” (p. xi)

To avoid carelessness, I will endeavour to include references to journal articles, books and alike (as commonly expected in academic writing), but not at the expense of accessibility and ease of reading. This will be a delicate balance and one I will endeavour to achieve.

To end, I chose the word ‘discusses’ in the first sentence of this preface, to highlight that although the blog articles themselves are very much a dialogue between myself and what I read, I encourage you to share your comments and questions, so that we may start a more authentic discussion. 

 
 

From Post It Notes to TED Talks: How to Turn Your Goals Into Reality

When I hear the word retreat, I often think of a yoga or meditation retreat, a space for well-being and deep rest…

BUT what about a retreat that combines aspects of well-being with deep reflection, learning, and future thinking?

For the past few years, I have dedicated time each year, a bit of a “home retreat”, to think about how I want the next 12 months to shape up. In other words, I set goals, because I know that goals support attention and effort allocation, act as a criteria measure of progress, increase motivation and self-regulation, and that achieving goals further reinforces effort (Locke & Latham, 2002; Reid et al., 2013; Randall et al., 2021)

Dedicating time and space to this carefully designed goal-setting process has led to some big achievements along the way. Two Masters degrees, extended travel, a Ph.D., starting a family, commencing a business, getting in physical shape…. You may not believe it, but I actually had TEDx Canberra on my list for this year (literally written on a Post It note on the wall in my office) and well… you know that this was ticked off earlier this year! 

 
 

The post-it note was a daily reminder of where I needed to channel my effort to help achieve my goal and it’s just one example of how I move ideas from goals to reality. The question begs -

what’s a post-it note on your wall for the next year? 

Here’s another way to think about it:

This year I was involved in an American Business Mastermind and they offered a lovely metaphor for goals: If you had an empty jar, some big rocks, small rocks, and sand, which would you put in the jar first to make them all fit?

The answer is big rocks. You have to put your big rocks - your big 5-7 goals - in the jar first. They have to be prioritised. Top of the list. Scheduled.

Most recently, I decided to step up my retreat thinking. I booked 3 nights’ accommodation at a secluded bungalow, 3 hours away from my family and Canberra base. I chose a place that was inspiring - beautifully designed, lovely views, and surrounded by lush greenery (biophilic design). Having 3 days alone to reflect on my progress and to delve deep into my 5-7 big rocks for 2023 was both exhausting and energising.

Exhausting in that I had to dig deep into my cognitive stores and emotional wiring to question my current trajectory and visualise the next steps. Really thinking about what your own personal vision, mission, and values are requires a lot of energy. Of course, I practiced meditation daily, did yogic stretching, and ate nutritious food to help keep my energy levels up and my focus tight.

Energising in that once I started to come out the other end of my thinking with greater clarity, my energy levels sky-rocketed. I was revitalised, more aligned, and in flow than I’ve ever been - it’s like I had shaken the fatigue of the past few years, jumped out of my chair, and was revving to go. Honestly, I’m so excited for the next year! - to take my business to another level, and to serve more people to become better self-regulated learners.

The 3-day retreat was such a success, I will now make this an annual structure, and intend to build in small quarterly retreats as check-ins. I’m convinced it’s a game-changing move. 

My wish for you is that you too achieve the same level of clarity in your thinking for the future… the feeling of excitement and joy for what’s to come - a sense of optimism and hope. 

We are all graced with the same 24 hours in a day.

PLEASE, make the time and space for you to engage in some deeper thinking about your own ‘big rocks’.

For a deeper dive into this goal-setting process/retreat thinking, watch the clip below:

Love,

Shyam Barr, PhD

Shyam Barr