Ashton Bricker
Journal #8
12 March 2015 Professor Jordan told us this week that in order to fix the blind area of the Johari window, you need to get feedback. I have seen this put into action in life. One time in middle school, there was a day where one of my friends had really smelly breath. To try and help her one of my other friends went up to her and told her as nicely as possible that her breath didn’t smell that great and gave her a piece of gum. That turned out to be one of the best things she could have done because the one girl was completely unaware that her breath smelled bad. After seeing how this helped, I will always try to get as much feedback as possible and to give feedback to people when they need it. Another important thing Professor Jordan told us was that you should keep your private life to yourself at work. I completely agree with this. I once had a guy I worked with that talked about his personal life at work way too much. One day he ended up over sharing some things he shouldn’t have and the boss never quite forgot it. Eventually the guy lost his job. Because I know the effect that over sharing can have on your job, I will try not to talk about my personal life at work. Lastly, Professor Jordan told us that one drink should be the max at an office party. I think this is a good idea. I have seen many of my friends have too many drinks and then tell anyone who will listen all about their personal life. They usually end up sharing something way too personal that should have been kept secret. After seeing how weird that can make having class with someone be, I know I wouldn’t want that to happen to me in the workplace.
In the Pink reading this week, he said that to survive in this age you have to think about if what you are offering is in demand and if it can be done by someone else or a computer for cheaper. I agree with this because why would a company hire you to do a job if they can have a computer do it ten times faster for less money. This is why you have to use your right brain because that’s one thing a computer can’t do. In order to be the best I can, I will continue to think about whether what I am doing is unique to me.
Next Pink said that, “high tech is no longer enough.” I see this a lot in my life. Anytime you go to the store you should notice this. Things can no longer just function. They have to look cool and be unique also. For example, Apple focuses not only on having the best functioning computers but also on how sleek they look. Knowing this, I will have to consider design and appeal if I am ever trying to develop a product.
Last, Pink stated that your cognitive patterns shift from left to right brained as you mature. I am not sure whether I agree with this. I know that my mom has always been a very left brained person. Watching her age, I almost think she’s becoming even more left brained in her ways. I could never see her becoming right brained, so I don’t think this is true for everyone. I will try to keep this in mind though as I think about my future.
In the Covey reading this week, we learned that you should focus your time on the things you can control rather than the ones you can’t. This only seems logical, as there is no point in focusing on things you can’t control because no matter how much time you put in, they won’t ever change. One article suggests that in order to make the best use of your time, you should formulate a plan and establish a timeline (3). This will help you to decide what the most important things you should be focusing on are. This also goes along with what Professor Jordan was saying about the Pareto Principle. With this many people thinking it’s the right thing to do, I will definitely try to spend my time only on the things I can change and of those things, the ones that are the most important.
We also learned from the Covey reading to take responsibility for your life. In order to do this, you have to stop making excuses and eliminate blame (2). There have been many times when I’ve had something go wrong and the first thing I think is who can I blame for this. In doing this, I gained absolutely nothing because no matter how hard I tried to blame someone else, it was still my responsibility and my fault. Just by experience I have learned that the best course of action is never to blame someone else but to take responsibility. Knowing this, I will try to take full responsibility for my actions in the future to prevent myself from blaming others.
Last, we learned that in order to be proactive, you have to use proactive language. One article says, “The problem with using reactive language is that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy: Re-enforcing the belief that we are pre-determined (1).” Using reactive language then keeps you from being a proactive person. I have witnessed this in my own life with my cousin. Whenever anything bad happens to her, instead of being proactive and taking charge of her life, she just settles and just says that’s the way it is. In doing so, she has failed to be a proactive person and therefore her situation hasn’t changed. From this, I know that in order to be my best self, I have to use proactive language.

Works Cited 1. http://czarto.com/2013/08/03/reactive-vs-proactive-language/ 2. http://humanresources.about.com/od/success/qt/responsible_s5.htm 3. http://www.lutzfinancial.com/mind-what-mattersfocus-efforts-on-what-you-can-control/