John Evans / CEO of Evans & Evans Consulting.
There’s much ado about generative artificial intelligence (AI) these days.
I recently asked a pioneer of generative AI, a former Ivy League professor, the question every thinking human has: “What happens when this existential juggernaut falls into bad actors’ hands?”
He responded, in the characteristic fashion of a big mind: socratically. That is, he asked, “Don’t you think gangsters use Excel?”
Got it. Of course, the gobsmacking, evolving technology will be used by bad guys, too. Duh. His job is to invent, not police. Which brings us to a matter of paramount importance for the trajectory of your career—a matter that I predict will never be touched by generative AI.
Self-Improvement Is AI-Proof
I am talking about a critical dimension of your emotional intelligence: the ability to scour your conscience for how you might be a better person. This requires new thinking, and it might be uncomfortable at first. People of faith will exhort that God wants us to grow up; a secular worldview might swap “God” for “the Original Intelligence.” And that starts with awareness about how we are not grown up yet.
As an executive coach, I have created a very simple process that can enable you to more fully actualize, to become what you were designed to be by the Original Intelligence. Quite simply, when you notice three bits of feedback smacking the same theme—and this could be coming from your spouse, child, neighbor, client, tennis partner or mother-in-law—you might want to heed them. Call it “Three strikes and you’re on,” if you’d like.
For example, as a motivational speaker, I am, well, fairly motivated, and prone to not processing details as well as I should. Recently I heard a similarly themed message from my banker, my business partner and my childhood pal: “You need to slow down and pay more attention to detail.”
Now, the first two times I heard this bit of, shall we say, constructive feedback, my ego recoiled, then coughed up a couple of cognitive suggestions like, “Well, maybe you just need to hurry up.” Our ego can be salty, you know. But remember, what matters more than the relationships that matter most in life? I need a long-term, flourishing relationship with all those parties. So if you are interested, here is a suggestion.
Three Pieces Of Feedback
Be mindful, starting now, of three bits of feedback about who you are and how you do things. You are looking for a similar thread. The feedback, what I call life-giving chirps, could and will arrive in any number of ways, and you should feel some sting the third time you hear it. The sting is indicative of your closing in on the truth.
If you have a spouse or friend close enough that you’d trust your life with him or her, share this. But remember, you don’t need a sycophant. You need an advocate with wisdom and a backbone to give you feedback on the feedback you’re getting. The saying “If you don’t tell, you don’t get well” comes to mind, which is a powerful phrase for mental resilience.
The Power Of Ritual For Generative Self-Awareness
Once you have a sense that your ballast must be adjusted—alas, the angels are starting to sing—it’s time to put a new habit in place. Or actually, a ritual. Because the latter is intentionally positive, making the world better. The former, like smoking, could necessarily make the world less redeeming.
Examples of positive rituals include encouraging handwritten notes, surprising gestures of thoughtfulness, a Mediterranean diet for more energy and, a personal favorite of mine, more singing, alone or otherwise. Positive rituals make the world go round merrily. Enlist two accountability partners. Every 30 days, add another positive ritual. Just imagine your life in a year!
Look, the positive ritual of self-awareness is no picnic. I have habituated deliberateness, with some success, but it wasn’t easy. But when assessed and addressed properly, your life, and the lives of all those around you, will take a non-artificial step forward with generative self-knowledge. Generative, again, being a key word here.
New positive rituals take assertion and juice, but you’ve got this!
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
