I’m being asked to facilitate and organize this context? But what is this context? And who exactly is asking me? For what reasons? What is the objective? The reason? Does it carry meaning? Is it shared? Am I properly meeting expectations? Am I aligned with these expectations, this reason, this meaning? Do I need to be aligned? Did my actions yesterday serve this meaning? Why did these people act this way? Why did this person say that? Was my posture the right one? What should I have done differently? What do I regret that was nevertheless beneficial? What was surprising? What might this provoke? How was this perceived? What should I read? Who should I listen to? Is there a link between this discourse and my context? Is my analysis biased? What should I try differently?

All these questions, and a thousand others, I constantly ask myself. I am constantly in introspection. Having a lot of introspection to evolve oneself, on an individual level, in this complexity that surrounds us. Letting oneself be surprised, trying, learning. Introspection is the answer to complexity on the individual level. Introspection comes through questioning. Questioning is also the answer to apprehending this complexity externally. Questioning people with beautiful questions, call them powerful questions, giraffe language¹, learner questions² (my favorite), those of clean language, etc., this is essential learning. Questioning oneself, questioning.

All these questions, and all the observations of the answers brought forth, gradually build a framework. A framework of patterns, stories³, trials and questions that aggregate in our brain. Learning is the integration of these patterns. The more we learn, the more patterns we integrate to differentiate situations. This hive of patterns that aggregate in my brain to emerge in a way that seems spontaneous is my intuition. It’s your intuition.

Intuition is the absence of words but still a clear sensation. Because all these things we have amassed (patterns, stories, experiences, questions) have lodged themselves in this old brain that contains far more things than our new brain (physiologically speaking), but which has no connection with words due to its age.

In other words, according to Daniel Goleman (Daniel Goleman: “Focus: the Hidden Driver of Excellence” – Talks at Google), knowing oneself well (self-awareness), managing oneself well (self-management), having empathy are the pillars of your social skills, of your emotional intelligence. In the complex world, it’s this intelligence that is sought after.

For him it is essential to constantly question oneself: am I still in phase with my values and the meaning I seek? (sense of purpose, value and meaning). It’s this endless conversation with oneself that I describe above. Daniel Goleman completes this by citing one of his colleagues, Howard Gardner, good work comes when you combine your best skills with what you love and what you believe in.

good work = best skills + what we love doing + what we believe in – Howard Gardner cited by Daniel Goleman here

With this combination we obtain a state of attention called “maximum cognitive efficiency” or “maximum neural harmony”.

What we also often call flow.

Constant introspection, an intuition that you build over the days, and a “flow” that can spring forth if you are in agreement with your desires and your convictions (your values and meaning).

in French:

bon boulot = meilleures compétences + ce que vous aimez faire + ce que en quoi vous croyez

So therefore:

Values, meaning, introspection, intuition, your desires, your skills

thank you, and happy new year 2018.

ps: when I watch Howard Gardner’s video, he says “excellence, engagement and ethics”