I am a lifelong learner. I will continue to fill my plate with whatever quenches my appetite.
“The people that are the most passionate about what they do
never, ever stop learning”
Many people are afraid of the new. Scared that if they make mistakes, that they will be looked at negatively.
You learn by trying… doing. You learn by perfecting… failing.
Not all people can handle the pressure. But with pressure, diamonds are made. Not all will become diamonds but for the few that face the pressure, they will see the beauty of the work and trial they put in. In this new century, I know you will have to face this fact head on and then continue to learn in order to thrive and survive. So…
“Get busy living or get busy dying”
The following video discusses the barriers, challenges and opportunities for learning at any time. In this time, we have to continually evolve and continue to Learn HOW to LEARN.
Any thoughts about this or do you shamelessly nod your head yes or no with no opinion? I don’t believe that ~ let me know what you think!
When beginning my career, after starting to work in the real world (per say) – I would spend my time on ironing boards.
I would neatly press all my shirts and slacks, usually on the weekends. I would hear from people about how they took everything to the cleaners. Had everything pressed, starched and dry cleaned. I was never the one to do such a thing. I had the time so I did it myself. On Sundays, I would get everything ready for the week. Maybe have a little time for television. This way I would not have to do so much and rush. This is not so easy to do now.
Old habits are old habits for a reason. Those habits get tired too. Their bones begin to ache and those habits, they may be forgetful at times. So it is hard to get back into the routine.
Last night I found myself in my basement. Getting ready to get ready. Intending to iron one sweater. I ended up continuing with the other sweaters, shirts, pants, etc. Weird how relaxing it was. It was simple, minute and arbitrary.
We all have certain things that take absolutely no thought. These actions allow our minds to be completely blank. Allow us to go to a place void of worry. Cause us to forget what may have happened over the course of a day or even what we may face for the next. For me, it is washing the dishes, scrubbing them clean by hand when I know I could just as easily place them in the dishwasher
or…
mowing the lawn. Trying to get the track of lines in a yard perfectly aligned and parallel. So careful not to damage the baby tree that has so much to look forward to. Even when I’m washing the car… vacuuming it out… taking the towel to remove gook… from all the nooks and crannies. Detailing the details.
We need time to reflect. In order to be better at work, professionally and personally, I believe we need these small and at-first-glance meaningless events. Events that we have some power to contain. The power and ability to remove all thought from the regular, daunting and otherwise engaging moments outside of our personal lives. If at no other time, we can feel right.
The moment we as individuals realize that we are not in control of everything… all that happens to us, we may then see how we might gain control. Sometimes we try so hard to have that control that we press to hard and become sprained. We can control our reactions. We can control some of the things within our own space. Yet we cannot control everything.
I don’t wear starched shirts and well-designed ties as much as I use to. My shoes have no need to impress my colleagues as much as they needed to in the past. Every event and interaction in my life… I do not always get right…
but my space… those little things that matter, I am in need… to get those right. So I will…
iron the shirts,
clean the car,
wash the dishes and
mow the lawn
because those are the small moments… the little things that are needed to stay sane.
The following post I wrote appeared on Sarah White‘s blog ImSoCorporate.com in February of 2010 . I am posting it on my blog for 2 reasons. (1) To keep an archive of what I have written and (2) to promote Sarah’s awesomeness. She is a cool cat with lots great insight. She also happens to be the Chief Strategy Officer at HRMDirect, a great SaaS software suite that helps companies manage Recruiting, Onboarding & Performance Management, basically the life cycle of their Talent Management process. Check them out!
Why the Generational Conversation is Getting Old
So this is has been a loaded topic since Christ was born. Since Darwin and the Catholic Church stopped talking to one another. It has been battled over since the thousands of soldiers came home from World War II. And yet again when Pensions and 401K’s were dumped on the employee to manage. OK, maybe none of this true. Maybe it is all ludicrous but at the same time – to me – that is the way I feel about the argument on differences in generations. From the way we comb our hair to how we interact and where and when we have conversations. The generational topic has always been loaded. Filled with opinions and perspectives that are both valid and ludicrous.
So what does all this mean? If you look closely at each definition as describe by the oh-so-always accurate Wikipedia what they basically say is that we are different. I argue we are not, that it is only the context in which we do things and sometimes the environment in which we do them. People could argue that exposure to technology and information, early career versus lots of experience. Even the old military-style-of-“Yes Sir and Yes Mam” of working relationship could be argued but really why even argue. Because if we are so different, will we never agree?
It's all about CONTEXT
So this is why we say – STOOPPPPP!!!
- Everyone has something to say but no one will agree: so to follow the quote that I love by Bill Cosby – “I don’t know the secret to success but I do know the key to failure… trying to please everyone.” I don’t think you can please anyone in this issue. Period.
- For some it’s more than just a conversation: Let’s face it, there are those that live and breathe the argument. They make a case, study statistics and will never change their minds.
- Depth Perception: Some, no matter how hard you try, will never see another side.
- Get over yourself and the differences: I get the fact we need to understand what makes us different in order to interact and see how we can best move towards a goal. I also understand that there are differences, but come on, why do we focus so much on the differences when we could look more at the similarities?
- I am different than you: But isn’t everyone. At one point in all of our careers we have questioned the position, the company, the people and even our personal direction.
Most of the arguments are me versus you.
- If you want to cry there are better things to cry about: In a time we have mass world disasters and wars, famine, job losses and business inability or unwillingness to be innovative, why in the heck are we having this lengthy conversation.
- I work harder and longer then you: We all work hard and long depending on who we work for whether we love our jobs or hate them. We are also lazy and don’t do anything sometimes. Does that make me any less committed then you?
- It’s not about differences or generations. It’s about CONTEXT: Everyone likes music; I may like Hip Hop and Country while you enjoy Heavy Metal and Opera. But hell, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennial’s we all like the Beatles! So let’s all get in one room and “come together, right now…”
I am not against having the conversation at all. For some it can be enlightening and a learning experience. However, for many this subject is like politics or religion. Once you are in the sites of a sniper looking for death, you might as well give your life up because you will be trapped behind their cross hairs.
When beginning my career, after starting to work in the real world (per say) – I would spend my time on ironing boards.
We need time to reflect. In order to be better at work, professionally and personally, I believe we need these small and at-first-glance meaningless events. Events that we have some power to contain. The power and ability to remove all thought from the regular, daunting and otherwise engaging moments outside of our personal lives. If at no other time, we can feel right.
