Week 5 – Person Power

This is a very interesting question, and one I have pondered for a long time.  I have always enjoyed working with companion animals and find rescue work extremely fulfilling and enjoyable.  It is something I keep getting sucked back into – I spent the past week helping a feral cat caretaker with a TNR project, as a matter of fact.  Yet part of me wonders if this is where I can make the most impact.  Not that it’s not important – I think that the way we treat non-humans is extremely important – but I also think that when people are in a place of scarcity and competitiveness, they are not likely to see the importance of animal welfare.  I wonder if the best way to help animals is to contribute to the uplift of humans.

I enjoy working with parents, children and families and I think that it is my greatest area of strength.  I have been doing education on many of the topics we have discussed – media, consumerism, food, and attachment parenting/nonviolent communication, and I think that I am going to start incorporating mindfulness into my classes.  And even my daughter’s Brownie troop, in its own way, is part of my project – we do a lot of community service as a group, and work on empowering the girls to make positive choices in their lives.

I find that my biggest weakness is that I am easily bored.  😉  I have not found a particular project that has held my interest for a very long time, so I have bounced from one thing to another.  I am not sure that is entirely bad.  I think of myself as somewhat of a maven (in the Tipping Point sense) and my – ahem – diverse interests give me a certain degree of perspective.  But I do have a deep longing to find one thing into which I can dig deeply and take on a long-term project.

Stephanie
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My strengths within this sector are at the management level including: Strong moral compass,  Independent worker & strong team player, Micro & macro-level thinker, Creative touch, ,   Inclusivity,   Balance between idealist and realist,  Systematic thinker, Empathy, Story-teller and strong writer,  Flexibility,  &  Ability to thrive in rapidly changing and fast environments.​  I also have a very strong ability understand, read, and mentor people. All of these strengths can play a large role in developing creative solutions to issues and managing projects within the social system.
 
My weaknesses include being emotional and ungrounded when something traumatic or very strong happens. I tend to lose my grounding temporary, which I need to work on, especially when it comes to holding my nonviolence in my heart. I can work on these weaknesses by:
1) Slowing down my reactions and developing an auto-response that is full of peace and tolerance through meditation and experience working with these energy.
2) Letting go of the anxiety, hurt, pain of not being understood and knowing that it doesn’t matter if one person doesn’t understand me that I have a strong support group that does.
3) Let go of past hurts so that they do not bleed into the future. Understand that past does not have to predict the future.
 
I also like Kelly get bored easily when I am not engaged or being used to my highest ability.
 
My program works with the empowerment and development of self-sufficiency within marginalized populations and survivors of violence. I hope that this will make a dent within the corporate rule, war system to empower and heal children and women before they go on to create or engage in more cycles of abuse.

Hello everyone!

Like everyone is saying, I enjoyed being able to self reflect based on the materials for this week.  Totally a side note but earlier this year I took a course for Nonprofit Emerging Leaders.  One of the sessions that inspired me the most was on self renewal, and it made me reflect on what my personal values are, what bring me joy, and what’s important for me… it forced me to look at my current situation (such as work) and think if my personal values are aligned with those of my workplace, how I can replicate situations and moments that bring me the most joy so I can be truly happy.  It really opened my eyes.

Jean – I must say you are very articulate based on what I can tell from your posts 🙂  But being self-aware of our challenges and areas for improvement is always a good thing!

As for this week’s discussion…

-What are my strengths? How can my strengths be of benefit to the social system?

I think one of my strengths is my strong sense of integrity and justice.  There were some incidents where I felt compelled to speak up for something I felt was wrong, and I did so despite fear.  I think my commitment to fairness and justice drives me to do what I do.  Of course there were certain cases where I failed to act, so it is definitely a constant work.

I am also very organized. I think logically and strategically (which can be a weakness, too!), see a big picture, and develop action plans. I believe those traits made me successful in my role as a project manager for a nonprofit, and I certainly see an application in social movement settings, too.  Another strength I can think of is my ability to build partnerships based on respect and always thinking of how I can serve the person in front of me.

