Why I Suck

I suck because I can't even follow my own motto.

I'm sure I wasn't the first to say it, but a motto I've tried to follow for a while is "challenge how they think, not just what they think". What this means (to me) is that it is less important to change the way someone thinks and more important to change the way they think about it.

In short, my goal during an interaction isn't to change your mind. It's to (hopefully) open at least one door to the way you think about something. If you are a die hard Republican, maybe there is a different way you can go about contemplating abortion rights. Most Conservatives shut down as soon as they hear "abortion rights" as they feel there is no such thing. You have the baby, end of story. So I'm not going to try and talk you into killing babies, but I'm gonna try and make you think about something else. What if the mother was raped? Or a daughter was raped by a father? What if having the baby will kill the mother? Kill the baby? I know this is a dramatic example, but it's what I (try to) believe. You don't have to cross the line, but maybe the line is wider than you think it is.

Lately at work I've been analyzing some feedback from my coworkers. Some people think I'm cocky and arrogant. And perhaps I am sometimes (read; often). But it's because I'm very passionate about a lot of things. And sometimes that passion can blind you. Sometimes it gets me so wrapped up I lose sight of everything else. That can be a problem. And more so, it makes me lose sight of my motto. That is a bigger problem.

So why would my job distract me? Because I suck. More specifically because I let it. I think I've become more interested in letting the job dictate how I act than vice verse. And (warning; cocky arrogance) that sucks because I got the job because I was damn good at the last one I had. So a little swagger is OK, especially when earned. But I have to make sure that I continue to earn it. A group of people see some good things in me, but my recent actions haven't honored that. I need to get back to doing what I do best; coaching, training and teaching the values that made me successful and put me into the position I am in.

It all sounds so simple. But seeing as that I suck, I've made it harder than it should be. I need to continue to attack people's process of thinking, not what they actually think. And yes, attack is the right word. There is (in my opinion) no such thing as a bad belief, only a bad reason for having it. So you can be (warning; cocky arrogance) wrong all you want, but at least have reasons for doing so. And if you don't, expect me to challenge the way you think, not just what you think.

-Burfel