When someone asks me about my day, I get a thrill. Same in reverse. When I ask someone about their day, I get a thrill. So, if I like to be thrilled, then I can reach out, touch someone, and together we can create something optimistic or pessimistic. I really enjoy the answers to my questions. Each person is so different, so unique, and represents a story in action. Each holds unlimited possibilities. Each one of us was generated by an energy field that knows only possibilities. So, whatever I perceive, it becomes my reality. When I engage with someone on a one to one basis, I can be interested, enthusiastic, and friendly. They can, too. One person can make a huge difference.
Relationships
“SPOTTING STRENGTHS”
Written at 6:00 p.m. on October 13, 2010
Three subjects that reveal a person’s strengths in action:
I. Memories from the past that are satisfying. This includes actions, achievements, relationships, skills, or knowledge. Ask, with what am I most satisfied or what makes me most proud?
July 3, 2010 “MRS. DUNWOODY”
Last week was a whirlwind of activity in Georgia. I am privileged to continue my work as a Strengths coach and counselor to InterfaceFlor, Inc. Most of my work is on the telephone, by appointment, yet I love the times when I travel and can meet face-to-face with these friends. When I go to the Interface facility in LaGrange, GA, I try to work in as many meetings and events as I can. This trip was for another Tribal Gathering, this one for the hospitality industry. We met wonderful people, all ages, and all facets of the hotel business and a good time was had by all. The next day, I held several group meetings and our final day was a very satisfying meeting. This was not a meeting-as-usual, but a “reflecting” with some 40 leaders in the Interface family. I was gratified by the response of each individual, taking ownership and leadership in their own style and Strengths-Path. As I move into my wise elder years, I feel confident in the next generations capability to craft the future, based on the best patterns from the past.
The Fifth Agreement
I am a fan of Don Miguel Ruiz. We have followed the philosophy in his “Four Agreements” for many years. Today as a new year begins, it seems fitting to recommend his next book, The Fifth Agreement. The concept, according to Ruiz and his son Jose, is that everything we do is based on agreements we have made — agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, and with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. With these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. His idea of agreements corresponds to my notion of beliefs. Now he is adding an agreement that is dear to my heart. As an advocate of deep listening, this fifth agreement is right down my alley of beliefs. I am copying words written in the advertising promotion, which is a quick and easy way to review all five: