I've been listening to Megan Murray and Euan Semple's Shift podcast since its inception. In Episode 35, they talk about a bunch of things (as usual) related to the idea of how people take on the idea of improvement - mostly around improving themselves and their business practices.
In this episode two masters at the art discuss navel gazing and how it might just be a key business skill for the future.
The thing that struck me hard enough to do a quick blog post is the idea that some people get wrapped around the axel of self-improvement without thinking why. On the opposite end are people who have no interest in self-improvement (but who are happy to point out situations in which they are unhappy).
I have always liked the idea that if I am upset about something / someone, it is because something inside me is out of kilter. It is not the other person / situation is necessarily wrong, but my take on it has me upset.* In other words, it is my responsibility to figure out why that business meeting made me so angry, and then DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Take responsibility for which I have control, rather than pointing the finger at things I don't like.
To me this is the point of navel gazing, so that I can change those things over which I have control. And where do I have control? It's inside.
* Yes, there are some world situations that are truly horrible, and I should be upset. But I think even there, what is my part in it? How can I make it better in my part of the world?
[Photo: "Navel Oranges" by Madhu Madhavan]