All of life is a process, from the day we are born to the day we die. And some might say that this life we live is just part of a bigger, eternal process, but that is a subject for another kind of blog. I'm thinking today about the larger process of my life and then the other processes within it and how my thoughts and actions affect how it unfolds.
We're all involved with more processes than we can count and usually in community (group action) with others whether that be at work, in our families, an organization, or a larger group (city, state, country, humanity). We each have a part to play, a part of the rope to hold on to and lift up.
There are important questions we can ask ourselves about the evolution of our process:
1) What IS my part in this process and how can I honor and enhance it?
2) Am I feeding useful information into the process or is it just noise?
3) When I notice a "problem" coming into the process do I offer this problem along with a possible solution?
4) Am I honoring the part others play in the process, even when I don't agree with them?
5) Am I taking steps, however small, to move the process forward, to help it evolve?
6) Can I be honest about wanting to stop my participation without making others bad or wrong?
7) Can I take part and stay engaged without knowing what the outcome will be?
8) Can I relax into the process and not fight against it?
9) Will I have gratitude for what I learned in the unfoldment of the process even if the "end" result is not to my immediate satisfaction or liking?
10) Can I look honestly at my motivations for involvement, honor the motivations of others, and know that everyone hopes to gain something different?
Involvement with other humans is many times a messy, chaotic, jumbled up, funny, heartbreaking, exasperating, complicated, loving and unavoidable journey. Its so easy to look at how the actions of others are impacting us, but how often do we look inside and make a correction in the way we're contributing to the process?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Jill Boullion
- Houston, TX, United States
- I've led a lot and followed plenty of times, too. All these experiences have given me some interesting perspective into what makes someone a leader worth following. And what constitutes ethical leadership? We usually can smell it when's it not, so let's find the examples in the world of people leading in an ethical and authentic way! My passion is community leadership but I think the lessons of leadership transcend place and specifics. I'd love to hear what you think about leadership!
Have you thought about a second career in management consulting? Good stuff, Jill.
ReplyDelete