Personal Strategy as Philosophy of Becoming: View yourself as a strategic thinker, define who you want to be, set changes for self and the world, and overcome obstacles for a confident, exciting life.
Strategy is not just a business term but a fundamental aspect of personal growth and transformation. Seth Godin emphasizes that effective strategies are not about winning games or following depersonalized plans, but rather defining our philosophy of becoming, which includes understanding who we want to be, what changes we wish to make in ourselves and the world, and overcoming obstacles that hinder us from doing so. This insight encourages listeners to view themselves as strategic thinkers and empowers them to create a life on their own terms with increased confidence and excitement. The key is to consciously make choices about our future and embrace strategy as a philosophy of becoming.
Adapting Education Systems: To thrive in today's world, we must challenge the traditional education system and adapt it to suit our needs, engaging empathetically with others while embracing personal growth. Social media can both widen social chasms and offer opportunities for support and new paths.
The traditional education system was designed to produce compliant factory workers, but in today's rapidly changing world, it's essential to question and adapt this system to suit our needs. A good strategy is a set of choices about who you're trying to become, which involves creating change despite tension from systems that resist it. It's important to engage empathetically with others in this process and be open to personal growth as a result. Lastly, remember that social media can amplify class and social chasms, but it also provides opportunities to find supportive communities and forge new paths. Ultimately, you are responsible for telling your own story about who you become within these changing systems.
Empowering Women Through Self-Validation: Women should learn to validate themselves and not seek external validation, focusing instead on finding their audience who appreciates their work. Empathy can help avoid emotional entrapment and focus on effective progress.
Embracing tension and practicing empathy are crucial for making changes and achieving personal goals. Women, particularly, are socialized to seek external validation and avoid conflict, which can hinder their ability to make unconventional choices. To overcome this, it's important to recognize the need for self-validation and not expect everyone to agree with or understand your decisions. It's also essential to remember that people will have different expectations and opinions, but they are not a reflection of one's worth or abilities. Instead, focus on finding your audience, those who appreciate and value your work. Furthermore, empathy helps detach from emotional entrapment and avoid wasting energy trying to change the minds of non-supporters. This approach allows for more effective progress and personal growth.
Strategies for Change and Relationship Building: Develop empathy, surround yourself with reliable support, acknowledge fear of rejection, and strategize to move ideas forward in a collaborative manner.
To bring about change effectively and manage personal relationships, it's essential to develop empathy for others' perspectives, understand the dynamics of those around us, and strategize our approach. When it comes to changing minds or pushing an idea forward, we must surround ourselves with reliable support and feedback providers while being aware of the fear of rejection and negativity bias in ourselves and others. Creating the conditions for change involves understanding that sometimes people need reassurance before taking a leap, while others may require constructive feedback to improve their ideas. By surrounding potential resisters with allies who express support for our idea, we can help them feel more comfortable embracing change. This strategy doesn't involve passing judgment on those who haven't yet supported the idea but rather demonstrates that there is a strategy in motion to move it forward. Ultimately, this process requires self-awareness and strategic thinking, as well as an understanding that our success often depends on our ability to navigate various perspectives and work collaboratively with others. Whether it's in a personal or professional context, these strategies can help us build stronger relationships, inspire change, and achieve our goals more successfully.
Distinguishing Feedback vs Encouragement: Knowing what you seek – feedback or encouragement – can help communicate effectively and manage feelings when approaching others for opinions.
It's crucial to distinguish between seeking feedback and seeking encouragement when approaching others for opinions or advice on personal projects or ideas. By understanding what you truly desire, you can effectively communicate your needs and avoid unnecessary feelings of rejection or hurt. Additionally, recognizing the difference between "glass balls" and "rubber balls" in one's life can help manage stress and improve work-life balance, as it enables prioritization of tasks based on their resilience and importance. The Feminist Productivity Paradox workshop offers tools to combat over-responsibility and increase productivity while reducing stress.
Authentic vs Professional Identity: Being true to oneself is key, but consistent performance is crucial. Know yourself, choose a comfortable profession, and understand emotional labor.
It's crucial to understand the difference between authenticity and professionalism in the workplace. Authenticity refers to being true to oneself, while professionalism requires consistency and the ability to perform regardless of personal feelings. The discussion highlights the importance of knowing who you are and choosing a profession where you can be comfortable with that identity. This doesn't mean pretending to be someone you're not but rather approaching your job as a professional, showing up consistently, and not lying about who you are. It's also essential to recognize the emotional labor involved in maintaining a professional demeanor and consider if this is something you can sustain without it burning you out. Lastly, the green room metaphor suggests that there's a space for authenticity among colleagues, but once stepping into the 'stage,' or any context where one is getting paid to perform, professionalism becomes paramount.
