If I were to describe with a single word the last three years since I wrote a blog post over here, that word would definitely be Transitions. You know what they say, change is hard; change is a constant, and, therefore, the only thing you can do is delay the inevitable. Change will, eventually, happen. Regardless.
That’s why after three years of silence it’s now time to resume my blogging mojo and continue to write over here, right back at my own home, as an opportunity to resume the conversations as if it were just yesterday. Yes, I know, that ‘yesterday‘ is three years ago and a lot has happened ever since, but up until now I wasn’t ready just yet to get down to work and resume my long-from writing.
About 20 years ago, when I was first getting involved with blogs and wikis, a really good friend of mine, and trusted mentor throughout the years, wisely said to me a few words that stuck in my mind ever since, as I was getting more and more heavily involved with those social software tools. He said, ‘Never write anything online when you are angry, hungry, or thirsty. It will keep haunting you forever’. Well, I guess you know now why I have been silent over here for so long.
As you may have seen, or read, on different media tools over the course of the last few months, I have been rather angry and upset about a good number of things happening in my own personal life. Things mostly out of my control to effect some change for the better, so, over time, I had to learn how to navigate through such toxic, poignant and rather damaging environment and re-focus again on what I wanted to do next. That’s why there have been long periods of time where I have just disappeared trying to clear things in my mind while different (unfortunate) events were taking place. Not an easy task, that one of re-focusing, that is, but a much needed one to get it done with. Till today.
Transitions, indeed. That’s the word I’ve been using far too many times already to describe what I have gone through over the course of the last three years both at work and in my own personal life. You know, if you ever bump into people who tell you that they are reluctant to change, that they resist to change their own ways, behaviours or mindset for whatever reason, do me a favour, don’t believe them.
They are lying to you, and to themselves. Why? Well, we are constantly changing. The conditions under which we operate are constantly changing. The nature and complexity of both our work and personal lives are so fundamentally different today, in 2020, than just last year or a couple of years ago, that we are no longer the same person. And rightly so! It’s part not only of what we do, but also of who we are. That’s what makes change such a fascinating and thrilling endeavour altogether.
Either way, like I was saying above, it’s great to be back! Back to my own home, to my extended brain on the Open Social Web. To that special place that it’s one’s own and no-one else’s. That place where your imagination goes wild with your thoughts and experiences, your trials and tribulations, your crazy ideas, your lessons learned from over the years, your excitement about what’s next and so forth. Blogs are still a thing, right?
I guess it’s now a good time to try to describe a little bit more in detail what I mean with transitions, in an attempt to resume my blogging mojo over here, describing what I have been up to lately. Like I said, a lot has happened since I last wrote an article over here, back in January 2017, and it’s about time to get down to work and share with you folks some of what’s been going on. At least, for those of you who may still be out there reading these few words…
Don’t worry, I am not planning on sharing much detail about lot of the things that have made me rather angry / upset over the last few months, specially, for 2019, a year that’s going to be rather tough for me to forget, so I don’t need a blog post to remind me about it every so often. Time to move on and re-focus on what we’d want to do and be next, right?
Let’s get down to it then, shall we?
When thinking about transitions about what has been going on lately with yours truly, I can think of three major areas, to begin with, I’d want to cover, at least, on this blog post. I would then try to develop further along additional articles, over the course of time, to perhaps give a bit more context and share some more about the additional learning experiences I have gone through so far. So, let’s have a look into each of them briefly and see where we will end up!
Transition at Work
The last blog post I wrote over here back in 2017 was a bit of an announcement about what I would be doing next. Back then. A bit over three years later, I am still working for panagenda, although my job role and responsibilities have shifted completely. Till early on last year, and for the last 22 years, as most of you folks may still remember, I have been working as a consultant / adviser around Social Business, Collaboration, Digital Transformation, KM, Learning, Online Communities and Data Analytics, either at a large corporate environment (My former IBM life), or as an independent, or while at panagenda. Early on last year though that all changed. Now, I am a business developer. You are … what?
A bit of a (drastic?) change, don’t you think? Most definitely. I’m still trying to get the hang out of it figuring out whether business development can be flagged as either consulting, marketing or just pure selling. Or a bit of everything in the mix! The thing is that I’m having a blast altogether. I’m learning something new every single day that goes by, which is always a good thing after being in the Collaboration space for over 23 years.
