The action: Remember your childhood home (or if you had several, your favorites) and take 5 minutes to draw a blueprint, as detailed as possible. Then take someone on a tour. Think about the stories - the lessons you learned there.
Well, between the age of 0 to 5 I learned that I had lived in 12 house all over the rocky mountains. Luckily my memory seems to kick in when we moved to Alaska. I had two there and they are filled with lots and lots of stories.
A quick list:
-learned playing fair-respecting difference-follow my heart-to find my voice-cope with death-to manage conflict-first love
What about your blueprint? What does it remind you of?
The point of this exercise was to realize everyone is made of stories. If we are going to practice inclusion - opening up to others - we need to welcome them in to our stories and discover theirs. What kind of stories are in the person sitting next to you on the subway? Standing in front of you at the grocery store?
Challenge: For the next 37 days take note of the opportunity you pass (or miss) to engage with someone. What keeps you from doing it? What are you missing?!
THIS is the challenge for me. I always joke with my partner in life that while he is a collector of fine things, it is a good thing I am a collector of stories. They take up a lot less space and are easy to move around!
Discovering other people's stories lights my fire. Guess that is what makes me enjoy coaching so much. I get to mine for amazingly rich gems every time I am open to listening.
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