Topic: Working toward turning “overwhelmed” into “positive growth”.
Point: Still behind! There is hope with asking questions and accepting help.
Note to self: This is what I do, who I am, where I am going.
Well hell, I am STILL behind with these assignments. I don’t like how it feels to be lagging – it’s disorienting for me. I am a very “on time/on budget/exceed expectations” sort of a person professionally. I am not usually mediocre.
The learning curve for me in this class (beginning with a big Zero in September in the Social Media arena) has been humbling and/or frustrating to the point of being demoralizing some days. Lots of days.
I considered dropping this course a few days ago (seriously) because after last week’s Elluminate I felt that terribly overwhelmed about November’s expectations.
Christopher's Elluminate statement, “If you fail your team in November, then I will fail YOU” kind of got to me; not in a good way. I don’t respond all that well to threats as a general rule, and the idea of letting others down is far more distasteful to me than letting myself down.
I am out of town and/or out of the country for ½ of November, a crucial time period for the social change video project.
So yeah, I am severely worried. I haven’t even gotten up to speed with October’s assignments yet and it’s Halloween already.
Christopher talked me down off the ledge in terms of dropping the class – at least for now. He suggested that I work with what I CAN do (ideation, scripting storyboarding) and leave the shooting and editing to someone with a camera and a Mac. Good advice, no doubt.
I am not sure what to do with these video projects. Is it just me? Is anyone else taking hours to learn one little task by trial and error that seems like others just whip out in 5 minutes?
I am clinging by a thread to Tomas’ suggestion to me a few weeks ago that I align everything to one topic of focus – which for me is Innovation. It’s interesting enough for me to stay engaged, to be curious even when I feel like giving up, to look up one more blog or post or article or to Tweet about at midnight.
Today I bought a video camera. Not a good one but a good enough one. I have no clue how to use it AND no clue how to do anything with the footage (once I get some), but it feels good to own it.
Tomorrow Justin Tilson has very generously offered me an hour of his time to walk me through WordPress 101. (Thank you, Christopher, for that suggestion).
If I need help, I will allow myself to ask for it, more than I have been.
I know that the way innovation bubbles up and turns into tangible results is shifting and changing, along with a lot of other things in this world. The intersection of social media and innovation is unmistakably loud. I know deep down that I need to be here, in this course, learning these tools.
How to do the assigned work and feel even “OK” this quarter, not fail anything -- this one OR any of my other 3 classes -- and simultaneously keep my employer happy between now and December 11th is all just feeling more than a bit overwhelming for me at the moment.
This week in talking with various people about what I do and what I WANT to do, I have zeroed in on the innovation subtopic of “realizing innovation” – meaning – the process of getting innovative products or services delivered to a paying customer.
The term “product realization” comes from a set of process criteria and controls that are part of the ISO 9000 standard which I had not remembered in any detail until this week when I looked it up. Lots there – ISO standards don’t miss a detail, ever. The one section defining the elements of product realization covers a LOT of ground. http://bit.ly/product_realization_summary
My Creativity Session is going to be on this topic and I am actually really excited about it. All “Bell cows” accepted my invite and it is all set for November 11th. The topic is Innovation: Improving Product Realization. I am using a slightly less technical definition of Product Realization for my purposes: "Delivering innovation to market."
I will do my best to think positive thoughts, enjoy my extra hour of sleep tonight, and somehow come up with a 30 second video tomorrow AND do many many many other assignments for 3 other classes.
It is after midnight. All good little trick-or-treaters are tucked in. Now it is November 1st, The Day of the Dead, which in a number of cultures is a day of celebration based on rememberance, reverence and respect. Nice parting thought: November can feel different than October, starting right NOW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
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Glad you've decided to stick it out for a little longer Carol. I think we've all had those moments of being completely overwhelmed. I'm also someone who doesn't like to ask for a lot of help, so I'm proud of you for realizing that and allowing yourself to accept it. I also think you're right in that social media and innovation go hand in hand. Good luck and let me know if you need any help!
ReplyDeleteYou are not behind, you are right where you need to be. I always felt that way when I was traveling for a living and I find now in school and work that it is true again. Sure I may not have done all the assignments, but I did have a great meeting with a new progress type of health insurance company, one that promotes health rather than insurance the outcome of poor health.
ReplyDeleteI could give you a few other metaphors or thoughts but just go to your Google Reader and click, "mark all as read".
Carol,
ReplyDeleteYour candidness inspires me. BGI offers a demanding program, and this is a demanding class, more especilly for those of us with less experience and fewer tools.
I agree with you completely tht you are in the right place. You knew this too when you signed up for THIS class, and not for one of the other two options. Creating Social Change Through the Social Web is exactly for people like us: we see the vision, we have our hands on the fulcrum: we just need the tools.
Asking for help is hard. I did learn however, during one point in my life where I absolutely needed help,that when you ask for help you are also giving people an opportunity to contribute to you. Which is a gift for both of you.
Carol,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bonnie. "When you ask for help you are also giving people an opportunity to contribute to you. Which is a gift for both of you." Absolutely. I too find it hard to ask for help. It is so interesting to me how this class has really helped some of us find our hard edge of frustration and tolerance of feeling inadequate. Remember success is psychological. BGI is truly a gift forcing us to look deep into ourselves for the solution because if we can't find it within ourselves how is it we expect to find it anywhere else? To sow the seeds of peace we must first till the earth and rid it of debris. I encourage you to loosen your grip on expectations. It's all good work. We will all be there to catch you when you let go.