Continuing from Sustaining a self-reflection practice in a chaotic world (1 of 2) …
7. What gets in the way of sustaining your practice?
Most days, nothing. Some days, I do. On those days, I’ve learned to reach out to self-organizing group members until I’m back on track.
8. How does your professional self-reflection practice support your personal practice and vice versa?
Learning and experimenting with self-organizing groups and work groups is my professional practice and my personal practice. I first based my professional practice on what self-organizing groups do (as a researcher, I do what these groups do and I join and become them when possible). This worked so well that it opened my eyes in my personal life, and I started recognizing more of my groups as self-organizing and therefore as important to me both personally and professionally.
Consciously paying attention to and experimenting within my own and nearby others’ self-organizing groups has led to several remarkable things happening regularly to me now:
- I regularly become aware of new groups through the groups I study and am part of and I regularly come to recognize other groups that I’m already part of as self-org groups. Today my life/work brings forth an abundance of self-organizing groups—far more than I could ever study and be part of. My group cup runneth over.
- I’m regularly reminded of the importance of everyone around me, especially those close to me. This makes me more grateful, nicer, and less selfish. Most days.
- I can regularly make sense out of the torrent of input I receive from the groups I study and am part of. I’m learning to trust these groups and my individual self as reliable filters.
These things help both my professional and personal lives, which are pretty much one and the same now. Most days, I experience my work and my life as one whole big, fun experiment, which helps me take my individual self a lot less seriously (and which my individual self needs a TON of help with, I say as if that isn’t obvious to you already). 🙂
9. What do you do when you have to make a decision before you’ve reached the level of self-awareness you want to be at?
I allow my self-organizing groups to pull and push me to the level of self-awareness that makes the most sense in the moment, and I make/find the decision from that level or across a combination of levels. Today I see four levels of self-awareness, as discussed in the previous post, and believe that all these levels exist for a reason and matter equally. If the decision feels important, I float from one level to another and back again until an answer comes clear. Here are examples of what I hear at the different levels:
- Individual self (fish): “Arrgh!! Stop! Don’t make a decision. You need more help. You need more time. You need more experts. You need more data. You need more everything! You’re clueless! A mistake could be fatal.”
- Self-organizing group self (school): “Let’s make a decision and see what happens! We’re awesome at improvisation, doing the best we can in every moment, and our community will help us and forgive us as we make mistakes, which are an important part of the process.”
- Self-organizing community self (river): “Release worry. Decisions made for the purpose of collective learning are rewarded. You’re at the level of self-awareness you need to be at right now—and so are those around you—whether you can fully see it yet or not.”
- Self-organizing planet self (ocean): “We’re here to love and be loved. We know it. The decision is made.”
This moving across levels of self-awareness sometimes happens in a single instant and sometimes takes a few hours or days, depending on how loud my individual self is being. I’m still learning to trust my individual self fully. When I feel anger, fear, frustration now, though, I really listen. The louder my individual self is, the more self-organizing group and community members I physically seek out and talk to.
10. How do you feel about the people you meet who aren’t interested in self-reflection and self-awareness?
Depending on my own state in the moment, I feel one of four ways:
- Scared and angry. This makes me think: “Idiot!” or “Jerk!” (hello, individual self)
- Relieved. This makes me think: “Thank God I can stop thinking about self-awareness for a moment and just be.” (hello, self-organizing group self)
- Curious. This makes me think “I wonder where this person is when he/she does care about self-awareness, and why they don’t appear to care here?” (hello, self-organizing community self)
- I love them. (hello, self-organizing planet self)
At this point, I find myself at #3 most days, am surprised when I find myself at #1, and aspire to be at #4 more of the time. Hmm, wonder if I can get there before I’m 45? (am 41 right now) 🙂
11. What’s the role of humor in self-reflection?
A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor and says “Make me one with everything.” She takes the hot dog and gives the person a $20 bill. When the vendor takes her money without saying anything, the Buddhist asks for her change. “My friend,” says the vendor, “Change comes from within.”
Why can’t Buddhists vacuum under the sofa? Because they have no attachments.
If I was truly wise, I’d just stop there. But I’m a researcher, not a comedian, so I’ll add this. I see humor as a way for our self-organizing group and community selves to ease the pain and suffering of our individual selves and as a way for our individual selves to recognize our collective selves. When I’m laughing, I’m consciously within my group, my community, and my planet, and I’m safe. When I’m not, I’m not.
Grady dreams of driving a Seafair hydro racer
12. How do the groups you’re part of support self-reflection and self-awareness?
If you’ve read this far, I’m curious. What do you think?
Lori, I surely enjoyed this post and the order of self-organizing that stems out of chaos.
