Happy Sunday Everyone:
Kim’s in Arizona for a mom’s weekend with Jack. I got out of dodge for some solo time. I love people, and certainly my wife, but a little solo time is good for all of us. I’ve been wanting to get away for a bit to focus on some big picture things, including rethinking my own personal mission statement. These thoughts today are not about my personal mission statement. With that said, one of the exercises to get clarity on your personal mission statement is thinking with the end in mind, helps create clarity. Another exercise suggested thinking about having dinner with 3 of the most influential people in my life, and the why behind it. Anyone that knows me knows my #1 influencer in my life was my dad, still is. Not a day goes by where I don’t ask “what would my dad do”. That was one of the themes at his funeral from his friends, suggesting we’d all be better off in life asking “what would Tom do” in order to get the right answer to most questions. Part of the exercise is thinking of words to describe these people. For some reason, the word “predictable” was the first word that came to mind with my dad.
The clearest definition I found on being predictable is as follows “when something or someone is described as predictable, it means their actions, reactions, or outcomes are easily foreseen or anticipated based on past behavior or known patterns”. This isn’t meant to be a tribute to my dad, it turned into a bit of a self-reflection exercise for me. Yes, my dad was predictable in the sense of how he showed up to everything. He was honorable, trusted, you knew he was going to deliver, always. At the same time, I was thinking through the meaning of “predictable” I had a work-related issue pop up. The person I was interacting with based on past behavior patterns, was not likely to help with a solution to my challenge, this person is predictable and not solving problems. When that though came through my mind, it caused me to ask, “what kind of predictable am I to others?”. Can you imagine someone saying, “its predictable you won’t deliver”, based on your track record. That’s not the predictable I’m looking for.
It’s a reasonable question to reflect on for yourself. What side of predictable do you stand? Is it predictable that you are positive, negative, reliable, unreliable, on time, late, dependable, flaky, full of excuses, excuseless, a problem solver, quit early, don’t see things through, lead, complain, first to pay a debt, forget you owe money, takes ownership, let others do the work, prepared for a meeting, not prepared for a meeting, responds to emails, calls, and txts, never cancels, always cancels, responds with clarity, appreciative, not appreciative, clean, dirty, rude, kind, lift people up, knock people down, dream helper, dream squasher, team player, team wrecker. You can fill in the blank with anything you want.
I know I’m on the wrong side of a couple of these. Being aware is 1/2 the battle, deciding to be better is the other 1/2. It’s a worthwhile exercise to contemplate what kind of predictable you are and what kind of predictable you want to be, then work toward bridging the gap.
Have a great rest of your Sunday!