What do you take in on a daily basis through your gates into your inner being?

I am not trying to be woo-woo or cagey here, I am just asking if you are really paying attention to what you are absorbing from the world around you each day.    Recently I was watching some interviewing and media magazine type shows which were talking about the passing of Steve Jobs and what he did and did not do well as a marketer, entrepreneur and visionary of how he wanted the world to be from his perspective and the influence his own life walk had on him.   These things are all influences that helped to hard wire his personality, his personal skills, and his view of "HIS WORLD".

So what about you?   What are you taking in through your eyes each day?  How does what you watch and see and observe change you?

What about what you hear with your ears?  How does what you hear, listen to and the noise around you change you?

Humans touch a million things a day and taster continuously from morning until they sleep.  How do these things impact and change your life?

Our personal skills are largely based on these items I just asked you about above.  Yes, you have a certain level of ability to begin with, you may even have a giftedness in a particular area, and you are also teachable and trainable in several of the areas in which you function and work on a daily basis.

What do you believe about your skill level?  Do you believe that because someone gave you a great performance review?  Perhaps you believe what you do because someone kept telling you over and over again that you are "great" at something.    Think about the professional athlete who has an agent pumping him/her up and their image and their interviews, reality TV appearances, the magazine covers etc.   Is that a real skill level or an illusion to hype a personality, a salary, keep a job or what exactly.   I can hear you saying right now, "….that's not me….I'm not a professional athlete!…."

If we break it down, it most certainly is exactly what we do everyday to make ourselves visible from the sea of humanity vying for a job, recognition, a raise, a mate, a place that stands out and makes us desirable as a friend, the salesman of the year, or whatever it is that we are seeking to differentiate ourselves from the next person.

It is very hard to strip all that facade away and take a good look at what is underneath and get real with who we are and what are actual personal skill set is.  And to ask ourselves:  "Where do I need to improve what I am doing in my personal life?"    "Where do I need to sharpen my skills over here in my professional life?"   "When will I start and put those things on my calendar and do them?"

This type of introspection although tedious and sometimes down right tough needs to happen.  Some of us put it off for years until our knees and backs collapse from the weight of the thing and the stress of just carrying it around.

What is your personal skill level and what do you believe about that?

Today, I'd like you to stop and think about your life and how virtually everything you do day in and day out involves a "Relationship", even if you are alone you are in relationship with yourself.  This life area is one that we cannot shake or ignore even if we try, because it is like breathing we are fully committed whether we chose to be or not.   For instance, I am a deep thinker, life long learner, writer and reader; all of these involve a big crowd of people:  me, myself and I and sometimes the three of us get into an argument over what comes next.  Of course I'm joking, but it is never just me by myself.

How long is the longest time you have been alone with no other interaction with another human being?   No text, no email, no messaging, no phone, no visitors – no one?  I am guessing never.   We are meant to be relational.  This is our natural tendency in life.   Problems are solved when there is input from others through combined knowledge and experience.    New ideas are born in a group where no idea is wrong.  Leaders step forward from a group.  When a group is trying to do something and they need a spokesperson, everyone usually turns to the natural speaker and that person steps forth.  In your own group of friends, isn't there one person who is just always on, full of ideas of where to go and what would be fun to do?  If you are female, isn't there a woman in your circle of friends who is just plugged in to everything trendy, what's on sale, and all the latest gossip?

We thrive on knowing and interacting with other people.

If you are a mom and you have children, you know the value of a play group, and how meeting up with other moms at the park and sharing your parenting struggles can boost your mood and you stop talking like a four year old and rise up to adult conversation.  If you are trying to get in shape it is always better to have a buddy to walk and talk with, this makes the time fly by.

Next time you are in a restaurant, take a moment and look at the layout of the tables.  They are set up for relationship.  Even at the bar, people are talking, leaning and standing together in relationship.

So how are your relationships today?

What do you believe about your relationships?

Which relationships are no longer bringing you joy?

How can you end a relationship and not hurt but rather honor the person (s) you are releasing into the world to find their own new relationships?

The very best of relationships is where each person in the relationship wants the highest, the best for the other and for the other to be lifted up and succeed; who is that for you?

Who would call you this person?