Yesterday was one of those rare late summer days – hot, still, calm – a day for taking things slow and easy. I was at my local beach, Sandown Bay, volunteering for the Wave Project, who provide surf therapy for young people. While the conditions were beautiful, the glassy ocean wasn’t exactly conducive to surfing! Instead, we headed out on SUPs – a couple of giant ones, accompanied by half a dozen regular boards –
Are we thriving, or growing? It’s possible to do both – but it’s also important to understand the difference. To do that, we need to think about what we are measuring. In a business, ‘growth’ might mean increasing revenue, or the size of a team. Personal growth might mean reading 10 pages a day, or improving your 5k time. All easy to measure. What about ‘thriving’? At work, this could involve the wellbeing of the
“When I learn about you, I learn about me.” Kewulay Kamara I danced with mountains yesterday [metaphorically, at least], on a wonderful webinar organised by Ijeruka. It featured multiple Elders from around the world, each sharing some of their wisdom. I’m a firm believer in the ‘self’ part of self-development [heck, I wrote a book about it] … and this involves learning from other people. But as my thinking evolves, more and more I realise
Imagine growing up inland. People have talked about the ocean – you’ve seen photos, watched videos, read books. But you’ve never seen it in real life. Do you know the ocean yet? You take a trip … for the first time, you stand on a golden sandy beach, gazing out over an expanse of blue that reaches as far as you can see. Do you know the ocean yet? You walk towards the water, and
Seth Godin often talks about the importance of collecting dots … and how you don’t necessarily need to see the connections immediately. Collect enough interesting dots, and eventually the connections will become clear. ‘Dots’ might be meeting someone new, learning a skill, or understanding a concept. Quality control is important – some dots are more valuable than others … and don’t collect all your dots from the same place – variety is good. It takes
“Education is a process of intergenerational transmission.” Zak Stein Much of our learning happens at school – and if we agree with Zak Stein [a co-founder of The Consilience Project], it doesn’t end there: our education is a continuous, ongoing process. Teaching is a crucial part of that transmission. When teaching beginners to play drums, I was very much ‘telling them what to do’ – “hold the sticks like this” – “your feet go here”
Listening to historians Dan and Daniele, I was struck by their discussion of ‘progress’. They both have a wide-boundary view of the human journey: history is not a story of simple linear progress – things don’t always improve over time. There are ups and downs, and perhaps most crucially, our definition of progress very much depends on where we are standing. At school, I was taught about the expansion of the British Empire – from
What does it mean to be ‘the best’? Not many words have an absolute definition. ‘Ugly blue car’ seems to present a clear picture, but ‘ugly’, ‘blue’, and ‘car’ all depend on our individual perception and understanding. Where one person sees an ugly blue car, another might see a beautiful turquoise 4×4. There are some words where it’s important to define what they mean – for us. ‘Success’ is a good example. Using someone else’s
Change is inevitable, and happens in all areas of our lives. Right now, the world is definitely evolving – perhaps faster than ever before. Increasing polarisation. Social justice. AI. The climate crisis. The list can seem endless. We can, of course, ignore all this, but doing so risks getting left behind. So how do we find a way to ground ourselves? To respond, rather than react. The key is finding out what truly matters to us. At
Using the word ‘solution’ implies we can fix it [whatever ‘it’ might be]. We do something, and then the problem goes away. But what about more complex challenges like our relationships, or a company culture, or the climate? We can’t ‘fix’ any of these – there’s not a simple ‘thing’ we can do that will make the problem go away. Instead, we need a different approach – we need to think about a response, rather
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
