I Must

I have discussed before going through the Pathmaker personality psychometric. Part of the process is developing a purpose statement of sorts. A statement not so define yourself by, but to direct yourself. It is not all encompassing to who you are as much as it gives you symptoms of what it might mean to find direction and fulfillment in your life. 
Every purpose statement starts out the same, “I must…” All of them start this way; however, for some, these two words carry extra significance. For some, like me, these words also indicate my need to do things and be a part of things. These words signify my need for independence and autonomy. These words signify that – I – MUST – do things. These words also bite me in the butt because – I – cannot do everything. – I – am generally not well suited to do many things. There are people who do things I do, much better than I do. However, for a myriad of reasons, I am the one responsible for these things. 
There are other instances when I am not the most capable, I am not responsible, and – I – do it anyways. I do not grab someone who is more capable. I do not call out for help. I do not delegate. I do it up to a standard equalling less than the best. I do not beat myself up for not being the best. I do beat myself for not calling in the professionals to do what they do better than I do. 
– I – struggle with letting go. I struggle with delegation. – I – MUST – is seemingly a double edged sword at the moment. And this sword is sharp. This sword is cutting me often. I am not a fan of – I – MUST – right now. I would rather my purpose statement started with – SOMONE – MUST –. At which point it would be someone else’s purpose statement and defeat the point. This change would also free me from – I – MUST –. Instead, I continue to live in this tension of trying to let go so the more skilled can do and doing in order to keep the skilled from being bogged down by the mundane.
In your personality, what trait of yours is currently operating unchecked? What does it look like to get this trait in check? 
Letting Go,
–JT

Designed in California

As I continue to process my findings about myself from the Pathmaker personality metric I went through in December, I continue to unlock nuances to how much impact these nuances have for me. One of these nuances resides within my purpose statement, “I must … create opportunities for others to pursue excellence.” This bit isn’t about me. This bit is about other people. It is about giving them a place to be who they are and suceed. I do not have to succeed for them, I need to put them in a position where they can succeed. I need to give them the tools, resources, and implements they need to be able to pursue excellence. 

The most notable part about pursuing excellence is not achieving it all the time. Hopefully, we will achieve excellence as a rule. However, there will be times where we are in a situation and we cannot achieve. Some people call an unsuccessful pursuit, ‘failure.’ I call an unsuccessful pursuit, ‘education.’ Retitling failure as education takes a bit of the edge off, it does not take away my fear or negative attitude towards it. Retitling failure as education reminds me of the purpose of failure, to learn. 

Thus, we have reached the pinnacle of the back half of my purpose statement. I am here to create space for people. For people to learn, to try, to succeed, to educate, to enjoy life, to be frustrated, to be who they are at their fullest potential. I am here for the purpose of other people. I am freed from making them succeed and tasked with empowering and equipping them to succeed. 

I am both freed and excited.

Whether in mass or in one–on–one (much preferable) situations, I am here to create space for other people to do what they are designed for.

What are you designed to do? When was the last time you acted like this out?

For you, 

–JT

Pathmaker, Pathmaker, Make Me a Path

Pathmaker, Day 2 of 2. 

It is as if the essence of my being has been squeezed out of a wet rag into a bowl and now my limp musty body is hanging on the dowel drying out with that dank dishwater smell wafting up from it. 

I may have a slight bent for the dramatic. This did not show up in my assessment anywhere. I found a pitfall in this test obviously. Even with this obvious hole, I would recommend you find an opportunity to take yourself through this psychometric assessment. It concludes with investigating many nuances of who I am which is wonderful. It frees me to be who I am and understand who my neighbor is. It encourages me to see others for who they are and embrace our differences. 

I see my peers, my coworkers, my teammates as more valuable as I can understand more of the world through their eyes. If nothing else, this is invaluable. 

Who are people you need to take time to know better that you might see life through their eyes?

The Pathmaker, Day Un

Day 1 of 2 in The Pathmaker ‘Discovering What To Do…With Who You Are.’ 

It is good. It is a process that brings definition to lives and understanding, as the tagline says, what to do with who you are. 

I would say the process is built around bringing out the why your clock ticks the way it does. This is an odd sensation for me. I’ve felt like people who are gifted in this area have attempted before to do odds and ends in helping me clarify who I am, and they missed the mark. I’ve been through Myers Briggs and many others. This process seems to finder a deeper accuracy. Though it does involve a questionnaire, more of a binder of assessments, it is definitively just as much about the interview process as it is anything else. 

The interview process is what sets this psychometric test apart. The interview process has two very important variables. The first variable is me. Am I willing to be honest, transparent, and involved with a complete stranger in understanding who I am. I hope by the end of all this everyone going through this process would answer, “Yes.” to that question on my behalf, as much as I think I would answer yes. The second variable is the interviewer. 

The interviewer must be someone who you can connect with and really understands how to ask questions to me and how engage with who I am. I would say the leader of this process is a good interviewer. He is able to read me and my teammates well. He sees how we act and react to the questions and he adjusts accordingly. I don’t think this is a perfect process; however, this process will unlock most if not all the doors for me to have direction and a compass to help me understand myself. Today, I walk away with a draft, maybe a final draft, of my life’s purpose statement:

“I must be challenged by the Holy Spirit to create opportunities for others to pursue excellence.”

I do not know if this is the final draft. I do know this statement resonates with me quite a bit. I am thankful to have someone who is so perceptive to who others are that he can see into who I am to help me craft this statement. I look forward to another day of digging into myself and I am thankful that I have had this day of learning about myself (as if I haven’t had enough of these lately.)

Who is helping you dig into who you are?

Making Paths,

—JT