Okay, let’s talk about week 17 for my personal development stuff.
Getting Started
Alright, so kicking off this week, I looked back at my goals. You know, the ones I wrote down ages ago. Felt like I was spinning my wheels a bit, especially on the whole ‘communicating better’ thing. Needed to actually do something different, not just think about it.
Trying Things Out
So, Tuesday, I decided, right, meetings. Usually, I’m quick to jump in. This time, I made myself just sit back and listen. Really listen. Tried to stop my own brain chatter and just hear what folks were saying. Even jotted down a few notes on what seemed important to others, not just what I wanted to say.
Man, that was tough. Seriously wanted to interrupt a couple of times, especially when I thought the idea was going nowhere. Felt weird being quiet, almost like I wasn’t pulling my weight. But I stuck with it for those meetings.
Wednesday, I tried something else. After someone made a point, I tried saying it back in my own words. Like, “Okay, so you mean we should do this thing first, right?”. Just to make sure I wasn’t completely off base. Got it right sometimes, felt pretty good. One time I was way off, but figuring that out early was better than running with the wrong idea.
Putting it Together
Then on Thursday, I had this chat with one of the newer guys. He was stuck on something. My first thought was just to tell him the answer. But I held back. Let him talk through the whole problem, the frustration, everything. Just listened. Then I tried summarizing his issue back to him. Funny thing is, him just hearing it laid out seemed to help him see the next step himself.
End of the Week Thoughts
So yeah, that was the week. Doesn’t sound like much, maybe. But actually forcing myself to listen and check my understanding felt… different. Like real practice. It’s harder work than I thought, especially the listening part. Takes energy. But I think it helped avoid some confusion later on, especially that summarizing bit.
Still feel like I’ve got miles to go on this. But this week felt like I actually moved a tiny bit forward instead of just standing still. Need to keep at it. Maybe focus on noticing body language next week, see how that goes.
