As I continue to discover how to become successful; and re-branded; as a writer… I have discovered that on our life’s journey, and to be successful at anything… a certain “thing” happens… and if your not careful, you will miss the “benefit” of it, and maybe think that it is a set back.
The “thing” I have been noticing… “I have circled back again.”
In hunting and trapping, circling back is used in two different contexts.
While hunting, if you have made either a good shot, or a bad shot, sometimes the animal bounds, or flies, out of view, and you know, “I got em’.”
But when you move up to where the animal “was” all you can see is a bit of blood, or a few feathers.
So… you check for sign, or move in the direction that you saw it bound, or fly off in.
You usually end up going over a little rise that you did not see initially, and you still can’t see the animal, and the sign you were following has petered out.
And even though you might be in Wisconsin, there isn’t any good “tracking snow.”
What do you do?
Yep… “Circle back to the last feather, or bit of blood, then start walking in small circles until you find the sign that tells you which way they went.”
Every pro will tell you that.
Circle back to the last spot you knew.
While trapping it’s best to set up your trapping line in circles. Starting at the truck, working your way around the woods, and circling back to the truck.
It has to do with being efficient.
If your trap line is big enough, you can set it up in two circles, like a figure eight, with the truck in the center. Again… circling back in order to unload your morning catch, and then heading out again to do your next circle.
My experiences with hunting and trapping has shown me that I’m pretty good at walking in circles!
But seriously folks…
My most recent experience of “circling back” has brought me back to the point of where, when one is starting out, you try to get a bead on your personality… by taking different personality tests, like the “Myers Briggs Type Indicator.”
Except now, by circling back to “personality” I can see I’ve been here before, I know this “little rise” so I can stop and take a gander at something new.
And having this past experience, is like having that two inch layer of fresh tracking snow, making seeing which way to go a lot easier.
You still have to read the sign. But at least you know what’s going on.
I think I have a handle on my personality, and I agree that it is me!
Now at this juncture in the success journey, the professionals put forth the idea of, “Do you know how others perceive you?” or “How do you come across to others?”
“Do you know how your personality works with others?”
In my work life I can honestly say, “Bosses love me. Teammates are hit and miss.”
I had a psychological professional tell me once when we were meeting over lunch, “You make people nervous, because you don’t need people, your fine being on your own.”
In a nut shell… “BINGO!” I’m not mean or anything. I just look at work differently.
Oddly different.
Some would say, “Weird.”
Some being… those who are closest to me.
I asked my wife and two of my kids, what their impression of me is, I asked, “Without thinking, what is the first thing that pops into your head?”
Response…
Wife: “Weirdo.”
Son: “A different level of weird.”
Daughter: (talking with her friend) “Your dad is weird.”
Daughter: “You have no idea.”
Life imitating art… or vice versa??
I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.
When I asked a few clarifying questions the “weird” they were referring to was my penchant of asking questions…
like… “How do you think I come across to others?”
Or saying things like, “It’s not a religion I have, it’s a relationship with Jesus.”
Or my favorite, when they ask, “Why did you do that?”
My answer: “I didn’t know… now I know.”
You may be asking, “Dave, why do you care what other people think? You just do you, and let them worry about themselves.”
I used to think like that.
But circling back through learning about myself, I learned that, that particular attitude comes in on an immature level of being.
What it leaves out is that… you aren’t looking for a pat on the back, or a bunch of empty, “Atta’ boys.” To be at your best you have to understand how you come across to others.
Why is that important to me now?
Because the messages I am developing are not for me.
I have to think of you.
Is there a chink, in my personal armor, that leaves a sore spot, or that won’t allow me to maneuver the best… leaving me vulnerable… and unable to work with, or talk with you?
And it isn’t about being a “people pleaser.”
I want to grow, and mature, and learn how to communicate with my writing so that you just read the book, or article and say to yourself,
“I like how he presented that information. It makes me stop and think.”
Have you noticed yourself “circling back” to a certain “thing?”
Have you learned anything new? Or haven’t you found any “new sign?”
Here is where I hope you “stop and think” for a moment.
For today, think about, “How DO I come across to others?”
Weird? I know.
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