Friday, October 14, 2011

The saga continues...

I was recently challenged to write for 7 minutes every day and this is that exercise. I could wind up writing about almost anything really. I nearly cried at saying good-bye to a co-worker that is leaving to go work somewhere else. I cried at watching "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" on Cosmopolitan TV. I'm starting to recognize that at times being honest about where I am can make me really vulnerable though at the same time provide a great deal of strength. Just showing up can do so much. I prayed for some people and blessed some other people. Who knows where this will all lead or what will come of doing this little exercise each day and seeing what kind of brain dump I can have.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Twists and turns in my life...

Tonight I had a few odd episodes that I feel worth jotting down somewhere out here:

First, there was the disc I was to pick up from the wellness center where I'm having an assessment done. As I'm about to get in the elevator to go up to their floor, out comes someone I know and tells me that the disc is being mailed to me. I had called last week to have them hold onto it but somehow I just managed to miss that. On the bright side, I did get to know when the next one would be which is of course a scheduling conflict with my Remarkable Man group but ah well laugh has these moments. I just roll with the punches and try to see humor where I can.

Second, there was an orientation tonight for the Calgary Homeless Foundation I thought according to my church at the McDougall Center but apparently that wasn't so. I talked to the security guard for a good 10 minutes before figuring, "Ok, maybe God has something better for me planned tonight."

Third would be the mastery about writing a book and getting it published. Very worthwhile exercises and suggestions found. At the end though I noticed a habit of mine. I helped clean up the room, stacking chairs and putting away tables. This just sort of reinforced for me how I like to be helpful and get things done. In the process of the exercises I now have 32 topics to write posts about which I plan to do over the next 32 days and see what happens. I also want to connect this blog with my Facebook, Twitter, all that good stuff.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Synchronization part I

Iamsynchronized.com has a motivational profile tool that has been quite useful to me. Granted I have been using it in various forms for at least the past year, possibly a little more than that. For those familiar with the profiles my primary is Knowledgeable Wisdom Responsibility and my secondary is Merciful Compassionate & Fulfillment. This can make for an interesting combination as in a way I am like this giant sponge that just soaks up everything around me on an intellectual and emotional level. I also tend to know a lot on a lot of things which can range from having hundreds of thoughts that I could share on something to having just the right line that seems to be almost magical in terms of what happens after I say it just the way it came to me.

Where this gets interesting in my life now is to try to see how leadership can blend with this in my life. Possessing tons of knowledge isn't worthwhile if it isn't articulated accurately so someone else can see the wisdom of the picture being painted for them to see things from another angle. Similarly, having lots of compassion for others can lead one into some traps that aren't always the easiest to see. While I do lead my life, I'm not sure how well leading others fits well with these profiles but I suppose that could be a question for the group that showed me these profiles in the first place.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Time for some new stuff...

Last Thursday night I attended a seminar about social styles that was rather interesting. The idea was to have these 4 general classifications of social styles:

  • Promoting - These are the people that have a tendency to direct and show a range of emotions. These are the people after fun in the world, save effort in doing things, enjoy being the center of attention and can be easily distracted.
  • Controlling - These are the people that have a tendency to direct but have a narrow emotional range that they show. These are the people where respect and results are highly praised and considered important. While they may not be as animated as the promoter, if there is something wrong there may still be that confrontation along with a parental tone in contrast to a temper tantrum. If you want to discuss something with someone of this style, book an appointment and you'll be fine.
  • Analyzing - These would be the ones that rarely direct and rarely show an emotional range. These are the thinkers and observers of the world. Security and facts are the big motivators here. Workaholics can fall here as they just have their work that is what they do all the time. These people are great listeners but not the best using body language to communicate.
  • Supporting - These would be those who rarely direct and do show an emotional range. This style is motivated by acceptance and intimacy within relationships. These are likely great listeners as long as you are ok in seeing how whatever is said impacts the other person.

My primary style is Supporting. My emotions tend to be shown in a variety of forms so I see myself scoring high on that line while I don't really have a tendency to direct though that may change if I get more confidence in myself. I see myself now as someone I don't trust and thus I hold back that way. My secondary style is Analyzing which is where I used to be back when my heart was more closed.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My big idea...

