These two days I did little research and exploration. Family support requests came first (and felt really good to be able to accept them)

New Initiative – Organize Living room to receive in-person discussion

Nevertheless, I still had time to do an important step: I organized my leaving room to serve as a discussion place on the topics I want to get deeper into. A place where people would feel at the same time welcomed and engaged to share and explore.

Even better I already received two persons for the first meet-up in with food involved. Was really powerful with new insights, notions and possible approaches. I want to keep doing this, if possible in duets with visitors (worked well the number).

“Ongoing” Concepts and ideas

In brief (for now), the takeaways from the meet-up and the following research are:

A. Personal Diagram and Charts help share with others our internal visions

• I should share the many charts and diagrams I did for me or my kids over the last years on assessment or management time allocation, food, routines and habits, CO2 emissions, and goal setting.
• I want to do that the next day in these Notes (maybe in a special section). More than that, I think that maybe this could be one of the February Milestones, not only share what I did but do a revision and a walkthrough so that others could try, share the value and maybe propose improvements
• One personal disclaimer: I don’t want to make this the focus of my Leave (as much as I like it) because from my experience, the diagrams and charts, provide insights but can also contribute to the negative feeling of “so much I don’t control” or “so much complexity”. I need to find a way to protect others from that when sharing 🙂
• This concept of assessing, planning and goal setting must also incorporate the idea of expectations. To us, is as important to define “where I am” as “where I want to be”.

B. System around us as a source of stress/complexity or of solutions/simplicity

• We are many times fighting against the system or restrictions we have around us. Of the place or house we live in, of our various family circles and their dynamics, of limited time, of the difference between our expectations and reality. Knowing and listing the “external imitations” could be as powerful and effective as creating aspirational goals…maybe even more important since without that we could be creating Goals that fight external restrictions we can’t easily influence.
• Example of system-imposed restrictions: some parents have support from grandfathers, while others do not when raising children. Or the city you live in can be walkable or you must use transport to any small shopping and logistics.
• A very good insight is, in order to change our habits, routines and lifestyles, we search for solutions that could be more difficult to develop or kick-off but create positive feedback, low energy to maintain and compensate for system restrictions.
• Example of self-reinforced solutions: instead of finding second-hand clothes for your kids on a website or shop, find a person that has kids a little older than yours and “book” that you will receive their clothes…basically forever 🙂 this way both you and the other person have a prescribed solution 🙂. Another example is making sports as a family, this way you hardly miss one training, you support each other and you pass time with relatives that otherwise you would see less…

C. We are all different but nowadays individualism is exaggerated

• When defining the Diagrams or Charts (connects with A.) that each of us values, I have seen many dimensions of planning and goals: time allocation, cash, assets, relationships, spiritual, career, knowledge, art, social impact, environmental impact self-development, health, etc. Every time I talk to a person about the dimensions I have focused on, they suggest a new one. This is an interesting way to define our differences: what are the combinations of dimensions in which I measure myself?
• Final note, these explorations of “myself” are vehicles to actually reduce individualism that today is so strong. the main goal I have seen when people want to “assess me” is to share with others around them the need for change. Let’s use it for a shared change!