Day 15–100 Days Being Visible
Sometimes being visible means being quiet
I had an experience today that exposed a paradoxical aspect to my quest to be more visible. I attended a board meeting of an organisation at which some controversial topics were to be discussed. Controversial in the sense that I anticipated some of us at the meeting might get emotionally upset. My past experience of attending meetings where strong feelings are experienced has not always been positive and I have not always been proud of my behaviour. When faced with awkwardness and strong emotions I have in the past spoken too much, or pushed solutions just to avoid conflict, or not listened to others in the way I would want to be listened to.
I have, in a sense, been overly visible in a way that was not helpful in forwarding the business of the meeting or in respecting the people present.
My experience today was one of ‘being visible’ in the sense of being comfortable with my visibility even when some past actions of mine were strongly criticised or strongly applauded. For the most part, I was able to remain silent and to be comfortable enough in my silence. There were times when I was thankful that I knew how to use breathing to centre and calm myself, but those times were few and did not dominate my experience.
In the end, the entire meeting was well run and it seemed to me that everyone present endeavoured at a deep level to respect and listen to each other. While this respectfulness helped me and I am thankful for it, I also assess that my recent practices related to “being visible” contributed to my experience.
Knowledge
I have relearned the important knowledge that being visible does not mean needing to speak or to stand out and that being in the background listening may, indeed, be far more important.
Progress
I trust that today’s experience is a sign of progress. I look forward to being better behaved in meetings.
15/15/100 (Number of days goals met/ number of days into project/ 100)
Goto the Previous Day or Next Day