Endings and beginnings – End of the Day for September 21, 2014

Lots of “endings” this past week. I am hoping that that opens up some new mindshare — as well as a little time — for some new beginnings. While endings can be quite emotional, beginnings can be downright scary. There are so many unknowns when you start something new. What do you NOT know? What are you missing? What don’t you understand completely? Don’t kid yourself. No matter how much research, planning and thinking you may have done, there will still be those things can catch you off-guard without warning — and then make your life REALLY interesting. (LAUGH)

Part of new beginnings is discovering what you want to do next, of course. There are so many possibilities in the world and it can be quite difficult to chose among so many possible futures. For me, I always start with those things that interest me most or seem to fulfill my basic inner desires most. I could work in a thousand different areas, but like everyone, some of these are much less appealing than others. You might as well start with the things you like. Why do something you don’t like, if you have other opportunities?

As always, several of my new beginnings have something to do with education. I like learning new things and i love teaching those things to others who really want to learn. I would have a big trouble teaching people something they are forced to learn, but if they have the desire, I feel that and give as much of myself as possible. This was one big reason why I never taught computer classes for a training company. Having been in some of those classes myself, I understood that most of the people where there because they HAD to be there, not because they WANTED to be there. I found that to be a soul-sucking environment for the instructor and nearly useless for the student. There as to be some desire, some interaction and most mutual interest in learning to be effective.

One interesting, if unpaid, thing I am doing is mentoring some seniors from Joseph’s high school about careers, technology, etc and anything that helps them prepare their required senior presentations. As i have often said, teaching, explaining or simply discussing something with another person forces your to learn more and better formulate your own ideas, so you can better communicate to them. If you truly want to understand something, try teaching something to others. This process quickly turns up missing knowledge, missing skills and missing thoughts. Even if you are just beginning to learn something, try teaching it to someone else. You will be surprised how well this helps you understand and retain what you are learning.

What new beginnings have entered your life lately? How are you dealing with them? It scan be scary but also, very, very exciting!

Previously on End of the Day: