Fast Company Article - June Melinda Re

Salter, Chuck. "Enough Is Enough". Fast Company. July:August 1999. Pgs 121-136.

According to the Life Enhancement Center, You May Have Enough!

I happened to read this article during our transformative learning class in June and it couldn't have been more apropos. Dan Baker is the clinical director and spiritual helmsman at the Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to being just another high-priced fat farm, this spa has a Life Enhancement Center. This weeklong program helps overachieving professionals search for answers to one of the most defining personal questions of the new world - when is enough, enough? The ultimate goal is nothing less than to help guests turn their lives around and redesign new ones.

This sounded a lot like transformative learning to me. It must to Baker too. He says, "We've tried to create a goal-oriented environment that has a transformational element. By the end of their week here, people often have a different perspective on life. They go home committed to taking the next step."

The guests that come to the center are there because they realize that their lives are out of kilter. They are rich, but unhappy. They are successful, but unhealthy. They are respected, but stressed. At the center they focus on balancing their lives. The staff at the Life Enhancement Center uses different approaches to help the guests take a long hard look at their lives.

One approach is introspection. They ask the guests to think about their lives as if they were on their deathbed. Baker says they usually discard trivia and focus on what matters most. They think about "defining moments" of their lives - those critical choices that led them down one path, or another. They ask people to question what defines them - their business, their job title, their bank account? They look at core values and analyze if what they say are their values are where they spend their time. "Is there a gap between what I say that I value and how I behave?" is an essential question. If there is, bridging that gap is essential, because living with that gap is living in conflict. In a well-designed life, behavior reflects values - and values drive action.

The guests are involved in goal setting. They are asked to write a vision and goals for their future. The vision and goals should reflect core values. Specific actions that they will put into affect after they leave the center should reflect goals.

By the end of the week many of the guests have achieved profound self-awareness and written up a plan for creating changed behavior. Most guests experience an "aha" moment, or an "epiphany of spirit". It goes beyond intellectual understanding; it's experienced at a deeper, more personal level. Reaching that point isn't easy. The journey is grueling, but the destination remains clear-cut. "At the end of your life," says Baker, "you want to be able to look back with few regrets and to feel good about the choices you make. That way, you can go in peace, knowing that you've invested your life and your life's energy wisely."

I chose to discuss this article with non-extension people. I sought out people who I felt were the perfect candidates for a week at the Life Enhancement Center. What I discovered during our discussions was interesting. These people could talk about "people who don't know when enough is enough", but it wasn't them. They all told me that they would know if their lives were out of balance, and they aren't. I believe that according to them they are not. According to me, they are. A difference in values? A difference in perspectives? The inability to see what's happening in your own life? Probably a combination of all three.

I read with interest this week Clark's mention of the Transformational Learning conference and Todd's relating comments. For me, and for the people who run the Life Enhancement Center, a transformational experience is more than just learning something new in a transformational way. It is a life altering experience. I agree with Todd that this subject will be fun to keep kicking around. I look forward to further discussions.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 1999