This post is in honor of the dreaded tax filing day that just passed.   When I do my taxes, I'm reminded of how much of my hard earned money goes to federal and state taxes.  Most of us tend not to think about the size of our individual tax bill until tax time because of how taxes are collected during the year.......otherwise known as withholding. 

I googled "origin of tax withholding" and found that withholding came about with The Current Tax Payment Act of 1943.  It was enacted as an emergency to fund World War II but after the war, it was never repealed.  We've had income taxes withheld from our paychecks ever since.  Because of tax withholding being automatic and being withheld from our checks, we never actually have that money in our hands.  Because of that, we have become numb to the fact that it was technically ours to begin with.  We only seem to get upset about it once a year, when we file our taxes.

This made me wonder, "What else have we become "numb" to?  When I say "numb" I mean things that we take for granted, things we accept as "okay," things that we used to object to and things that we used to be passionate about that have gone stagnant.  Below is a list of areas you may want to examine to see if numbness has taken over.

1.  Family and Friends - Have you slowly, over time, let these relationships deteriorate or have seriously taken them for granted?  Take a relationship inventory and determine which relationships need repair or a "jump start."  Then develop a plan to address each important relationship and get them back on the right track.  There are few things, if any, that are more important than family or friends.

2.  Work - Do you find yourself going through the motions at work or do you have energy and passion for what you do?  If not, why not?  Have you become accepting of your current work situation?  Be honest with yourself. Maybe it's as simple as regaining focus and setting clear goals and objectives.  Sometimes that alone can re-energize you.  If things have become too numb and you can’t get your energy back, maybe it's time to change roles or seek out other opportunities.

3.  Meetings – Do you hold boring meetings or attend boring meetings?  What are you doing about it?  How about holding fewer meetings and going to fewer meetings?  If you need to have a meeting, make it productive, interesting and fun.  Don’t accept that meetings have to occur or have to be boring.  Please contact me if you’d like some ideas on how to “spice” up your meetings to get better results.

4.  Communications – Do you find yourself engaging in less and less “in person” interaction due to email, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter etc.  Only 7% of effective communication relates to content (words).  The other 93% relates to pitch, tone, delivery and body language.  Also, one way communication does not guarantee comprehension.  Face to face interaction and dialogue helps to eliminate confusion and miscommunication.  Do not become “numb” to fact that personal interaction is critical to effective communication.

5.  New Ideas – How many new ideas or thoughts do you generate in a given day?  Do you have systems in place at work and in life that intentionally spark creativity and innovation.  A recent IBM global study showed that the number one quality CEO’s are looking for in their workforce is creativity.  You CAN be creative and you CAN build systems and structure in your work and life that foster creativity and innovation.  Please contact me on tips and techniques related to creativity and innovation.

Take a moment to do a self checkup and look for areas that have gone “numb” in your work and in your life.  Make today the first day of “numbness elimination” and moving forward, be intentional in maintaining and growing your passion and energy towards all things you do.

I would love to hear from you.  Let me know your comments and thoughts by either commenting on this post or contacting me directly at derrick@titanhr.com or 804-814-9921.  You can connect with Derrick at:

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Derrick Strand is a Principal in Leadership Development at The Titan Group in Richmond, Virginia.  He designs and delivers innovative management and leadership courses to the public and internally to clients who prefer customization.