Seek First to Understand

At one transition time in my career, I took a few months to rest, to read, and to reflect. I decided to write down a few caveats drawn from my life and work experiences. Here is what I carry with me in my wallet to look at now and then.

  • Pay attention to small things.
  • Balance conceptual understanding with new experiences.
  • Cherish, preserve, protect, and nurture mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.  (Take good care of yourself.)
  • Don’t worry too much about being self-less. Instead be full of self. Drink deep—and be unselfish in your fullness.
  • Never fail to “check out” an intuition when something seems amiss in the climate or in a relationship.  (Don’t let things pile up.)
  • Identify your limitations and work on them, even if it means trying to learn to use your non-dominant hand as well as your dominant one.
  • Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

John