Learning Journal

I am taking a class that meets every Tuesday evening for about an hour and a half.  The topic is on Crucial Conversations and Influencing.  Our instructor is not your normal university professor, but rather a business man who created his own company called Vital Smarts.  He is really quite fascinating and I can tell I am going to learn a lot in this class.

One thing he asked us to do is to keep a learning journal.  He wants us to be ambulant scholars.  So, I think I will focus on writing about things I am learning during this semester in my blog, rather than just commenting on the comings and goings of life.

Here are a few key insights that I gained this week from reading Influencer.

There is something called the serenity trap.

You may be familiar with the well known prayer in which you ask for the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

The authors state that this is the problem.  "It's everyone's problem.  We've come to believe that when we face enormous challenges that can be solved only by influencing intractable behaviors, we might attempt a couple of change strategies.  When they fail miserably, we surrender.  It's time to quit and move on.  We tell ourselves that we're not influencers, and that it's time to turn our attention to things that are in our control.  We seek serenity.

This would be a good tactic were it not for the fact that problems can be and have been resolved by someone somewhere.  That's right.  There are actual people out there who - instead of continually seeking the 'wisdom to know the difference' - have sought the wisdom to make a difference.  And they've found it.  They've discovered that when it comes to changing the world, what most of us lack is not the courage to change things, but the skill to do so."

These are ideas I had not pondered before, so I was glad to read and absorb them.  Every problem has a solution.  When I look at this through the lens of the gospel I am reminded that the Lord has all the answers to every problem that exists on the earth today.  He knows how to solve the big, huge problems of the world and He also knows how to solve the seemingly small and hidden problems of our lives.

This year I hope to refocus my efforts to more fully take my questions and problems to the Lord so that I can receive answers and learn how to solve the problems in my life day by day.