February 2012 Archives

This chapter has been the most helpful and practical for me as so far. Focusing, while I hold it in very high regard, has been most challenging for me. I truly believe that I spent most of my younger years with undiagnosed ADD. I get excited about things...about MOST things. I want to do everything, all of the time and sometimes I end up abandoning one project in my enthusiasm for another.
Luckily I've gotten my ADD under control now and can find it easier to focus on one idea at a time. What I liked about this chapter were the detailed steps to take in order to strengthen my focus, and this can only help.
Nine years ago when I started in ETS my job was pretty specific; consult with faculty and students on multimedia projects and assignments. I knew (generally) what my duties would be each day and I knew the skills I needed to excel, they were based almost completely on my schooling. I used every opportunity to strengthen these skills even if that meant finding tasks I could volunteer for that would allow me the time to develop professionally. My physical location also helped with focusing since I was on the opposite end of campus from everyone else in my department.
Over the years my job responsibilities and my office location have changed. My daily activities are consistently outside my typical skill set and comfort zone. My ever changing role is great for learning new things and for strengthening my weaknesses but I struggle with identifying which strengths I'm sharpening.
Maxwell suggests listing three or four things I do well at my job and take note of the percentage of time and resources I spend on them. As a guideline, the book suggests that 70% of my time should be focused on my strengths, 25% on learning something new and 5% on strengthening my weaknesses.
Here's how mine break down:

• Building relationships
• Project management
• Assessment
  

It appears that of the 21 qualities explained in this book, none rely on experience as much as discernment. This quality is built over time by using honest observation and mindful reasoning. It is special in that it exists strongly when our reasoning and our emotions are in balance.

In order to develop discernment it would seem that understanding how your own intuition and knowledge communicate (or not) and strengthen that. Allowing your mind to pull from different feelings in order to build a clearer picture.

While I struggled with the examples given and how they related, I understand that it may be hard to pin point exactly how discernment shows itself. 

Courage is defined as the quality that enables us to face adversity without fear. This is not to say that courage exists in the absence of fear. That people who exhibit courage don't get scared or go against the social norm. It's actually quite the opposite. Courage is doing exactly what you are scared or fearful of doing and proving to yourself that you can get through it.

I can recall the moment I realized that I had courage.

My brain and eyes pulled in focus at the same moment, like a magnet snapping to a fridge. I was standing at the open door of an empty plane with a strange man strapped to my back, trying to reconcile the situation I had gotten myself into. We duck walked to the door and I hesitated to look out. I was scared of what I might see, I was scared at what I was about to do and what my mother would say if she knew where I was. I hadn't told anyone that I was going in order to avoid being talked out of it.
Amidst the sound of the straps flapping against my rubber hat and violent noise of the wind I barely heard the man on my back say..... "You're gonna have to jump".

Every inch of my body was screaming "NO, don't do it!" "You don't know what's down there!" "This just isn't right!!!"

With my stomach firmly lodged in my throat and with fear staring me dead in the eye....
I jumped.
 
Whether its facing your fears or standing up for what you believe in the important thing is proving to yourself that you can do it.  Dealing with disrespectful students, hurtful gossip, or admitting a failure just doesn't seem as difficult in comparison. 

The steps for cultivating competence seem really obvious and simple but as you pick apart the specifics for each step its easy to see why it isn't for everyone.

Being competent requires effort.

You have to:

• Make the conscious choice to "show up" every single day, in mind, body AND soul.
• Encourage your own thirst for knowledge by asking "why" and mean it.
• Follow through on your quest for excellence, its easy to quit when you're busy or tired.
• Go above and beyond for yourself and for the people around you every day. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
• Bring people with you. Strive to inspire and motivate others to strive to inspire and motivate.