Hello friends!
This week was just one of those where you have to learn the same thing over and over again. I can't say it's something we haven't all been working on, but sometimes, we don't talk about it much.
Earlier this week, I encountered several situations that required me to confront and lower my personal ego. This is something we are all afraid to face or something we avoid for various reasons. However, what I quickly realized is that this is one thing that can unlock many doors to our next level. It's hard to address while also maintaining curiosity.
"Ego trip: a journey to nowhere." - Robert Half
I. The Benefits of letting go ego ?
“…So even if you're happy your ego will already be looking for an issue to cling to. It forces us to believe that we are what we are, only in comparison to others. We spend energy believing this fiction, energy we could be using to enjoy life”.
We always have to remind ourselves that we do not know everything. Try to find people close to you or people whom you trust to get advice from them. Always outsource from people you think will give good advice and be willing to learn. Here, it's important to ask good questions , be willing to listen and here are some actionable actions we all can find helpful:
Open to learning - Place yourself in rooms where you are the least knowledgeable person. Observe and learn. That uncomfortable feeling you might experience, that defensiveness when your deeply held assumptions are challenged? Just stop beating yourself up and take care of yourself.
priceless hyper-competition - Yes, it's good to be competitive, but there comes a point where the price is not worth paying. So, don't speak poorly about yourself, and avoid comparing yourself. We need smart people around us to compensate for our blind spots.
networking and connections - One fascinating aspect is how we often approach life with a sense of scarcity and cynicism, stemming from our internal ego. What's intriguing is that everyone is seeking good and smart individuals. Consider the barrier we create when we approach life in such a manner.
II. How can we stay curious ?
Allow yourself to be a child and be curious about the world around you. Always try to ground yourself, tell yourself the truth about what you do not know and what you know, and be open to learning. This will take you to the next level.
Curiosity leads to continual growth and learning, which drives positive personal, team and organizational outcomes. Below are four ways we can model and promote the importance of life-long learning in our lives:
Stay Curious With A Growth Mindset And Leverage An Abundance Mindset- Life-long learning is all about leveraging the many opportunities around us for continual growth and development. When we have a growth mindset, we see every experience (including the disappointments, setbacks and failures) as an opportunity to learn and develop . When we foster an abundance mindset, we don’t allow limited time and resources to hold us back; these limitations simply provide an opportunity for creativity, innovation and growth
Challenge Assumptions And Check Your Biases-We need to practice regular self-reflection, surround ourselves with difference and continually ask ourselves questions to get to the core of the issues we encounter (e.g., Why does that policy, practice or procedure exist? Does that system still serve its original purpose, with the desired equitable outcomes?).
The power of journaling*- Its not easy to describe the magic of writing things down if you not doing this regularly you need to just give a try and one of the reason is the act of writing by hand slows us down, lights up our brains and stimulates curiosity. Don’t worry about penmanship or sounding silly. This is just for you.
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Stay Curious: The Importance Of Continually Asking Questions
Some Questions for you
Like always we and up with questions that you can ask yourself so atet you start having your own frameworks and ideas on how to be improve yourself and stay productive and you can always share with the community tips and ideas to a better mindset.
Have you been staying open an humble ?
Can you identify your blind spots ?
Do you get people who can cover your blind spots ?
How do you think you can stay curious ?