Finding a think-tank where I can spend all day getting paid to answer questions. That is my current dream. In some ways this fits well with a KWR motivational profile yet at the same time this is my take on how to apply all the information I know and can process. Strategic thinking could play a big role in this but so could networking. While at first I thought I had to build the tank, the reality is that I could possibly just find a collective to join. While not easy to find, it could be really worthwhile.

There is still some work to do to figure out how would such a group work and exist in the modern world. This is the next few steps for me I suspect as I do need to flesh out a few more details in this story that will continue to unfold.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Time for a new start

Over the past 2 days, I went through the I am Synchronized process, at least the start of it anyway. In terms of motivational profiles, I'm a KWR/MCF. KWR is that studious side of me, that smart and bright side that people notice quickly. Being a master of processing information can be a very useful skill especially in a technical field. The MCF puts its own spin on this as I do have a big heart that shines through at times.

The workshop was a lot of fun, though I did notice how I can lose myself in a group. That I don't think so much about what I want or how to get to my dreams. While it may be rather sad, it is the truth that I have to work on finding my dreams and seeing what is it that I really want. I know I want to shine my light upon the world though I don't know how that will look exactly.

Maybe this time the blog will stick or so I hope.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Strengths thoughts

Now for a few words on a couple of things from yesterday:

First there was this conversation that went for nearly 2 hours with someone where the time just flew. It was quite cool to have those moments where I'm relating well to this person in many ways. I share some of my problems, she shares some of hers, and there is this awesome dance I witness and play a role in making become real. There never seemed to be a lull or awkward pause over the time and I really am looking forward to the next one. An observation was made about how I light up when I said someone's name. That name is the person that is like my guardian angel for all the great things she brought into my life. I'm just noticing now how there was such rhythm there. Ah, what a sight.

Second, was some card playing I did. I brought my father out to this as I know he loves playing cards and figured this would be a cool thing to do. What happened was rather awesome though as my dad had a great time, I had a great time and there are a few stories to share from that night. Again, time flew, I was in my element and life rocked! It was epic and legendary all at once.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Navigating the world

Last weekend's Personal Best Seminar was quite the experience. There were a few big things I learned during it and the first week afterward:

1. What I've buried and didn't recognize when I first took it out were my dreams. When I was younger I put away what I wanted to ensure I got the basics of my life resolved. This meant that things like school and paying bills were done so that the grand joys of life would have to come later. Well it is now later and I want to find those joys.

2. Being hyper-emotional is my new normal. This means that little things can send me into a tear-y episode like discussing how to take a compliment. At the same time, I don't seem to be able to force myself into that state. If I try to force myself there is an odd resistance that I wish I understood. There is likely some great lesson to come from riding the highs and lows of emotions yet I don't know it at the moment.

3. The knowledge of my strengths is getting yet another revision. I do understand how I like absorbing knowledge, processing it, analyzing it and transforming it for various purposes. This can be quite the ability at times. At the same time, my tendency to throw myself heavily into things is another interesting note as my dancing adventure last night reminded me of how I may take some time to get comfortable but then I stay in for the long haul.

4. Some of my limitations have been cut down rather substantially though that emotional stuff throws me for a loop at times. Growth is a wonderful thing. What kinds of other changes await me further in the year? I wish I knew.

Now to look forward to a night of cards after I check out some places.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Let's try this again....

Yet again, I'll try to see if I can get something up and running where I spew forth various musings and thoughts on stuff. Earlier tonight I started on an exercise that I believe is meant to open some new doors for me. Part of it is about finding pleasure and another part is growth and maturity.

Part of this exercise involved my imagining of a place of power. I envisioned a grand throne that faced to the South which oversaw this lush forest below of a valley while to the West was a big rock wall that stood strong and tough. To the East was open space in contrast to the wall the other way. The North was a big airy arid land of almost nothing. Each direction seemed to have aspects to it that were rather interesting to me. To the South I felt a calling of maturity, to the North, a calling of knowledge, to the West a calling of strength and to the East a calling of fulfillment. In the center was joy which could well be the most interesting to see how that develops.

Over the next couple of weeks my other big challenge will be finding a heart gift to give. My current train of thought is to write out a series of blessings like I did last May that was a rather cool thing to pour my heart out onto some pieces of paper that I think I'll do again. Maybe something else will come to me.