Kicking it in 2013: Part 2

Herewith my second goal post of 2013. (Part 1: goals one - five)

um, another goal post

Goal six - not worry about what Mr Phil Jewitt calls 'life leak'

I've written before about not really minding the increasingly blurry lines between personal and work. Recent frustrations on the work front made me re-evaluate that a bit. I was getting to the point where I did just want to do my day and forget all about work immediately on leaving the building. Couldn't do it though. I get inspiration for what I do at work from all sorts of places. Stuff I do out of work develops me as a person, which in turn, makes me more effective at work. It's not for everyone, but it works for me and I'm not going to worry about it.

Was just about to hit the publish button when someone tweeted a link to this post by Gareth Morgan, Assistant Chief Constable Local Policing for Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police. Go and read it, I'll wait 'till you get back. Good stuff, eh?

Goal seven - do some stuff I'm scared off

Probably not lava surfing or shark wrestling, but I do want to venture out of my comfort zone a bit more. An example is video. I hate - absolutely loathe - being filmed and I've no desire to be behind the camera. But, video is such an important medium for so much of what I do, I really, really, need to make an effort with it. T'other 'alf is a film-maker and it seems a shame not to take advantage of his expertise! 

Audio comes into this category as well. Never really got into podcasts and the sound of my recorded voice makes me squirm. But, like video, there may be occasions when it's the most appropriate medium of communication for what I'm trying to do/audience I'm trying to reach.

Goal eight - be more adventurous with my shoe wearing

bought myself these for Christmas :)

I've been seeing the word 'empathy' all over the place recently. I particularly like this post: 'Fitness trainer gains and loses 70 pounds in 1 year - on purpose'. 

I think I'm generally a nice person. I try to see all sides of an issue. But it is easier to be empathic towards those people whose ideas agree with mine. This one is kinda related to goal three. Some of those occasions where I've not communicated as well as I'd liked may have been down to a lack of empathy on my part. True empathy means learning to put aside a life time of cultural conditioning. That takes a lot of practice. If you're lacking in empathy, you're likely to misread what is transpiring in a situation and misunderstand the intentions of others. So, it's about asking 'am I saying or doing it in a way in which the other person will be most responsive to hearing and listening to me?'

Goal nine - finish stuff

I'm notoriously bad at starting stuff but not following through. Blog posts, projects, conversations get started but flounder and don't go anywhere. That's fine up to a point - a lot of the stuff that doesn't get finished probably doesn't deserve to be - but it's not a very efficient use of my time. When something piques my interest, I should be asking myself 'can really I add something here?'. If not, I should - as Jeff Jarvis would say - 'do what you do best and link to the rest' and maybe tweet a link and move on.

Goal ten - to be confirmed

Open to suggestions... ;)