That’s where I will leave things, for now. Part of my urge to start writing again here in this blog is to share with you folks what I have learned throughout that time as a business developer and also reflect on the current state of the Digital Workplace after I moved on from big corporate life, nearly 6 years ago, and started playing in other leagues. A bit of a teaser ahead of upcoming blog posts: we are in (big) trouble!
Transition with My Personal Life
Like I mentioned earlier on, I won’t be bothering you detailing much about what has been going on with my personal life over the course of the last three years, as in some cases it’s been pretty dire, specially, last year. However, I would say a couple of things to try to relay what’s been happening for you all to get a rough idea.
At a time when we all know the business world is totally messed up, work has been my personal saviour. While everyone has been declaring how broken the workplace is or how horrifying and depressing work has become, work has been the single item that has helped me keep my sanity intact. What does it say about everything else, right? Well, let me summarise it with one of my favourite sayings: onwards & upwards!
The other thing that’s rather remarkable in terms of this transitional period for yours truly, is that last year I seemed to have peaked at unhappiness. I kid you not. Apparently, there is a fascinating piece of research that confirms that at 47 years old unhappiness peaks. Well, that was me last year, not necessarily because of the study itself (I wish!), but because I realised how plenty of family members and really good friends have either become (seriously) ill or, unfortunately, passed away. Never mind those others who decided to fight amongst themselves for really silly things, as if there was no tomorrow! Yikes!!
One could say that last year truly s*cked! I guess it was one of the early, first ah-ha moments, confirming death is closer than what one could have thought in previous years, decades, while growing up. And that, eventually, it will hit you the hardest when you least expect it. Your loved ones.
That’s why during the course of 2019 there have been plenty of moments where I needed to figure out a way to move on, to persevere and be resilient enough while adapting to the new conditions of having lost dearest family members and friends, and carry on with one’s life. It’s the least one could do to treasure and appreciate their living memory and the many special moments lived together. Alas, now you know why I just couldn’t blog. No energy, no focus, helpless, waiting for things to, finally, stop. Thank goodness for 2020 where things are looking up, if they ever do, at all, and life just keeps on pushing its own way. Like I said, onwards & upwards!
Transition with the World
And, finally, the last transition. At least, the one where I am going to leave things on this blog post for now. This particular transition with the world has also been one that had me rather upset and angry throughout the last couple of years, unleashing to its full disgust during 2019. I tell you, last year is one of those years that’s going to be rather tough to forget! Why should we, right?
Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into too much detail describing why I feel we are transitioning into a world that has now changed forever. I am pretty certain you know exactly what I am referring to, if you have been keeping up to date with different local and global events over such short period of time. Suffice to say though that, to me, we are on the brink of deciding whether we would want to be a Civilisation Type 1 or, on the contrary, Type 2.
It’s a choice we need to make. And the sooner we do, the better. For all of us and for our home. Hopefully, for Civilisation Type 1. I’m pretty sure you may all be thinking that this is a bit of a blog post with a negative connotation overall, but, quite the contrary. It’s an open reflection towards what has perhaps been my major key learning from last couple of years: work hard and focus on what you *can* really change. The things, the people, the conditions, the contexts, near and closest to you, and keep spreading the love around!
Like I said at the very beginning of this blog post, change is hard; change is a constant. There is no point in delaying it. Change, eventually, will happen. It’s just a matter for each and everyone of us to decide how, when and why we would want to effect change with those around us: our closest networks and communities. The ones with which we can get work done effectively!
Bring it on!
At this point in time, I guess you may be wondering whether this will be my first and last blog post for this year before I disappear again, right? Well, rest assured, folks, I’m now back!, and I do not have any intention of going silent again.
That was also one of the main lessons I learned the hard way, specially, in the last year. Most of the times you will be much more effective and impactful amplifying and augmenting your networks and online communities, through conversations, than thinking you could do it all by yourself without the need of everyone else getting involved. Alas, our networks and communities just don’t operate that way.
It is our human(e) edge.
What?
Hey, GREAT to see you back Luis! Onwards & upwards!
The first part got cut off:
(incoming transmission from elsua.net)
(detecting slight tremors in the networks)
What?
