New Learning = New Minds

In thinking about self-renewal, I realized both benefits and a need for structure/discipline in order to create the habit. The structure is around motivation & energy, ability to fail, seeing things as a child, and interdependence (not co-dependence) with others. With this foundation we can be unique, free, and revolutionary in order to reject norms in favor of building a new uncharted path. Without individuals who are doing this, we lose our independence as a society, become puppets and in my view DIE. It connects with the notion of knowledge management, where we no longer need a party line, an assembly line or to quote Frost, "copy speech," but rather seek new thoughts, diverse perspectives and a vision that will carry us forward into the unknown. In Robert Frost's poem "The most of it, " he says . . .

He would cry out in life, that what it wants
Is not its own love back in copy speech,
But counter-love, original response.

To live authentically, to use our gifts and talents fully, and to be the people are meant to be, we need to strive for new knowledge, genuine responses and an openness to the possibilities waiting to be discovered if only we take the time to notice.

The Power of Observation

In working on a daVinci exercise around sense, I decided to listen to the world for new sounds. (Being in Florence made this somewhat easy)
-I heard Andrew's phone wake me up - meap, meap (old English ring sound)
-Buzz of people in a Piazza - no words just bustles and pitch and constant humm
-Piano hard sound, so confident
-Andrew concerned about his voice on video - too nasal, he begins to experiment
-Other sounds in open air - singing teenagers on train, John Denver like singing man passionately bringing a crowd
-Lots of strange sounding sirens, loud and echoing as they travel down tiny streets
- Il Latino Restaurant, clanking and multi-languages overwhelming our heads and drowning our voices
-Language -Italian, British, Australian, German, French, Japanese highs and lows ringing

In various themed exercises I am overcome by how awareness enlivens experience. So much more is in front of me then I realize. As I bring awareness of self to the world, I am also experiencing new aspects of myself that fill me with both fascination and fear.

what the world needs is people who have come alive

Are Success and Failure the ONLY Options?

Something I have run across in my reading on Effectiveness are two theories entitled Entity & Incremental, from an article by Daniel Molden and Carol Dweck entitled "Finding "Meaning" in Psychology." Entity Theory is about set knowledge, previous programming and having an end in mind that is already determined. Incremental Theory speaks to developmental growth, and an understanding that you don't know everything but are capable of learning new things as you go. Therefore when one walks into an experience, the outcome of their success depends on if they have a set belief that will allow them only to succeed or fail based on how the environment connects with that belief, vs. someone who is open to exploring, seeing possibilities and is confident that they will figure it out as they go.

This has made me think about how so much of my work has been a struggle with one set of beliefs, perceptions and inner dialogue about what I can and can't do, rather than an exercise in experimentation. It makes me think of a need for trial and more trial rather than my standard approach of applying my current set of tools to ONE BIG TRY which either ends in success or failure.

In working on my research question, I wish I had one set end goal that would open all doors to my effectiveness. I can't figure out if I should focus on time, task, bigger mission, daily self-regulation, efficacy, reflection or something else entirely. My challenge is to feel like I choose the things that I care about and continue to work on them regularly. To Bill's entry on daVinci, do I focus on many things, completing one, or just be in the learning process as an end in itself?

I originally came up with a focus on time because that is controllable. I can go out and run for 50 minutes much more easily than convincing myself to run 6 miles, which makes the run about one end goal. I can get up and read for 20 minutes, but not be nearly as effective in motivating myself to read a full article. It is more in discipline to sit down than in task that I am initially successful, despite research that says time is irrelevant.

I feel like the answer to my longer-term success is some big mystery but maybe I need to continue to explore with the hat of incremental theory rather than my current entity theory approach.

From Fear to Inspiration!!

YIKES!! This entry is less for others comments and more about a one sided confessional. Though I started the blogging exercise a month ago with great enthusiasm, after the last class, I have completely been ignoring the site. I feel a huge amount of relief to even be sitting her typing as I thought I would explode from avoidance. I think when the comments were made about all the assignments, stepping up the blog and the few weeks remaining, I turned off. To overcome this, my one goal was to just write these thoughts, so that maybe it would give me permission to not focus on everything or being brilliant, but simply on telling you all that I am afraid.

Today I started looking over others thoughts and loving the strategies, pondering, personality and growth you are writing about. Thank you for sharing yourselves and providing great inspiration for effectiveness. In reading your words, I forget that we are in a class and that the work is connected to assignments, which is what I needed.