Long-term Thinking: Resist short-term gratification, practice patience & strategy for long-term success; choose a path that aligns with values to thrive personally & professionally.
Long-term thinking is crucial in navigating life's decisions and career choices. Short-term gratification often leads to immediate satisfaction but can have detrimental long-term consequences. It's essential to resist the urge for instant gratification and instead focus on making strategic moves that pay off over time. This requires patience, discipline, and self-awareness to manage urges without immediately acting upon them. Moreover, engaging in long-term thinking means recognizing that life is a game with its own set of rules and responses. To succeed, one must think ahead and anticipate the moves of others to make better decisions. This can be challenging, as it requires putting in emotional labor and delaying gratification, but the benefits are substantial. The system, whether it's the education system or financial institutions, often profits from short-term thinking, so those who can resist these immediate urges open up more opportunities for themselves in the long run. Ultimately, life is too short to engage in activities that conflict with our values and erode our sense of self. It's essential to choose a path that aligns with who we are most of the time and allows us to thrive both personally and professionally. By practicing patience, discipline, and strategic thinking, we can create meaningful and fulfilling lives for ourselves.
Navigating Personal Growth & Social Change: Effective social change agents strategically identify their audience, tolerate discomfort, and foster community action to create new cultures promoting positive change.
Personal growth and social change are deeply interconnected. To effectuate change, one must learn to navigate the tension between individual desires and societal expectations, recognizing the role of systems in shaping these tensions. This involves understanding that culture is a means for systems to defend themselves, but does not dictate our identity or potential for impact. Effective social change agents strategically identify their audience - those who share similar values and are open to their message - and learn to tolerate the discomfort of going against societal norms or expectations that may conflict with their personal growth and goals. Moreover, it is essential not to rush change, but to create the conditions for it by fostering community action and collaboration. Just as the plastic industry established blue recycling bins to make consumers feel better about their waste while continuing business-as-usual, we must be mindful of the subtleties systems use to maintain the status quo. By recognizing these patterns and taking deliberate actions within our communities, we can invent a new culture that fosters positive change. In essence, personal self-development and social change go hand in hand: the capacity to tolerate discomfort, strategic thinking, identifying the right audience, and cultivating community action are all crucial elements for effecting meaningful change in ourselves and the world around us.
Expand Circles of Influence, Focus: Start acting now by finding a partner or community, join coaching programs for personal growth, and avoid viewing change as future action. (Book suggestion: 'This is Marketing' by Seth Godin)
Being strategic in improving our lives and the world around us doesn't require having all the answers to global problems. Instead, it involves expanding our circles of influence (the 'circle of us') and focus (the 'circle of now'). This can be achieved by finding a partner or community to share strategies with regularly. The book mentioned, Seth Godin's "This is Marketing," offers insights and practical advice on this approach. Additionally, joining coaching programs or communities focused on personal development can help reinforce our commitment to making change and provide us with valuable resources for growth. Overall, the key is to stop thinking about change as something that will happen 'someday' and start taking action in the present moment.
Feminist Productivity Paradox Workshop: Join the free workshop at unfuckyourbrain.com/productivity to identify thoughts causing over-responsibility, learn how they hinder productivity, and discover strategies to accomplish more with unchanged real-world responsibilities.
Our way of thinking and societal expectations often hinder our productivity and progress in life, especially for women who are conditioned to take on excessive responsibilities. To tackle this issue, I invite you to join my free workshop, the Feminist Productivity Paradox, at www.unfuckyourbrain.com/society. In this workshop, we will identify and address the thoughts that lead to over-responsibility, learn how they hinder our productivity, and discover the antidote for over-responsibility that enables us to accomplish more, even with unchanged real-world responsibilities. Join me at unfuckyourbrain.com/productivity or text your email to +1347-997-1784 using the code word 'productivity' to receive a link and be part of this transformative journey. It's time to change our mindset, enhance our productivity, and make meaningful progress in our lives.
Seth Godin: How to Be Strategic In Your Life
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Seth Godin: How to Be Strategic In Your Life
I'm sure there are plenty of you who saw the word "strategy" in this episode's title and are thinking, “I’m not a strategic thinker, so this won’t apply to me.” And I don't blame you -- social conditioning teaches women that we’re either workhorses, nice, or lucky, and that being strategic is beyond our capabilities. Well, this bonus conversation is here to challenge that conditoning.
You've probably heard of Seth Godin - the badass entrepreneur, marketing genius, and bestselling author. He joins me for this bonus episode to explore how you can use strategy to overcome the indoctrination systems that keep us oppressed. You’ll learn why you ARE a strategic thinker, and you’ll see all the areas of your life where you could choose to think more strategically with a long-term perspective, instead of looking for short-term comfort.
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://schoolofnewfeministthought.com/seth-godin-bonus
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Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://schoolofnewfeministthought.com/364
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