Bathing in the Pool of Shared Knowledge

 

~  Rick Hanson, Just One Thing

I find myself sitting in a workshop as a participant and not a facilitator. The content leader is an author-friend of mine. I have read and shared her book, “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” many times. Her ‘Choice Map’ framework has helped me and has helped me help others for years. But this deep dive into a full week of practice and dialogue is opening me up in ways that I could not anticipate.

It is both joyful and uncomfortable being a participant. My work life is spent preparing, framing, and facilitating learning; I happily guide individuals and groups through deep discovery. When the work is the work of me and my own development, I relish the opportunity to think, reflect, learn, and practice; and at the same time wiggle in my seat. Now it is me asking myself these large questions and participating as a group member and not the leader. It is a good exercise in followership for me, as well as a way to fill my own bucket. However, it requires me to put myself in a different gear.

 

Do you ever have the same experience? Shifting from doing to being?

 

When was the last time you took time to ‘sharpen your own saw?’

 

I know that this is good for me. You can count on me to make many recommendations for opportunities to others to stop, smell the roses, and grow through a learning experience. But I don’t take my own advice often enough. Once I committed to this workshop, I tried to encourage many colleagues to join me in this ‘learning party.’ The ‘more the merrier’ is my motto when it comes to personal and professional growth.

 

As I teach and facilitate, I realize that I don’t sit in the learning position often enough. When you are rich with busyness in work, it is hard to take the time to invest in yourself and development. When times are tight, it is challenging to justify the investment. And yet, I know that I will be enriched by the experience and trust that it will pay me back tenfold.

This week-long workshop is focused on communication and our ability to create the climate for positive relationships and working through things with a ‘Learner Mindset’ and not our default ‘Judger Voice.’ It is about discovering our blind spots and patterns that contribute to how we behave with each other – especially when the work is hard and the relationship has been tangled.

 

A great learning opportunity is like a good meal. It fills you up in ways that warm you and give you fuel to run on. The bread pudding served at lunch was a special treat but the content from Marilee Adams is stirring in my head and heart. And contributing to my growth.

 

What learning opportunities fill you like a good meal?

 

I believe that we are instruments of leadership, management, and individual contribution. I have often neglected the care of myself as an instrument, letting busyness get in the way of my balance and enrichment. 

 

Today, I am bathing in the pool of shared knowledge, wisdom, and learning. What a great place to be!