So, here we go! This week's live with, Psych(e) out the VOJ provides an entirely different way to see yourself, others and the world around you. As we stated in class, there are two main parts to thsi live-with: 1) develop an awareness of your VOJ (it's just as unique as your creative process), and 2) practice with ways to psych(e) it out, so you begin to choose from your Essence and its natural creative potential rather than from the conditioned response of the VOJ.
Enjoy yourselves. Make sure to capture your insights as they happen, or so afterwards, so you can deepen your learnings. Of course, we love to read about what's happening out there with everyone, so please post on the blog. If something comes up that is deeply personal and you would rather not share here, please email either one of us, or both.
Have a great week!
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I saw this bumper sticker: "You don't have to believe everything you think."
ReplyDeleteI've also been thinking/reading recently about shifting mindsets -- that our cognitive processes/processing creates "reality." So, that by shifting one's perspective, we can shift our reality. Moving from VOJ to VOI as a mindset shift.
Mai,
ReplyDeleteI love that bumper sticker! It's a wonderful reminder to psyche out the VOJ!
Your idea of a perspective shift is a great one. It is that simple...when you 'hear' the VOJ, you have the opportunity to remember it is not you, and to choose differently. The VOI is then available for Essence to use - without judgment, creativity flows.
Julie
People are more creative on Fridays!
ReplyDeleteI tend to see myself and some colleagues more open to new ideas and sharing more with much less judgment on Fridays.
I even found myself more creative as the mood and atmosphere on Friday seems to be more relaxed.
This observation was confirmed by a coach I had about Agile development where you need the team to be more engaged than other development methodologies.
He confirmed that it's best to have a first presentation of a new product or new features on a Thursday and have the "creative meeting" (i.e. meeting during which the team needs to think about how to implement the new requests) on Friday
I will probably adapt my team's schedule accordingly.
Anyone with similar experience?
Olivier,
ReplyDeleteYour observation about Friday’s is interesting one. I tried something similar once and actually it worked quite well. I was pretty surprised to hear, on the first meeting, how many differences team members had just in understanding the objectives. It was very useful on that first meeting to give everyone an opportunity to express their understanding of objectives and ask questions. We dedicated the next meeting to exploring possible solutions, and I remember that it went well. Your post gave me a bit of inspiration to try this approach more often and maybe have the second meeting on Friday. It may create a few more meetings than desirable, but it may also be worth of trying. Thank you for bringing this idea up.
Now, about VOJ concept.
One of interesting insights for me regarding this concept was that VOJ doesn’t have to be only harsh inner critic. It may also be a part of our mind that makes quick opinions and conclusion about things, and is not going into further explorations. I really liked the quote from the book: “If you see in any given situation only what anyone else can see, you can be said to be so much a representative of your culture that you are a victim of it.“
On the other hand the VOI is interesting concept. I’m looking forward to exploring it further.
I have been sharing a lot of the new information learned in class about the VOJ with my sister. Even if we have been living on a different continent for the last 5 years and have different lives, it is interesting to see that our VOJ are extremely similar, but that the way we “fight” it is very different. Like our personality trait, I have a more radical approach as she has a more tempered one.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I experienced this week, silencing the VOJ allowed my mind to “rest” and fully enjoy the present moment. When my VOJ is directed toward other people, I try to silent it and let the VOI speak. The result is that my opinion stays the same, but they are formulated in a different, more positive way. It also allows me to understand the other persons behaviours.
I really need to work on silencing the VOJ. I used to think that it was my "lack of motivation" or laziness that kept me from reaching my goals, but after writing down everything that hindered me from doing what I wanted to do, I noticed that it was the VOJ that was blocking my way all along!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that a lot of my VOJ was directed towards putting myself down. Which is funny because I've always been encouraged by others all my life. In fact, a lot of people say I'm smart... But according to my VOJ, I'm too stupid to do what I want to do!
I still haven't gotten to silencing the VOJ, but at least now I'm aware of it; when I get discouraged, now I analyze if it's really what my circumstance is dictating or my VOJ putting me down.
For the first 3-4 weeks I was unable to identify my VOJ. After really paying attention to my thoughts I found out that my VOJ has such strong presence that I mistook it to be myself. I was so used to it that I could not separate it from myself. It has a uniqueness. It usually takes up a past incident, mostly an unpleasant one and starts analyzing it, living that moment again, blaming the other persons involved in it and finally making myself a victim. I end up pitying myself and most of the time crying. It wastes a lot of time and energy. I also observed that I am usually bothered about what has happened in the past and often worried about the future...and I realize that this habit is blocking my creative mind that I used to have. I am unable to live in the present and experiencing that 'creative blast'.
ReplyDeleteBut now that I am aware of it, I have started working on not letting my VOJ ruin my present.
I must admit I haven't put a lot of energy into this class other than showing up and reading the book. I haven't even posted on this blog other than the introduction. Luckily Hal always nicely summarizes what I've missed by not reading most case studies and the live withs and creativity parts are mostly explained well in class.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say, that this is not out of lack of enthusiasm or because I don't like the class, but there is something going on in my life right now, that requires me to direct most of my energy there.
I have taken some previous psychology classes at Stanford where the Inner Critic or the VOJ was also discussed, so I think I silenced my VOJ early on, that normally would have said "But you should read all the case studies"... "you should contribute more".... "you should post on the blog" ...
I think this is a great live with, that is not new to me and I've used it successfully in some areas of my life.. For example I wasn't beating myself up over not contributing more.... I actually thought I had my VOJ mostly under control... However, it took someone else to point out to me, that there was one area, where my VOJ was voicing its opinion loud and clear... ;) I'm working on that one :)
Today we discussed peeling the onion to get to the essence, to get to know and accept oneself. This can be harder than it sounds. Sometimes you think you've peeled the onion all the way only to realize later there are more layers.
Anyway, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Julie and Hal. To combine business, leadership and this "touchy feely essence stuff" into one class is very challenging. You are doing a great job to unite them.
Thanks!
interesting talk on how the VOJ gets shaped and conditioned by the culture we grow up in...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html