Mirror Thinking
Esalen's Law: You will always teach others what you most need to learn yourself.
The Corollary: You are your own worst student.
So many of us in the social media sphere seem very passionate about "empowering the community," "continuing the conversation," and generally improving the way we interpret and utilize our lives.
But what are we teaching ourselves in all this?
What is the crux of what you create? What do you blog about most? What are you most passionate about?
Are you good at it?
Could you be better?
How many of your lessons, imparted upon the masses, could be put to even better use if you adopted them yourself?
Nothing specifically prompted this line of thinking from me. (Actually, I found the above quote in a book yesterday, but it wasn't spurred by anyone in particular, so fear not.) But it did resonate within.
Are we all kidding ourselves into believing we're making a difference by nudging each other along while we neglect what it is we, ourselves, truly want?
Labels: communication, community, perception, personal, personality, social media, social networking
posted by Justin Kownacki at
11:11 AM
4 Comments:
I don't know Justin.
Get in your time machine and go back to the 60's
Did they think that they were making a difference, or were they just fed up with the accepted way of doing things?
What do you think it is that they truly wanted?
By
Anonymous, at 11:29 AM
I have no idea what anyone truly wants. All I wonder is, how much of what we do every day under the guise of improving the greater community is actually drawing us away from what we would be happiest doing ourselves? Unless they're one and the same, in which case it's a moot point.
By
Justin Kownacki, at 11:37 AM
Well, for me it is a Socratic thing.
Ultimately, by engaging people in conversation through social media, it forces us (er.. me that is) to explicitly state our opinions, dreams, thoughts and strategies therefore allowing us (again, me) better self-awareness.
Couple that with what you can learn from others and frankly, from my perspective, the benefits are invaluable.
By
Evan, at 11:38 AM
Yes, I agree with what Kevin is saying - I too have undergone what I consider to be a massive personal change since August, 2006.
To compare what it has cost me since then in terms of monetary compensation wouldn't be fair.
Money is just a tool which allows to purchase objects for a short term ego boost.
Long term - the friends which I have made and will make along the way are priceless and I am very grateful to have been able to take part in the journey so far.
By
Anonymous, at 6:05 PM
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