Hey, great to see you back Luis!
ROFL !!! Many many thanks, Joachim, for dropping by and for the lovely re-welcome! Yeah, it’s GREAT to be back! My blogging mojo is a bit rusty at the moment, but I will eventually get there! heh
Hope you’re keeping well and still having a blast! It’s been a long while since we last chatted / talked! 😅👍
Hope to see you soon! 🤗🤗
And suddenly there’s a (1) behind a long dormant feed in my reader! Good to hear from you again in this space Luis! Lot’s has changed and lot’s hasn’t. Looking forward to renewed conversations. (and if you add some IndieWeb tools to your WP blog we can do the whole social media dance of replies, likes, reposts and whatnot right from your and our own sites.)
Hiya, Ton! My goodness! It certainly has been far too long, indeed! I am really glad your RSS newsfeed reader still works and popped up the notification. Phew! See? Like I said, blogs are still a thing 😉 heh
Yeah, indeed, a lot has changed, and lot has pretty much remained the same thing. It’s been great coming back to the blog and start writing and reflecting on some of those changes that have happened and those that haven’t!
Oooh, it looks like I am a bit rusty with regards to those IndieWeb tools and you would have to guide me on those, Ton. I would love to add them to make things easier for everyone to dive into the different conversations. Got any handy link I can take a look into? So far, my Web searches have failed me and can’t find anything relevant. Thanks!! It’s also good timing, because I’m in the process of going through a blog template re-design and I’ll make sure I can include those tools soon enough to, like I said, make things easier.
Thanks a lot, once again, for the lovely re-welcome into the blogosphere! Look forward to plenty more conversations and interactions over here and elsewhere! 😃👍
Thank you, Luis! I have missed you so much – so glad to have you back. That’s a promise! I am so with you – an important message. I wish you all the love & strength on the way <3
Hiya, Riita, many many thanks for the lovely comments and kind wishes! Likewise! I, too, have missed you and everyone else for that matter! I just had to take some time off with all of what has happened in 2019, so I could re-focus on what I wanted to continue writing and reflecting upon and the time has come for me to re-surface, once more … Also for the social streams within the next couple of days 😅👍
I’m really looking forward to more conversations and interactions, Riita, and perhaps a chance to meet up face to face some time soon, too! Hope you are doing very well, still having plenty of great fun! 🤗🤗
Luis – sorry to hear about the hard things over the last few years, but fantastic to see you back.
The old gang is getting back into blogging (I’ve woken it up again too) and we’re getting the band back together 🙂
Hiya, Julian! Thanks ever so much for the kind wishes and for dropping by! It’s a real treat to read you again and I’m really glad to see how the old gang is getting back to blogging! How cool is that? I’m currently working through my RSS newsfeeds and updating them accordingly, as I suspect I’ll be spending more time through the blogs than in media tools, at least, that’s what I am intending to!
I will be resurfacing into the social streams this coming week and will continue with the RSS newsfeed clean-up, but I’m excited, indeed, folks are coming back to blogging! Very much overdue and happy to jump in, too!
Oooh, and many many thanks as well for the lovely wishes. Yeah, last year was a pretty rough one, but it’s now in the past and 2020 has had a lot of promise so far, something I couldn’t say at this same time last year. So, like I said in the original blog post, onwards & upwards!
Hope to see you soon!
How did I miss this? Right I was on vacation with my grandmother after losing my grandfather late last year.
It took a while to want to do anything afterward but I am moving ahead again, as are you as well.
Looking forward to reading more.
Hi Keith,
Thanks a lot for dropping by and for the lovely comment. My sincere condolences about the passing of your grandfather. I know it’s never a pleasant experience going through such tragic moments. Things haven’t been easy for yours truly in 2019 and I can relate to you felt about not wanting to do anything. I felt pretty much the very same way and for multiple reasons, which is why I was looking forward to pass on another page (into 2020), hoping things would improve. And they surely have.
Around this time last year I wasn’t really sure as things were pretty rough, but, hey, here we are, 2020 and things looking much much better already!
