The past half decade has brought numerous and unthinkable changes and challenges to the world as we know it. This has caused the workplace to reshape, redesign and re-arrange to cope with this avalanche of changes. Inevitably, the employees’ over-all well-being, fragile already due to world events, has also been affected in the workplace as well as companies try and find the balance between achieving their goals while caring for their people’s needs.

Through his life testimony, Alex Araneta shared how he was able to overcome the challenges and hurdles in his personal life. Coming from a privileged background, he lost everything that forced him to drastically change his lifestyle but also taught him an important life lesson.

Araneta, a high-performance coach, Gallup Strengths coach, Marshall Goldsmith associate coach and Lumina Learning associate, discussed at a Wellness Wednesday event why change is important to one’s well-being.

Organized by First Philippine Holdings Corporation and First Gen Corporation, the Jan. 31 Wellness Wednesday was held in-person at Rockwell Business Center Ortigas with a simultaneous online component attended by around a hundred virtual participants.

Comfort zone

Most of us have something we consider our comfort zone—a day-to-day work routine, a group of friends from way back or a special place that brings us back to a carefree time in our life. This psychological state, wherein one plays safe and avoids “rocking the boat,” is unlikely to produce much in the way of achievement or success. The fear zone is similar to the comfort zone. Here, one is incapacitated, fearful of what other people think and thus finds excuses to get out of doing a task.

Stretching oneself allows them to reach the learning zone, meaning they are able to acquire new skills and are equipped to deal with challenges; this also means their comfort zone has grown bigger.

Finally, someone enters the growth zone when they find their purpose, set new goals and realize their aspirations.

Businessman and writer Max DePree once said: “We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Change or transformation is something that can come only from oneself. Araneta likened it to being sick and getting offered a pill: in order to get well, you must take it. The head of Catalyst360 Training and Consultancy recalled the past upheaval that resulted in his family losing their wealth and his takeaway: “Be the one to initiate the change, otherwise circumstances will force you to change.”

Growing pains

Learning something—being a parent, a new role at work, a sport—always comes with growing pains. You may be discouraged by the lack of results but if you persevere and continue to push yourself, progress will come, Araneta said.

The goal is significance, not success. The difference between the two? Success is finite and ends when you die. Significance satisfies the soul and outlasts us, Araneta pointed out.

To achieve a life of significance, Araneta said one must adopt a victor’s perspective, have an inspiring vision, and to make their work their vocation.

The Believe-Behave-Become tool can help in transforming your life: what you believe will influence how you behave, leading to what you will become. For example, you want to lose weight. But you avoid doing it because you believe it’s “too hard” or “too expensive” or you can’t spare the time. You justify your inaction (behave) by convincing yourself that “it’s not for me.” With your weight loss plan stuck in limbo, you become frustrated or unwell.

Winning perspectives

Limiting beliefs are thoughts about yourself that you take to be true and keep you from moving forward. These could be anything from “I don’t have time” to “I’m too old/young,” “I don’t have the power” or “I can’t.”

“You allow things to enter your mind and limit you. Don’t let your body control your mind,” Araneta warned. Instead, apply winning perspectives—“I believe I can make things better,” “I need to get better” and “I will help others get better”—and your corresponding personal action in various areas or aspects of your life (work, skills, community, etc.). For instance, you can say “I believe I can make things better at work by improving myself in these areas.”

A Japanese athlete named Shizo Kanakuri dropped out halfway through his marathon race in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. While it was chiefly due to stress and illness, it brought great embarrassment to the young man as he had pulled out without informing race officials. He later wrote in his journal: “…To wipe off this shame, I will work with all my strength to brush up my marathon skills and raise the prestige of our country.”

Father of the marathon

Kanakuri threw himself into growing the sport, even becoming known as the “father of the marathon” in Japan. In 1967, he accepted an invitation to return to Stockholm to officially complete the race he had started more than 50 years earlier.

Imagine your work, relationships, finances and health as the four legs of a chair. According to Araneta, you will be able to weather the failure of one leg. Two broken chair legs and you’ll struggle to keep upright. Take out three legs and you’re good as gone. Integrity, such as that shown by Kanakuri, must apply in all four areas, he added.

Meanwhile, having a vision for yourself will serve as your guide and motivation as you continue your journey through life. Keeping focused on the goal and the path towards this goal will eventually bring you to your destination—and success.

Lastly, make your work your vocation—and be accountable. In ikigai, this is the convergence of what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs. If your career has all these qualities, then you have found your “reason for being.”

The Steps to Accountability model has two parts. Above the Line is when one takes accountability through four steps: See It (acknowledge the situation), Own It (assume responsibility for the results of your actions), Solve It (look for workable solutions) and Do It (take action, apply solutions and generate results). Below the Line actions include adopting a wait-and- see attitude, finger pointing, covering one’s tail, ignoring or denying, saying it’s not one’s job and causing confusion.

But, at the end of the day, Araneta reminded the participants, no matter how bad one’s situation or how big the problem is, God is always bigger.

Alex Araneta (6th from left), head of Catalyst360 Training and Consultancy, with the FPH-First Gen Wellness Wednesdays team and attendees

Araneta speaks before the in-person WW participants at the Rockwell Business Center Ortigas venue
PHOTOS BY JEHAN YUSOP