| |
| |
|
Coaching Information |
|
|
|
Curbing the Public Nuisance (Part 1)
He's been around since the dawn of humanity. His profession is even older than the world's oldest profession. He's been loathed and reviled by politicians, bureaucrats and hot dog vendors. I am speaking, of course, of the public nuisance. He was that slithery dude in the Garden of Eden, taunting folks to shoplift. "Go on. Take a bite of the apple. The grocer will never know it's misssssing." Even in caveman days, the public nuisance was the one who would always have a practical joke to play on somebody. "Hee, hee. Thag not looking. I go paint his fire green so it look like bush. He no be able to find fire. Hee, hee. OUCH! Ooh. Ooh. Yowwww. That hot!" He is the opinionated loudmouth who can't keep his trap shut. "I told Caesar the Coliseum should be built on the west side of town. 'Caesar,' I said. 'The Coliseum should be built on the west side of town.' But did he listen to me? No-o. Did he build the Coliseum on the west side of town? No-o." "So...that's why the lions are drooling on the other side of that door?" "Ah...well, yes, actually." The public nuisance is that whiner who can't stop complaining about the weather. "Aw, c'mon Leonardo. Why don't you invent something useful, for a change? Like better weather." "What's wrong with the weather?" "What's wrong? What's wrong?! It's too cold when I want it to be too hot. It's too hot when I want it to be too cold. It rains when I work in the fields. It gets dry when the crops need rain. And did you see how the wind blew the other night..." The public nuisance has been with us throughout the ages, playing music too loud in public places. "What's that racket?" "I think some teenagers are playing their lutes a little loud." "Well how's a middle-aged lady supposed to get any sleep around here?" "But what can I do?" "You're a knight, for goodness sake. Get your horse and your lance and run them down. " But, like all good things, even the public nuisance has been transformed by technological advances. We no longer rely on manual labor to provide public nuisance services to the population. Machines supply all the disturbance we could possibly desire. Automation of the public nuisance was inevitable. As cities expanded, it was getting harder and harder for the public nuisance to be everywhere at once and provide adequate disturbance to the entire population. It was also very inefficient to have individual public nuisances repeating the same tasks in each part of town. And then there was the issue of quality control. Who would ensure that all the public nuisances were serving the community to the same standards? Who would ensure accountability and integrity? Some public nuisances have been known to take payola. "Hey. You. What's that stench?" "I'm just cracking a few eggs to throw at your house." "Why at my house? What did I do?" "Nothing. But you have a fancy house and I figured you would be most willing to provide me an incentive to throw them somewhere else." "What!? This is extortion!" "Yes." "I see. Well, Smithers down the road has been way too uppity this week, so here's a little something to go be a his public nuisance tonight." "Thank you, Sir. It's been a pleasure disturbing you." I was stumped. I really had no idea how to end this column. "Maybe the public nuisance should be a she," I mused "Why a she?" my wife asked. "Because people complain if I just assume my characters are "he". The trouble is, whenever I make them "she", somebody wants to know why I'm picking on women." "They would if you make the public nuisance a woman," my wife observed. "Are you saying women are never nuisances?" "Everybody knows that you men cause all the public disturbances," my wife poked me. "That's because men get bored you women try on more clothes and more clothes and more clothes. We are just trying to keep things interesting" "Men have such a short attention span..." Suddenly I knew how to end the column: In our household, we have no need for a public nuisance - automated or manual. We each have our own private nuisance, whom we love very much. "That's no way to end a column," my private nuisance insisted. "Why not tell them about how you would get rid of public nuisances once and for all?" "Shhh. Don't tell them. That's next week's column." About The Author David Leonhardt is a freelance writer: http://www.seo-writer.net/freelance/writer.html And an SEO consultant: http://www.seo-writer.net/freelance/seo-consultant.html He is author of Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-17826-X Read more personal growth articles: http://www.thehappyguy.com/self-actualization-articles.