May brings many fun and beautiful things: flowers, the Kentucky Derby, Mother’s day, and the Choice #5 from my book, DIY Conflict Resolution: Seven Choices and Five Actions of a Master: Clear your mind. Really. Do it right now. Stop thinking about the pain in your right leg or how uncomfortable you are. Don’t listen to the neighbors’ conversations, the airplane engines, the birds chirping, or the song stuck in your head. Forget there is anything beyond the words in this post.
It’s not easy to do. Is it? Almost immediately, you will do the opposite and start paying attention to your thoughts, You Rebel! You clear the canvas for a new, breathtaking creation, only to fill it with the first media to appear. You’re a decent junk artist, but you might be a world-class painter. You’ll never know, if you keep trying to create your masterpiece on top of a Renoir, Picasso, Velvet Elvis, or any other artist’s work. (It’s also not cool to destroy someone else’s art, even if you think yours is better.)
Are you ready to clear your mind and create your unique works of art? Here are three ways to get started:
- Clear your space
- Limit your media consumption
- Meditate—in whatever ways work for you
Having trouble because you can’t get past conflict? Buy the book
Nance L. Schick, Esq. is a New York City attorney and mediator who focuses on keeping people out of court and building their conflict resolution skills, especially in business and employment disputes. Her holistic, integrative approach to conflict resolution draws from her experience as a crime victim, human resources supervisor, minor league sports agent, and United Nations representative. She is a 2001 graduate of the State University of New York Buffalo Law School trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and International Center for Ethno-Religious Mediation (ICERM). She is also creator of the Third Ear Conflict Resolution process, author of DIY Conflict Resolution: Seven Choices and Five Actions of a Master, and an award-winning entrepreneur, who has been acknowledged by Super Lawyers (ADR, 2018), the New York Economic Development Corporation/B-Labs (Finalist, Best for NYC 2015 & 2016), U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2015 Blue Ribbon Small Business), Enterprising Women Magazine (Honorable Mention, 2014 Woman of the Year awards), and Urban Rebound NY/Count Me In (Finalist, 2013 Pitch Competition).