-What are my weaknesses? How can I work on those weaknesses while making myself available for social action?

One weakness that comes immediately to my mind is my lack of compassion.  It is odd, as I consider myself to be caring, and I help others when they reach out to me.  But sometimes I struggle to keep in touch with my friends that I do not see regularly, thinking that I am too busy – or I just forget.  I want to be a good friend to everyone that matters to me.  Another weakness is definitely my being emotional and short-tempered. Especially, when I feel frustrated or feel things are out of control, I just become so irritable and my vision seems to narrow.  I can’t pay attention to how others are feeling or how I should be behaving.  I need to be able to handle my stress better by being conscious of this trait and taking a deep breath!

Hi All

I think that ,like you John, I have spread myself too thin with too many interests in the past. I’ve learnt alot but maybe not been active enough in any one area.

I think my strengths lie in personal communication, I’m good at empathy and enjoy new people’s company. I took the kids to an anti fracking protest the other day (inspired by this course) and when someone else was having a difficult conversation with a policeman, I managed to talk to him afterwards and thank him for his being there to watch over the situation. He seemed relieved and told me that whilst in uniform he couldn’t show any political opinion, but I felt that he may deal more gently with all of us because of our conversation.

Hi all,

I’m still catching up so this post is coming in late, again. But I’ve really enjoyed reading what everyone has been thinking about week 5’s content. The “My life is my message” questionnaire was very thought-provoking for me, too. You have been more articulate than I can be about it, though. So many of you have mentioned qualities and aspirations I identify with. It’s interesting to look at our group as a whole and start thinking of ways we might complement each other, both because of similarities and differences.

-What are my strengths? How can my strengths be of benefit to the social system?

I believe I am a very empathetic person. Maybe it comes from being overly sensitive and emotional (more on that in a second), but I can genuinely feel others’ pain. I’m also sympathetic to a fault—if you sit me down and tell me your story I will be totally on your side in the end. I don’t always do the right thing with either of those emotions, but they are the reasons behind the right actions I do take, I’m pretty sure. I’m also very passionate about the things I care about. I can usually hold two contradictory ideas in my head at once, and I seem to think best in gray areas. I genuinely never feel as happy as when I am at service to someone, somewhere. I think I’m biologically programed as a nurturer whether I like it or not (I happen to like it).

-What are my weaknesses? How can I work on those weaknesses while making myself available for social action?

I can be insecure, which makes me pretty self-obsessed at times (if that seems nonsensical, try having a conversation about anything but yourself when your interior monologue is dominated by anxiety about…yourself). I can be very emotional, which I see is a problem several of us face, and sometimes I bring more of a frenetic energy than a sense of calm. I don’t think whatever compassion I do possess is doing anyone much good, because I don’t have enough control over it. I really want to change that, which is why I’m very excited for the next lesson on spiritual practice.  I really need to stabilize and focus my energy in order to be of any use, because right now I’m kind of all over the place. I can also be overly sensitive, which can be problematic when it comes to learning from mistakes and turning criticism into growth. I am also not the most strategic, logical person, so organization can be a problem, although I’ve learned to compensate.

-How does my program fit into the whole? (i.e., the roadmap?) Will my project make a dent in the corporate rule, war system? How can I use my energies with the greatest leverage?

My program involves supporting youth and pointing them towards a more fulfilled (compassionate, nonviolent) life. It plays to my strengths while forcing me to work on my weaknesses in order to be more deliberate and calm in my actions and relationships. I think its needed to dismantle the war system because the only way we’ll have a nonviolent world is if we raise up a more compassionate generation. There are lots of ways I’d like to expand my impact. I’ve realized through this worksheet that this might start with a more introspective approach, like implementing a spiritual practice, before adding more projects or increased involvement to the list.

I think you may be right Kelly. If you stray too far from your passions and from what lights you up, then I think you maybe more likely to burn out and to see your contribution as just another chore that you have to get to
Paul