Many thanks for dropping by and I look forward to more conversations over time. Onwards & upwards, right?
great to see you back Louis – absolutely no need for excuses- looking forward to our learning journey and inspiration coming . #TheForceIsWithUs 😉
Hiya, Harald,
Thanks ever so much for dropping by and for the wonderful feedback! LOVE the hashtag! 🙌😃🙌
Indeed, it’s been quite a learning journey over the last few months and I’m certainly looking forward to sharing some of those reflections on what has happened and where we are. I think it’s about time that I do that after being away from this blog for 3 years and away from media tools in the last 3 months.
I, too, very much look forward to further conversations and interactions as there is still a lot of work to be done and so much more to learn!
Onwards & upwards!
Hola, Luis, soy Amalio. No sé si todavía te acordarás de mí. Me alegra leerte aunque cuentes cosas tristes. Si te leo es porque ya escribes, y si escribes, es porque ya te sientes mejor y estas con animo. Esa es una estupenda noticia después de tanta tiniebla.
No suelo consultar el lector de feeds pero has aparecido, de repente, no sé bien la magia, pero así ha sido. Pues nada, campeón, mucho animo. Los blogs son la pera. Yo llevo más de 12 años escribiendo ininterrumpidamente y con más de 620 posts. Es la unica actividad que hago de forma sistemática tantos años seguidos. Algo tiene, ¿a que si?
¡¡me alegro que vuelvas a intentarlo!!
un abrazo
Hola Amalio, ¡por supuesto que me acuerdo de ti! ¿Cómo olvidar muchas de las conversaciones que tuvimos por Twitter hace tiempo? ¡Me encanta! ¡Mil gracias por dejarte caer por el blog y me alegro que la magia del mismo haya hecho saltar la notificación!
Efectivamente, el año pasado no fue muy propicio para ponerme a escribir ya que ha habido demasiados malos rollos desde diferentes frentes y al final uno tiene que priorizar y conseguir despejar la cabeza con tanta negatividad. De ahí que hasta me faltara la energía para poder escribir sobre todo lo que estaba pasando por mi cabeza.
Pero, mira, al final, llegó el año nuevo, con nuevos aires y muchos ánimos, y nos hemos puesto otra vez manos a la obra. Es ahora también cuando me doy cuenta que nunca tenía que haber dejado de escribir en este blog ya que ahora que lo vuelvo a hacer me doy cuenta de todo lo que he perdido en estos 3 últimos años que no he escrito nada. Ha sido como un proceso catártico que me ha devuelto las ganas de volver a escribir y es algo muy peculiar porque después de haber empezado allá por el año 2000 todavía me sorprende que tenga tantas ganas como el prímer día … Nos hacemos mayores, pero las ganas siguen ahí jeje 👍😃
Muchas gracias por los comentarios y espero nos podamos ver pronto. Y mientras tanto seguiremos con las conversaciones por la blogosfera, que siempre sigue ahí 😎🤘
We missed you! I too, am trying to reenergize my blogging….
Hiya, Nancy, my goodness! What are the odds?!?! Just as you were posting the above comment I was on the SIKM Month Meeting with Stan Garfield and I was talking about your foundational and truly inspiring work around ‘online facilitation’ and community building and BOOM! Here you are! Just brilliant!
About renergising your blogging, yes, please, do it. I am currently rebuilding my RSS newsfeeds and would love to see updates coming from your blog again. Come and join us, Nancy. You know, the waters are still lovely after all of this time…
Thanks much for dropping by and for the lovely feedback! What a timing! 🤗🤗
Oh Luis. I have been worried about you. I knew you went dark again, and somehow in the silence, I felt your pain. Having just gone through a massive re-read of all our early days of blogging, I feel so silly and defeated about our optimism and general good intentions for changing the world for the better. I know I should be welcoming you back with positive vibes of good cheer and hope, but your #3 packs a powerful punch. I will be reading you now, and I hope to God you can cheer me up. (Feel free to delete this post. I’m so close to deleting myself from the Internet, if that is even possible.)
Hiya, Susan, thanks ever so much for the wonderful re-welcome and for caring! 🤗🤗 I did get the notification (that I will be responding too soon enough!) you shared about my prescient words from over a decade ago about the early social media and privacy and I do wish I was wrong, but, then again, in a way, it’s a beast we all created and gave it birth before it decided to do its own damage into our personal lives. Either way, does that mean we are going to give up altogether? No way! I surely don’t plan to!