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Coaching - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Viewpoints - Communication Destruction Or.... Viewpoints! Everyone has them and they are personal. However, when you believe that only your view is correct, you shut out other people and do not listen to the facts they are giving. A Quick Checklist for Improving Your Life 1. Learn About YouIf you don't know who you are and why you think and act the way you do, it's gonna be really difficult to make any positive changes in your life. You Are Never Trapped! "The meaning of life is that it stops." -Franz Kafka (1883-1924)A good friend of mine graduated from Boston University Law School. Your Past and Present Hold Key to Your Future Knowing more about who you are will give you the insight for your future goals.Where are you going?This isn't about location. Attention! Thought Crossing! - Or, The Secret of What's Between Your Ears What are you thinking - right now? 'I'm reading your article!' you say. Well, take a little bit of a closer look. Personal Development Profiles Personal development profiles, also known as personality profiles, are a tool I frequently use before starting a course of coaching with a client. The client answers a series of questions about preferred behaviour styles and their responses generate a report which outlines their strengths, areas for improvement, blind spots, their contribution to the team, ways they could improve their communication and how to deal with challenging people. D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E. What does this word really mean anyway? According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition, discipline, as a noun, is defined primarily as punishment. My, but that has a harsh ring to it. How to Make $100,000 as a Personal Trainer In the movie, "The Gladiator," Emperor Commodus' rose to power early on because he realized what was most important to the people of Rome. Most would believe influence would be gained by the accumulation of wealth and fame. The Difference Between Approval and Appreciation Having worked with individuals, couples, families and business partners for 35 years, helping them learn to resolve conflict, I have often been faced with the difficulties that occur when people are confused about the difference between approval with appreciation. Have you ever wondered about the difference between approval and appreciation? Most of us have never actually thought about it, yet if we do think about it, we realize that we feel very differently when we receive approval as opposed to receiving appreciation. Getting What You Need: Ask For Help! "Fortune befriends the bold." - John DrydenI regularly work with clients on making major life changes in line with a new definition of personal success. Hows Your Self-Talk? You know, what are you saying to yourself? There's always something going on in there. Do you make positive statements about yourself to yourself or are you beating yourself up with your own words?"Know thyself" is a statement that comes to mind. Key Questions for a Coaching Conversation There are 2 key skills that coaches need to be truly effective, the ability to listen (often for what is missing rather than what is said) and the ability to ask the right question at the right time.Now in reality there are no 'right' questions, there are however some very good, and fairly generic questions that when asked which can make a significant difference to the way in which a coaching interaction progresses. Why Don't You Just Stuff It ALL? You got busy at work, got busy in your marriage, got busy with your home and maybe your kids and before you knew it.. Managing Performance Every Day The scenario?The company has decided it needs to eliminate costs. Hundreds of jobs are on the line. Why Pacing and Leading is for Wimps! Okay, you have read some books on body language and they all said you must mirror and match, pace and lead.. Growing On G.R.O.W - A More Specific Coaching Model For Busy Managers The effective coaching of employees by their line managers is fast becoming an expectation from both senior management and from the employees themselves. Many managers are now being taught how best to coach their employees by employing the standard coaching model called G. Use a Journal for Self-Discovery and Self-Expression As a therapist, I often suggest to clients that they explore their feelings and thoughts by keeping a journal. Sometimes clients ask for a bit of direction with this process. Guilt: Is it Getting in the Way of Your Self-Care? When Do We Usually Feel Guilty? When:We're not feeling ok about who we are.We're not feeling ok about the choices we're making. How to Crack a Daunting Task! If you have a daunting task and the mere thought of it overwhelms you, it's probably too big to implement directly and should be broken down into actionable parts. I find this happens to me frequently -- I see the big strategic goal that I want to achieve, but become paralyzed thinking about the size of the project. What Do You Really Want ? Being a coach is such a rewarding profession. The enormous impact you have on other people's lives always astounds me.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