Feedback & Coaching in Time-Management

As an exercise for the class, I signed up to have 12 people from my work evaluate me in relation to people management, leadership, teamwork, coaching, time management, communication, etc. The results of this in conjunction with my topic on effectiveness are united. My strengths are in energy, enthusiasm, team support and my opportunities lie in structuring time and work more effectively towards personal, work and team goals. The opportunity is around being clear, deliberate and focused in my work and pre-planning to accomplish that. I spend so much time fretting about the large piles I seem to attract, that it is often difficult for me to consider let alone work on what is most important until it falls behind and becomes URGENT (and stressful). Further, it spills into anything I work on with others so I need to ensure they have clear direction that allows them to succeed. So I am working on a plan to enhance my self-regulation and ask for help from anyone who I collaborate with to support me in this work. I am giving myself a two month window to experiment, in order to accomplish the large projects at work, the major initiatives for school and the personal work I hope to do along the way to prepare for my son's arrival. I think the huge benefits I will receive in being more intentional include: sense of accomplishment, more availability to engage in supporting relationship and satisfaction that I am doing what is more important to me right now.

I am working on my schedule, major priorities and exploring various organizational systems. I have included a few basic links around scheduling as I work to figure out how best to structure my time.

Wikipedia on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

Weekly calendar page and ideas for filling/structuring time:
http://web.mit.edu/uaap/learning/modules/time/weeklyplanner.pdf

Suggestions for clearing a cluttered desk:
http://www.organizetips.com/office.htm

My plan is to start with a plan for each day that really focuses on key initiatives.
I am going to focus on a minimum of once a week, organizing my desk and space.
I am going to do weekend planning for my food/cloths and household needs to ensure I am more efficient through the work week.

If anyone else has tips that have been helpful for them, I am always interested in hearing about people's personal strategies on this front.

Am I an Idiot? Finding music or anything for that matter

It is a great mystery to me how the lay person finds meaning in things that are primarily managed or appreciated by experts. I feel I am beating my head against a wall and wonder if I am capable of figuring these things out or if I should give up! A few examples that are haunting me at the moment. . .

- Searching for music to try and listen to what Michael Gelb lists as the "Great Music From the Classic Cannon." I thought it would be great to do and started searching for the pieces, the artists, etc, by typing in exactly what he provided on page 118 of How to Think Like Leonardo Davinci. Frankly, hundreds of people have created versions of "Bach:Mass in B Minor" which all sound different and are about different pieces of this selection. Which is best? How do I know I am actually getting the right piece? Is it me who is just ignorant or did Michael need to provide additional details? If these are the best, shouldn't there be an album with them? Anyone a music buff out there? It left me feeling that I should abandon this exercise though I would really like to hear the pieces.

-Searching for articles and texts within the Libraries massive search engines. I feel sometimes I am trying to make articles work for me, rather than finding exactly what I need. Additionally, I wonder if 25 articles really exist? I think I am figuring out how to get around EBSCO, but it seems to be a primary engine in the areas I use such as PsycInfo. I don't know how to start with a search engine specifically, only to reference a link when EBSCO does not have my article and then I am redirected to a different engine. I am sure it was covered several times during our 6 hours focused on searching, but I can't figure it out.

All of this makes me feel a bit lost and ineffective, but the only think I can think is that it is a challenge and maybe if I stick with it, I will achieve some sense of FLOW.

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Blogging Anonymity

Just wanted to ponder this whole concept of blogging for a minute. As we explore this channel, I am curious about risk and reward. I sense some have a fear of exposure. Someone commented about my openness, while we have all talked about personal concerns for who is watching/reading. Who might read and what would that do for us? For me, this avenue seems safer than actually talking to a person. I can say what I want and see how others interact with it over time. Further I love the variety of entries and comments of our class, that range from personal journal, to personal reflection to open ended questions. It strikes me as a powerful way to better understand one another, challenge our thinking (class goal) and see things from perspectives other than our own (DaVinci). I am curious what you think about what blogging means for you, the risk and reward you perceive and your goals for using this as a tool to spur on your own effectiveness.

Thoughts on Effectiveness

What motivates YOU to get up in the morning (i.e. what do you look forward to and dread)? Similarly, what keeps YOU up at night? I believe these questions speak to our underlying sense of what matters to us at a moment in time. This drives choices, actions and reactions. The more we can author and channel these driving forces, the more we can get to what matters most to us.