I still remember fondly our face to face conversation in that bar in Boston while at #e2conf about how we were going to change the world and everything and that spirit is still intact! Yeah, I know things may appear a bit ugly at the moment, but then again we need to keep digging deeper into the good things that are happening out there, not just those that they keep feeding us to provoke our rage and fears.
I mean, today, after three months of silence from media tools, I returned back and the welcoming has been incredibly inspiring and overwhelming altogether. So many folks have been sharing their good thoughts & vibes it’s been hard to cope with all of that love and caring. I just think what we need to focus on, frankly, make the world a better place by starting with those who we have the closest to us. Act and effect some change where we can while we get the rest sorted out through network effects and communities. Like we envisioned for the good old days of Social Business and Enterprise 2.0, remember? Again, that spirit, in me, is still intact!
It’s just that in 2019 far too many personal events were happening that affected my ability to focus and be much online when my offline world was collapsing altogether. But, we eventually rebuilt up through those small changes on things we could do, and we are back in business!
That’s why I decided to come back to blogging and different media tools. More than anything else to help me cope with this brave new world, but also to focus all of my energy, work and attention on those things that matter the most: those who we can touch with our gestures of caring tender love.
The rest is just an alternative far too ugly to fathom, so let’s continue to ramp up our efforts and get better at iterating our interactions and conversations, because that’s where the magic happens and through which change happens.
Days like today give me hope and bring back my moderate optimism that eventually things will be all right. And just like 10 years ago, I do hope these words will be prescient for the next decade as well.
We just need to dig in a bit deeper for the good stuff to resurface. We all know it’s there, we just have been grabbing the wrong end of the spectrum. Sending lots of ♥♥♥ and 🤗🤗🤗
Welcome home, Luis. You have been missed (as you know). x
Hiya, David, awww, that’s very kind of you! Many many thanks for the kind welcome and for the lovely comments! I very much appreciate it and I’m certainly looking forward to catching up some time soon! It will be about time, too! 😅👍
Hope all is well at your end and still having way too much fun!
http://www.estime.co.uk is something I’ve just co-started. It’s about how people engage with the media on one hand and with key stakeholders on the other. I still write and mess around with technology. And, yes, have fun in most things I do.
Hi David, how come I am not surprised at all RE: http://www.estime.co.uk/ ? This is just GREAT news and I am glad you are still showing all of us how to master the art of the word without making fools of ourselves in the process (regardless of the audience)!
Well done and congrats on the new work adventure! We should find some time to catch up via a Web meeting or something. It’s been a loooong time since we last talked!
It’s really good to see you around again, Luis. Hope the sadness is behind you now, and great things will come your way this year and after
Hiya, Celine, thanks a bunch for dropping by and for the wonderful and kind wishes! Yeah, indeed, the sadness is now, finally, behind not necessarily because things may have changed dramatically, but mostly because I have developed a number of coping mechanisms to help me focus on what I need to focus: life!
Two months into 2020 and it is working really well, which is why I decided to come back online and resume my blogging mojo as well as hanging out in different media tools I will be blogging about soon.
Today has been one of those wonderfully inspiring reminders confirming I shouldn’t have gone silent for this long, specially, here in the blog. It’s been rather overwhelming seeing all of the love and good vibes from everyone, so that’s what I will take with me into what’s left of the year and beyond!
Having some really good conversations, like we used to have!, and who knows perhaps repeating them at special events like Social Now in just a few months and you will see what I mean soon enough 😉👍 #EvilPlansRock
Welcome back, buddy!
Thanks a lot, Matt! It’s great to be back!
Welcome back! I always enjoyed your blog, so I look forward to reading more. Wishing you all the success and happiness.
Thomas
Hi Thomas, thanks a lot for dropping by and for the kind comments as well. I am glad you have enjoyed the blog posts and that they provide some value. Frankly, I have missed blogging more than whatever I could have ever thought and my comeback to it after three years of absence has been everything but a wonderful experience so far.
Who would have thought that blogs were a thing still in today’s day and age, right? 😅👍
Look forward to further conversations in the blogosphere and the different media tools! Many thanks for the kind feedback, once more, Thomas!
What a minute, you and Thomas know each other? 😃 It is indeed a very small world!
