No matter how well maintained all the rest of the connections are, like the lights on a Christmas tree, it just takes the one to snarl up the works. And unlike that Christmas tree, it isn’t always so obvious when we are dealing with people.
I use the term “rusty” for a very good reason. This description conjures up something unkempt, something not properly looked after, like an old watering can left in a corner. The rest of the garden may be neat and well tended but this little corner has been overlooked; it’s a bit dank there, uninviting. One turns a blind eye and habit reins. It’s not that that watering can is no good, just that it hasn’t been brought into use for some time and has grown a bit of mould and rust.
I am suggesting that we all have a rusty link; an underused facility within our arsenal. We can become very habituated to a certain way of operating; either maybe automatically standing back and looking to someone else to make the decision or in fact feeling that it is always up to us to be the one to take charge.
So, it is useful to have a little check and stand back. Ask yourself what would be the opposite of what you normally do and see if that feels refreshing. If it does, you have found your rusty link, your underused personality trait. Pay it attention and enjoy the reacquaintance.
This can work also at the group level, where someone within the family or within the work dynamic is used to being overlooked or not taken too seriously. We can all be guilty of taking someone for granted. “Oh it’s alright , so-and-so always sorts that out.” This is lazy thinking.
Wouldn’t it be good to mix things up a bit and make some changes; either ask for suggestions where you don’t normally or alternatively offer a point of view where you don’t normally. See how changing your responses can invigorate and even re-ignite passions.
I am thinking more about work here and personality revitalising but if other passions come into the picture who am I to quibble?
