Hello all. It's been a long time since I've posted here. I've saved my thoughts for short bursts on Twitter and Facebook. That's all I've made time for these past few months. It's likely the way of things. The blogging wave energized me for a time, but with so many other places to project my energy, I shifted direction.
I'll keep this blog alive, if only on life support for when the mood hits me. Though the key to a healthy, thriving blog is frequent, relevant content. As September opens and I reflect, I've chalked up great experiences in 2012. Many of them have come at work, in closed door sessions where insights blossom regularly. I've found that the more I accept that I don't have the answers, the easier the insights show up.
There's humility when standing in front of 20 to 80 people, and stating you're not the brightest person in the room. Finding answers to my own struggles in the reflections of others. A recent time where I admitted it publicly came after a session where I tried to answer a difficult question on Day 1. The group challenged me with a direct assault. I should've known better. It bothered me more than I thought so I did some homework and found a way to address it on Day 2.
I fell on my sword. I cited my error and the reference that backed my challenger's viewpoint. In the end, it's all about our perspective and the willingness to listen to that of others. It's so darn easy to think we're right all the time. The tendency to judge rises to the surface so easily for of us, including me. I don't think I'll ever outgrow the need to be working on it.
That goes for home, too. Or should I say, especially. Taking things out of context and leaping to conclusions when a room is a mess or something went wrong can be counter-productive. What really suffers are the relationships we take for granted. And only after the damage is done, we stop to say, "Crap. What have I done?"
Emotional, we are. Ruled by those emotions, can we easily be. My Yoda impersonation - I can't help it. Taking a breath to assess where we are, why we are feeling low and then mapping a route to clearer thinking helps us with the answers we seek.
I remember the last time I lost control and yelled in anger. Judged someone for a result without all the information. We make stuff up with our first impressions or the initial report. Someone I respect said that if you think you know someone's intent for their behavior, you'll be wrong 75% of the time. I'd buy that based on how often I've been wrong.
So, 2012 creeps along and I keep working on what I can't master. Even small improvements can make a big difference. A brilliant quote attributed to Helen Keller reminds us, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." What do we see when we look within? Do we admire what's there? Respect it? Or is there something we can change, even just a little bit.