I published yesterday a presentation on slideshare “Employee Bankruptcy Ratios”. I wonder if your time would allow for you to read it and relate it to self-organizing. There is a subtle link and I want to know if I made this point clear in the presentation. The link is
http://www.slideshare.net/hudali15/employee-bankruptcy-ratio
Lori, have a good day
Hey Ali, very creative idea. I posted my response there (http://www.slideshare.net/hudali15/employee-bankruptcy-ratio)
I’m new to slideshare. Checking to see if there is a way for me to automatically be notified when you post a slide deck. Thinking that’d be easier for you!
Lori
Lori, when you make a comment there is a small rectangle box below (scroll down the page)that allows you to follow subsequent comments.
As for new publications, if you follow me then you should be automatically notified by email
I responded to your great comment
Lori, I responded to your illuminating comment. Honestly, it is by far the best comment I have had so far. I e-mailed Bas to urge him to read it
Million thanks
I want to add that self-organizing team members are engaged, happy, feel free, but responsible. They represent the return of mind to the value of human capital and maximize it through voluntary cooperation. These members are assets and immune to turning into liability. That is the connection I see. Best regards, Lori
Ali, wow. Regarding “These members are assets and immune to turning into a liability.”
You are the first person I know personally who has said this to me. You are the only person in my life who believes in these groups to the extent I do.
Thank you for saying this out loud. Thank you for showing me that I’m not alone in my experience of these groups. The moments I spend with these groups, I know I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing on this earth. But every once in a while, when sitting alone by myself, doubts creep in… “Was I a crazy person to leave Microsoft (and huge salary) to pursue study of these groups full time? Am I a crazy person to be following my own energy and joy? Am I the only one on earth who sees in these groups how amazing we are right now? And the amazing potential in what we humans can be?”
Thanks to you, I can put these doubts aside. I am NOT the only one. I cannot imagine a greater gift.
Lori, I only realized from Google that you responded to my comment.
I have accepted in life that people of your vision are a scarcity in the world at all times. Just see how people followed Aristotle for 1000 years before his theory on earth’s composition was shot down. Newton lead people to trust him for hundred year or more till Mandelbrot and others proved his theories are only correct within strict boundaries. We know from the Butterfly Effect that a huge effect might be traced back to a minor cause. Little motivation (cause) might generate considerable success (effect). So, if you think you are almost alone remember this is the destiny of pioneers.
What you see as “vision” within me feels more like stubbornness most days.
😉
My friend, I think you and I are much luckier than those great men you mention. We’re aware that the truly great experiences and ideas that show up in life do so for us as self-organizing groups. For me, this means that as an individual I’m compelled to be with these groups to the extent I possibly can be, both in person and in my imagination. So the minutes that I spend feeling alone and indulging my individual fears are dwindling. And most days, any fears I do have are mere shadows of the big fears that used to stop me cold.
It is possible that people of vision are a scarcity in this world. It’s also possible that the longer we stay within self-organizing groups and communities, the more aware we become that there are visionary groups and people in all directions around us. Spending time with you makes me think that, for me, the later is closer to the truth.
Best,
Lori
Lori, this is a free download book on order from chaos. In case you are interested the link is
Click on the link below to start downloading this free ebook:-
Order in Chaos: A Spiritually Inspirational Self-Hellp Book of Devotions and Meditations for Christianity – 150 pages, 246kb (PDF)
Lori, Charles Prabakar commented on my presentation. Please allow me to paste the first comment from his comment as he refers to your comment very positively
Hello Ali, After carefully reading through your presentation including the value-add comments from your esteemed readers, I must admit that you bring up a disruptive approach of turning financial ratios into human capital performance ratios. Your approach, I am sure will be music to the ears for those forward looking organizations that have come to the realization that human capital is the most important capability asset of the 21st century. More specifically, Lori’s comment of creating an employee thriving ratio as opposed to surviving ratio is spot on as well – as research shows positive empowered measurement indicators have a direct correlation to overall value creation as well.
Ali, I continue to be surprised and delighted by your thoughtfulness. Thank you for taking the time to share Mr. Prabakar’s comment with me.
In that slide deck, I realize that you’re working with industry standard terms and what you suggested on your own is likely to be considered risky and radical by many people. And perhaps “thriving ratio” instead of “surviving ratio” is a ridiculously difficult thing to ask/suggest. Then again, in my experience, self-organizing groups of just 4 to 5 people regularly achieve what appears to be “ridiculously difficult” to individuals, including themselves, every single day. If anyone can do it, you can. And if you need help, just let me know.
Lori, your help will always be inspiring and essential. Thanks for the offer wholeheartedly
Lori, you wrote above “Thanks to you, I can put these doubts aside. I am NOT the only one. I cannot imagine a greater gift”.
I cannot imagine of a gift better than this response.