Noticing Your Impact: Far Reaching

Noticing Impact...

What I have noticed as I have contemplated "noticing our impact" is simply that we do impact others, whether we believe that we do, and whether we are conscious of it. Our presence in the world has far reaching consequences, regardless of the circumstances.

Circumstances vary. Our responses to them effect the impact.
How we speak to ourselves when we make a mistake...
How we react to a situation on the freeway...
How we speak to a perceived enemy or adversary...
How we represent our selves on Facebook...
How we discuss hot topics in meetings, church gatherings, and sitting at the coffee shop...
How we speak to a beloved...

What we might reconsider is the reality that who we are, what we say, and how we relate to others impacts others and ourselves. We might never know what the impact is, we just might want to be aware that an impact is in process.

Earth, water, air, light and spirit all impact our environment. We are made of these very elements. If both of these ideas are true, then wouldn't it also be true that we have far-reaching and elemental impact of all whom we encounter?

I wonder how we would walk through a day in our lives if we knew, really carried the knowing that we have an impact on the world, and that the world is impacting us. Would it change how we show up, moment-by-moment?

Michael Tompkins, IHM

Noticing Your Impact: Introduction

The goal of noticing is to observe without judgment, analysis or thought. 

Taking time to notice what you are experiencing in the present moment is a basic and fundamental dialogue skill. We are reminded to take a deep breath and to pay attention to all of our senses before we begin to engage in any important conversation. Quieting the mind and being anchored to our inner resources makes it possible to stay calm in the eye of the storm - even in the most difficult conversations.

The following questions can help us to be more open and aware in a dialogue:

• What is the temperature?
• How bright is the lighting?
• Are my hands cold?
• Are my feet warm?
• What do I smell?
• Do I notice random thoughts floating through my mind?
• Am I feeling any specific emotions?
• Am I feeling relaxed or tense?
• How does it feel to be supported by my chair?
• What sounds can I hear?

Notice Your Impact

We will continue our review of the seven practices that serve as a "mindfulness checklist."  The Dialogue Skills are the work of organizational psychologist Chris Argyris and his colleagues. Building on our own "noticing," we will focus on Practice #6: Notice your own impact on a situation. Argyris invites us to Notice and check out the possible ways in which our different roles or communication styles affect the dialogue process. Sometimes we communicate with others as though we all share the same map—and the same world—and we don't slow down and look at how our mental models and mental maps are influencing our own thinking or impacting the experience of others. We invite you to take time over the next few days to slow down, reflect, and notice your impact -- or the impact that others may have -- on a situation.