a Series of 10 —what remains when you strip it back

By my count I am one blog away from having written 500 blogs on my two websites combined. I thought it would an interesting idea to write this blogs based on the common threads that have woven themselves through the last 499 I’ve written — here it is.

“Who am I?” Such a big question for so few words.

I affectionately like to say I’m one third “poor scientist”, one third “poor artist”, and one third “poor philosopher” — this is somewhat tongue in cheek but it also represents the core aspects of who I am and how I approach the world. I should mention that when I say poor, I am not referring to their value but that I am not particularly good at any one of them — although, as a whole, I have done alright by it.

If I take this one step further and ask what is most important for each of these characters, it would look something like this:

The poor scientist, who is really interested in the biological sciences, would say health is most important — specifically a healthy metabolic pathway, a controlled dopamine pathway and the need for motion (as well as mobility). In short, eat healthy, keep your addictions to a minimum and stay active. Remember what it feels like to feel good.

The poor artist would simply remind you to create — take what is in your head (or soul) and express it, make it real and share it with the world. Make your presence known and let the world answer your calling. Creativity just doesn’t refer to paintings or interpretive “sculptures of happiness” — if you have an idea for an app that will help small businesses with financial modelling as the company scales, bring it to life and share it! Creatively make things happen and don’t be afraid to shine.

The poor philosopher would insist you stay curious — he would tell you that learning is a lifetime endeavour, to always be asking questions, and that critical understanding is important when looking at the world. Change your perspective, walk in someone else’s shoes and remember you know so very little. Go forth and explore.

So when the journey has stripped me bare and I’ve taken a knee, I force a wry smile and stand. I rely on the foundational health of my body and soul, wrap myself in curiosity and create something as I continue to make my way. I suppose this is what got me to my 500th blog.

This is who I am.

iamgpe

PS: the best answer to the question “Who am I?” I’ve ever heard:

“I’ve fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I’ve led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes. Killed many men and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am.” — from the movie Secondhand Lions

a Series of 10 —when clarity arrives late

By my count I am 2 blogs away from having written 500 blogs on my two websites. I thought it might be an interesting idea to write these remaining blogs based on the common threads that have woven themselves through the last 498 I have written — and with that said, “a Series of 10” will continue with a blog on reflection.

The poor artist in me craves artistic expression and has led to many things including a tattoo gracing each shoulder; both stylized. One is the sun and the other is the moon. One is to shine and the other is to reflect.

One represents the unabashed brightness of who we can be and the other is the measured brightness of who we want to be — both important, working together in a continuous loop of shining and reflection — growth and development.

The idea of self-reflection is not new, and it doesn’t take long to remember sayings passed down from your parents and their parents — “Learn from your mistakes”, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”, or “Hindsight is 20/20”. You have probably even experienced it firsthand when you finally came up with the perfect comeback three hours after the fact.

Realization after the fact is the catalyst to growth — some of the strongest lessons happen after the fact, when you realized you should have turned left instead of right or realized you were wrong after seeing the situation from a different perspective. All of this is ready to be internalized, analyzed, added to the library of experiences and acknowledged as a lesson learned.

This formula for growth and development leads to shining brighter which, starts the cycle all over again. I see three aspects for reflection and optimizing this growth cycle — 1) develop the bravery and habit to look in the mirror in the first place, 2) suppress your ego when reflecting and with humility, learn from it, and 3) remember what you have learned for the next time.

And with that, as I write this, I finally understand why humility is so important.

I finally realize that humility is more than just a human characteristic of kindness but rather a key component in squelching the ego that gets in the way of learning, growing and shining.

It turns out, one of the reasons I blog is to reflect — and more than ever, I will do it with humility.

iamgpe

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a Series of 10 —the things we stop noticing

By my count I am 3 blogs away from having written 500 blogs on my two websites. I thought it might be an interesting idea to write these remaining blogs based on the common threads that have woven themselves through the last 497 I have written — and with that said, “a Series of 10” will continue with a blog on blind spots.

It wasn’t so long ago that I figuratively operated in three boxes of various sizes — my home, the little box I used to drive to the final box that I called my place of work. The boxes would change in configuration but overall this was the bubble I operated in. Don’t get me wrong, I would leave my bubble and do other things but would always return. It was how I framed the world. I liked the ways I looked at the world and I was rewarded well for it.

Like all things this eventually changed and I with it so did I. One of the things I adopted was to walk — I walked everywhere and I did it every day all year round. I think it was late March when I remember saying to myself, “So this is what Spring looks like”. Before Spring was always days on a calendar, but now it is the change in temperature, the melting of the snow, the first plants making their way and the sound of the world waking up. In my previous boxes I never experienced any of this, and frankly didn’t really care; I knew what Spring was if anyone had bothered to ask me — but why would they? We all knew what spring was, and it had very little to do with melting snow and plants coming to life.

Spring had been the end of Q1 and Q2, and was my least favourite season. Now it is my second favourite season and I even look at the quarterly rhythm much differently. Are you sensing the metaphor yet?

We build our models for success based on what we think we know, create our bubbles with like-minded people, develop the appropriate objectives to serve the bubble, and we form our habits based on it — if we are successful we even risk becoming arrogant. We narrow our perspective, develop a lens to look at the world and create blind spots. Why be curious when you already know everything you need to know and success has proven you’re “right”.

This is wonderful until change happens which always happens.

If you didn’t notice (or were too arrogant to notice) because your bubble always works you have a problem. Most change is subtle like spring and you may find yourself never satisfied with what’s started happening and struggling to fix it. Sometimes though, the change is so dramatic the bubble bursts, your model collapses and everything needs to be reevaluated and “rebuilt”.

Our bubbles are small and the world is vast and ever changing. It is always asking, “Why do I have to speak up? Maybe you have to listen harder”.

It’s important to metaphorically listen for changes regularly, don’t assume your bubble is safe, stay curious and remember there are many more perspectives than yours. As a final thought, if your bubble does happen to burst, you can always build another that’s even bigger and better — it may be the best thing that’s ever happened.

I love me a good metaphor.

iamgpe

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