This is from the very beginning of my favorite book Ishmael by +Daniel Quinn, author. I could very well write tomes on my thoughts, feelings, and explanation on the profound effect this book has had on my life, but that is not where I want to go with this post. Instead, I'd like to merely tie it in with a +Project:IDWIL experiment/request.
Quick background: IDWIL's essential 'why' is to provide a solution to this issue:
"Okay. I understand that progressing my life in the direction that is most in-tune with my core values is critical for my happiness and success, but life has either kicked my ass or has created a current that has swept me along - either limiting my ability to really examine my own path, much less forge it!"
With that in mind, another way to uncover qualities in people that are so central to who they are, yet often get overlooked, is to participate in this exercise:
Hi, I'm Jake and I have a goal that I want to learn something new every day.
What is something that you could sit down with me for a few hours and teach me? I am open to anything. Teach me foundations of MS Excel. Teach me about the Crimean War. Teach me how a combustion engine works. Teach me about parenting an autistic child. Teach me about the Samba. Teach me about how to cook a great frittata. Teach me....
Get the idea? There is something (or some things) that you know well enough to teach another person. It may mean that you love it so much that you have become an expert or it may mean that you have done it for so long that, love it or leave it, you can explain it well to a novice. Either way, it is empowering to understand that you are really good at something. Once you find that thing, pull on that thread! Take some time to understand how you got to be so good at it. Start looking for more things like that - you'll get to grow AND you'll get to circle back and understand yourself a little bit better. Win-win!
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