Hello Dickinson ILPers!
Since Dan appears to be diving into the eJournal discussion from 30,000 feet, I thought I would do the same during my flight from DFW to Seattle.
Per Scott’s note, I was also bummed to miss the vision teleclass last Thursday. I was unplugged in Seaside Florida with the family enjoying some much need family time. Although Scott missed the
call, the output from his retreat was inspiring and powerfully illustrates what “simplicity on the other side of complexity” can look like on a single slide (purpose, mission, and 5 strategic objectives – POW!).
As we approach the midpoint of our ILP journey, I find myself so inspired by your continued engagement. To put things into perspective…if this were a marathon, we aren’t even halfway done. Can
we learn to embrace a quality of patience that will help us slow down so that we can ultimately speed up?
Wolf, Dan, and others have recently shared the difficulties of breaking free from old habits of self-criticism and impatience. Awareness is the first step. With awareness comes choice and then
with awareness and choice comes responsibility.
In the spirit of awareness and learning to play the long game, I have attached a short 2008 article on Japan’s Marathon Monks. I don’t think that I’ve ever shared this material with an ILP class
(or with Maryellen or RPM) so please note that this is definitely not part of our formal curriculum.
This article is absolutely mind-blowing and puts the power of practice and patience into a whole new light.
Since I’m inviting you to learn about an adventure from the East, I wanted to end with a Kōan that came to mind while I was reading (and deeply appreciating) Brock’s recent Walk The Talk post
regarding his own habits, fears, and insecurities. In Zen Buddhism, teachers often use a “Kōan” to help students escape the constraints of the rational mind.
"You are already perfect just the way you are. And you could use a little improvement.” -- Suzuki Roshi
Consciously,
Rand
Rand Stagen
Partner | Stagen
rand@stagen.com | o: 214.217.9214
3535 Travis Street | Suite 100 | Dallas, TX 75204
From: dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com <dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2:21 PM
To: dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com
Subject: RE: focus energy matrix and some meta-reflections on my reactions on the course material
Wolf,
Wanted to chime in that I’m with you on issues (a) and (b) on your list. I do not like wasting time. But I have learned over time that my initial reaction to something new is often not the most insightful or useful. I have to approach everything
in Stagen with this in mind, because the material, exercises, etc., are so far outside my expertise. The 2x2 is a great example. After I read the material on it, I thought, “This is useful. It’s obvious, but it’s a good way to prioritize things. I can run
through this with the team.” Then we had the Q2 workshop where we really got into it, which was like a revelation for me. I had to give myself time to let the idea sink in, to look at it from different angles.
And on (b), I certainly feel like I’m not doing as good a job on Stagen as I need to be. I have gotten way behind on assignments, which makes me beat myself up because I made a commitment to allocate sufficient time to ILP work so that
I would actually benefit from the program. Since I’m behind, I’m screwing that up, and the rhythm of the class is off for me, and I’m cramming and probably not grasping the ideas, and I haven’t really tried to implement Committed Action in my organization,
and, and and and and. My point is that we’re all doing our best, and we are going to fall short at times. Beating myself up for it doesn’t help. Hard habit to break, I know.
|
From:
dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com [mailto:dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2018 11:43 AM
To: dickinson@stagen.simplelists.com
Subject: focus energy matrix and some meta-reflections on my reactions on the course material
Hi Dickinson,
Late to the party. As probably many of you I can find myself in all four of these quadrants. This was my first reaction and I did not dig deeper really. It seemed obvious and trivial. I was also irritated by the exercise.
That is not the first time that I felt irritated by stagen material. It has a variety of reasons and talking to RPM and doing game filming has fleshed them out.
a) I am impatient and if I don't see immediate value then I move on. There is a lot of pressure on me that does not allow me to take stock a lot.
b) I am worried that all of you are much better at this and you get more out of it and I am frustrated that I am not committing the time and energy it takes to really benefit from it
c) in regard to the energy matrix. I do know what I need to do but I often fail. I often set good rules and behaviors in my mind and then I don't do them. For instance I know that I can be productive in the morning at home. However, if
I continue to do home office after noon I tend to just screw around.
I could write a lot here but I try to keep it concise.
New commitment: each time I feel annoyed or disgruntled because of a stagen exercise I will try my best to understand what is going on. If I cannot do it because my mental energies are depleted (I do a lot of personal development work with
my partner and with another coach) then I am going to be cool with that and I stop punishing or pushing myself.
A new goal: I would like to be able to trust my feelings. Truly know when I should stop working and when to push through. I tend to always push and if I don't push hard enough I punish myself (negative self-talk). It's well trodden pathways
in my mind that I would like to give up. However, that will be tough. Each time I feel shitty or if I am avoiding something I feel like I am the only one and that I should just get my fucking shit together. My staff and board consider me a workhorse. That
picture from others is not the same picture that I have of me.
I don't have any of the kindness that I have for others (sometimes) towards myself. It is a painful circle which I have become aware of in the last year.
No idea how to break out but that is okay. I stay with it as long as it takes.
Greetings from Las Vegas,
Wolf
--
Dr. Wolf von Laer
E-mail:
wolf.vonlaer@gmail.com
Cell: +1 202 476 9043