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To
give more meaning to your actions, thoughts and feelings
it is worth reflecting on your experiences and how you
react to them.
Making
meaning
Being able to give meaning to language and situations
that appear chaotic at first allows a pattern of thinking
that offers you the perception of being in control.
Whatever happens emerges from our conversations (with
ousrelves and others) that generate our own thoughts,
feelings and reactions.
The
vehicle for meaning making is language or conversation.
Not from conversations that instruct, criticise or direct,
but through conversations that enquire and explore possibilities.
This
is why it's important to engage and energise others
in open and creative conversations. They allow the exchange
of thoughts and ideas about what enables and disables
us from living with change and knowing what change can
generate. New solutions can then emerge from a state
of 'not knowing'. This takes absolute trust in what
is happening, and in your own ability to interpret failure
as positive feedback. Being able to learn from feedback
can renew your commitment and energy for continuous
change.
A
Self-Assessment Tool
The questions below are taken from Ian Marshall &
Danah Zohar's book 'Spiritual Capital'. You can be your
own coach or work with a friend to ask the following
questions. It may take a while, so print off a copy
and take some time out to reflect on your answers. Think
about yourself in different contexts and keep notes
Self-Awareness
At
the end of the day, do you reflect on the day's events
and experiences and your feelngs about them ?
Can
you confront uncomfortable feedback about yourself ?
Are you comfortable with silence ?
Do
you have any sense of a deeper presence within you ?
Spontaneity
Do you follow your gut instincts, even if it means taking
risks ?
Do
you ever feel that an underlying sense of direction
or inner compass guides you ?
Vision
& Values
Are
you motivated by ideals like helping others or serving
some higher cause ?
Do
you live by your ideals ?
Do
you feel calleed upon to 'go te extra mile' to bring
excellence to whatever you do ?
Do
you feel inspired by great leaders or public figures,
historical or contemporary ?
Do
you reflect on questions like the meaning of life. the
purpose of your life, the meaning behind your work or
relationships ?
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Holism
Do
you tend to look for relationships between apparently
different things ?
Do
you look for a wider context into which you can put
problems or events ?
Do
you have a sense that events or problems that come to
your attention are interconnected ?
Do
you have exoeriences of anticipating or knowing the
unspoken thoughts of others ?
Do
you ever have a sense of everything being part of something
much bigger ?
Connectedness
Do
you feel the feelings of others ? Their pain ? Their
joy ?
Would
you agree with the statement, "I am not my brother's
keeper because my brother is myself ?
Have
you ever felt a sense of reverence or awe for all of
existence ?
Can
you empathise with the pain, suffering, or anger of
people who radically disagree with you, or who may even
be a threat to you ?
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