Don’t miss out! Miss out on what?
Where were you for the eclipse? I was on the beach all prepared with my fancy glasses to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event. What did I get? A fog bank mixed with wildfire smoke. That was my totality experience. Or was it? Instead of seeing this as an eclipse fail, why not look at it as a fun escape from my work day where my partner and I played hooky, met some new dogs and had a fun conversation with a seagull.
Challenging situations and conversations are just like this. We have expectations of our own struggle or failure or lack of preparation so we just don’t engage — conversation fail. What is important to notice is that you may not have engaged, but the lack of engagement still exists. If we start first with (re)claiming our responsibility for who and how we show up in our relationships, we can have more conversations that matter and, even better, make better connections with others.
The first step to having conversations that matter isn’t engaging with others, but noticing yourself. If you have a quick second, download a free app (iPhone and Android) called Jessica Pettitt and take the 13 question survey. This silly survey is supposed to help you decide who and how you are likely to respond without pesky statistics, science or special glasses. Get a glimpse of your response patterns. Do you tend to react from a Head, Heart or Action-orientated place — or perhaps a combination. Maybe it depends? Perhaps you can’t really say for yourself, but you know for sure how your frustrating co-worker would respond.
GREAT!
On Wednesday, September 27 at 8 a.m. in NOLA, join NRPA’s Wednesday Keynote, Conversations That Matter: Because Everyone Deserves a Park, to really understand how to assess yourself and even those folks that really frustrate you so that you can instantly have more conversations that matter and better connections — even with THEM! You may not get to see the moon take over the sun every day, but epic results can happen with tiny steps towards (re)claiming responsibility. Are you Good Enough Now?
*You are welcome to stare directly at this blog post without retina damage. No special eyewear is needed.
Jessica Pettitt, M.Ed., pulls together her stand up comedy years with 15+ years of diversity trainings in a wide range of organizations to serve groups to move from abstract fears to actionable habits that lead to teams that want to work together. With a sense of belonging and understanding, colleagues take more risks with their ideation, converse precious resources through collaboration, and maintain real connections with clients over time.