Welcome back, Luis! So good to see you out on the blogosphere again (and great catching up with you last year in Mannheim.) I look forward to your future big posts!
Hiya, Lisa Marie, thanks a bunch for dropping by and for the lovely re-welcome! Oh, yes, I know Thomas for well over a decade, if I recall it well. From the early days of the good old Enteprrise 2.0 😅👍 heh
It was wonderful seeing you in Mannheim last year, indeed, and I certainly look forward to the next time we get that opportunity, Lisa Marie, and for now, we would need to content ourselves with these wonderful conversations in the blogosphere and media tools.
Hope you are keeping well and look forward to seeing you soon again! 🤗🤗
Goodness me. This blog post is only a few days old and people are back in masses already. I’m glad you are back. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so openly. Rest assured that you are not alone in your worry about the state of this world. I think everybody with a common sense is.
Sorry, I couldn’t be there for you more last year. I would have loved to and you know it.
Sending lots of positive thoughts and energy. Keep blogging, my friend.
Hiya, Reiner, thanks ever so much for the hartwarming feedback and for dropping by! Yeah, like I was saying above already, who ever thought that blogs were (still are!) a thing, right? My goodness, the last few hours since I mentioned I was back into the social streams it’s been just crazy! So much love and good vibes coming along! It’s been wonderfully overwhelming! 😊😊😊
And quite a motivator to keep blogging along, for sure, too! heh
I know I’m not alone with what I wrote on that third ‘Transition’ and I’m really glad to see lots of glimpses (in the shape of inspiring initiatives) confirming people just don’t like the alternatives and continue to work towards making things better, collectively. It’s just that these bumpy roads showcase our ability to adapt to the new conditions and through that resilience and perseverance adjust and keep pushing through accordingly.
There used to be a time where I wasn’t really very optimistic with where the world was heading, but recent events into 2020 and I’m back with my moderate optimism 🤘😎🤘
Oooh, and don’t worry, you have been ‘here’ more than you think! No doubt about that! We had a fantastic time when you folks were over here and we are very much looking forward to the next time you decide to come back to the island. We will be here welcoming you again. It was just wonderful and we very much appreciate it. Many many thanks for sending those positive thoughts and energy. We caught them all 😍😍😍 and we look forward to seeing you soon! 🤗🤗
Well there you go Luis – a world out there has been waiting for your return! Thank you for sharing and look forward to see what comes next…you’ve been missed.
Hiya, Marie-Louise, my goodness! Yeah, tell me about it! It’s been an incredible few hours trying to catch up with everyone’s conversations, lovely thoughts and kind wishes! Overwhelming, really, but sooo nice and heartwarming at the same time! And then we keep reading the world is really messed up! No way! It’s a WONDERFUL place where we have got the unique opportunity of building fantastic personal relationships while being nice and kind to one another, caring for each other.
Gosh, that, on its own, has been my main lesson learned from having been in the dark for so long! Yikes! I shouldn’t have left for so long into my own darkness and stay away all of your beautiful people! Ha! 2020 has already started SO MUCH BETTER than 2019 ever did! W00t!!!
Many many thanks, Marie-Louise, for the lovely re-welcome and look forward to catching up in a couple of days! Very much overdue! 🤗🤗
Stay well my friend – onwards and upwards
Hiya Brendan, great to hear from you again! How are ya, matey? Hope you’re keeping well and still having way too much fun! Like you well said, onwards and upwards, indeed! Hope to see you some time soon on this neck of the woods! Thanks a bunch for dropping by and for the lovely and kind wishes!
Thank you for taking the time to blog again Luis! You are such a role model for sharing out loud. I look forward to your future posts (and no pressure at all). I am 47 right now. Looking forward to reading the research you reference. When I worked at the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, I was introduced to Claudia Haase, a life-span developmental psychologist, and found her research on emotions and happiness very interesting. I remember her sharing that as we age, we become happier, so perhaps we have something to look forward to! You can learn more about her work here: https://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/profile/?p=22387&/ClaudiaHaase/ and here is info about her study that shows that trust increases with age as does happiness: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2015/03/trust-increases-with-age-and-well-being . This now has me thinking about the relationship of trust and knowledge sharing….hmmm
Hiya, Keeley, many thanks for dropping by and for taking the time to copy the comment across from other media tools and share it over here. Splendid! I very much appreciate it 🙏😃
I have been doing some reading through the links you shared above and some of the research and you bring in a very good point about the role of trust and knowledge sharing. I keep wondering whether age does play a role, but on a slightly different perspective.
