Meeting new people is a gift.
Figuring out the ways you connect, your similarities, detecting differences, and considering how your future may change as a result of this catalyst can be exhilarating. In those same initial moments, you may also be confronted with your own shortcomings from a completely new perspective. This mirror-view is made possible by the unique chemistry created by the newness of the connection in front of you. These new connections tend to shed light on the best parts of yourself as well as your opportunities for improvement.
Why the MiniPost?
Well, recently I’ve been lucky enough to get to hang with an entirely new bunch of people. Because I’m a consultant, I do get to meet new people pretty frequently, but it’s rare to have any significant amount of time with the people I meet to simply ‘hang’. So, when given the opportunity to connect in real life to new people, I’ll take it – with a vengeance!
We started out a group of strangers, and over the course of just a few days working, eating, and socializing together we came to genuinely know each other. And – for my part – I really liked the lot of them. But just as fascinating as it was to meet a completely new bunch of people who I respected and enjoyed, it was almost as if I was “re-meeting” myself. It got me to thinking:
novelty breeds clarity.
In this clarity, I remember things about myself I’d forgotten. Good and Bad. It’s in those moments of newness that each of us have the opportunity to reflect and refine who we are. As individuals and as organizations, we should take it.
Even though some of the realizations this clarity brings may be unpleasant, or less than flattering, isn’t it our responsibility to ourselves to relentlessly pursue the very best version of ourselves? By setting this pursuit as an unflappable goal, we then remove shame as an option when realizing there’s an area ripe for improvement. In fact, it makes that discovery rather exciting!
Thank you to my new colleagues and friends for reminding me that life is evolutionary. And that I still have plenty of room to evolve. May you find your own evolution just as exhilarating a proposition.
CRMjen 