That one when we realised we have reached the point we don’t have as much time left as in our younger years (Those times where we all think we will be immortal and live forever!) and therefore we decide to invest time, effort and energy in limited opportunities to trust those closest to us while we leave all the other noise out.
I am starting to think age does have an effect in terms of how we continue to build, nurture and sustain our relationships and it all boils down to how many f*cks we have got left about the folks who we care the most, specially, as we continue to shape those personal business relationships over time.
A world of opportunity, if you ask me, to understand how growing older has got its perks and advantages towards knowledge work, how we collaborate and share with others, specially, when putting things into perspective with younger generations …
Are you familiar with the various books by William Bridges about transitions? Your post made me think about his important work. It has helped me a lot over the years both personally and professionally. https://wmbridges.com/about/what-is-transition/ For those of you who are aren’t familiar with his work, check out this very amateur video that Dorie Blesoff and I made on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, IL USA many years ago. We walked around campus looking for symbols of Endings, the Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings for an overview video used in her Designing Sustainable Strategic Change class in the MS in Learning and Organizational Change program. We couldn’t believe it when we came across a huge tree that had been uprooted and was on a truck. The driver humored us and let us film in front of it to represent how we feel during a transition. https://youtu.be/0ZCPI7uLkBI
Oooh, and like I have mentioned on Twitter as well, many many thanks for sharing the links and the work from William Bridges around Transitions. My head is still spinning with lots of crazy ideas on it! I need to keep going back as this transition period settles in and keep recognising plenty of the phases he talks about. So far, I can totally relate to a lot of what published, but I have the feeling, upon reading through it my own transition(s) are not over just yet … We shall see… I will keep digging and reading more into what he published on the topic. Thanks a bunch, once more, for pointing me to him! I very much appreciate it.
Good to see you back Luis. Sounds like you’re a new man! Hope life is on the up and up. Unfortunately I can’t say anything about my new career (the fourth in my life), which has curtailed my own blogging. I’m banned from using social media to say anything about it, though I’ll try and drop a couple of hints now and again. Stay safe.
Hiya, Stephen, thanks a bunch for dropping by and for the kind wishes! Yeah, it feels like I’m a new man, indeed! At least, I know I have changed substantially from last year, specially, in terms of how I view and experience things altogether. That’s what I meant earlier on in the original blog post about change being a constant. My goodness! That was the roller-coaster of 2019 just on its own!
But, hey, I’m really intrigued about your new job. Congratulations on the new work adventure! Because it does sound like quite an exciting adventure if you are banned from using media tools! I guess we will need to meet up F2F somewhere (perhaps in one of my upcoming business trips to the UK), grab a pint or two, and have a natter. Either way, congratulations! 😃👍
Good to see you back, friend.
I still benefit from a tool you told me about.
Hi Henry, thanks for dropping by and for the kind re-welcome! Oooh, that’s pretty cool that you are still using a particular I told you about a while ago … I wonder which one it would be… Care to share it across, please? 😅👍
It’s good to be back! Look forward to further interactions and conversations, Henry, and thanks again for the comments!
Hi Luis, Thank you for sharing. On reading your story I felt your sorrow, and seeing your resounding return to share this story gives hope and a sense of the new that you are now able to share.
Hi, Beth, thanks a lot for the lovely feedback comments and for the kind wishes! I very much appreciate them 🙏 Indeed, it surely has been quite an interesting journey so far over the course of these past 3.5 years and while I thought that 2019 was a rather challenging year, seeing now where we are, it pales in comparison.
Thank goodness I prefer to remain moderately optimistic thinking that behind every single crisis there is always an opportunity. And it looks like this time around such opportunity we’ve been given is helping us redefine the nature of work and our very own mindset, behaviours and habits around it.
Talking about challenging the current status of work, right? Extraordinary times we are living through, that’s for sure! 😅👍
Many thanks, once more, Beth, for the fantastic comments and for the lovely words of encouragement. Onwards & upwards!