Impactful Influence (part 1)

It's usually pretty fun to think about and figure out personalitys. Things like, "Are you lasagna, spaghetti, elbow, or ramen noodles? A mole, muskrat, otter, or platypus? A where-is-it, when-is-it, why-is-it, or what-the-heck-now-is-it?" Or, are you fire, wind, earth, or water? After all that you might just be as confused as I was creating it. That somewhat-intelligent-sounding gibberish is all just different ways of putting the four roles people slide into as personalitys. The roles of supporter, director, thinker, or entertainer. To be sure, there's plenty of room for people to slosh around in those four areas, and overlap in multiple categories, but everybody's more or less in there somewhere.

While all that is/can't/could be interesting, what's more important is applying it. Of course that's implied, but I want to suggest something different that works well in tandem. The concept of figuring out not only your personality, but why you do the things you do, and say the things you say. For those are what shape the impact you have on other people.

That's what I want to shift the focus to. How can you impact other people if you don't know why you do the things you do, and say the things you say? The answer is you can, but the how is implicate of, how can you know what impact you will propagate? It can't easily be predicted. Is that really a smart choice? Impacting those around you with no confidence in how that's going to turn out?

The somewhat scary truth is that you, and I, are impacting in some way, every person we come into contact with. It doesn't matter when, how, or any of those details. If we are around someone, we are having an impact, or influence on them. It isn't always discernible. But it's there.

Here's an idea. What I'd like to suggest is examining the scientific method of investigation. Simply, gathering data over time, and forming a hypothesis, (idea) which later becomes a theory, (idea with much evidence supporting it) and finally a law. (something assumed proven)

Why? Because that's what people do, subconsciously or not, whenever they come into contact with another. Gather data, which goes into a picture (hypothesis) of who that someone is. What I'd like to propose, once again, is the concept I mentioned earlier. How can you impact other people if you don't know why you do the things you do, and say the things you say? Because if you don't know these things, your impact ends up based on whatever you feel at the moment. That changes. And when you impact (are in contact with anyone, anytime) someone with a base of feelings, the data they subconsciously or consciously collect will paint an uncertain, unstable, unclear, and worst of all, contradictory picture.

What is the base you work off of? Let it not be feelings at least. Without a solid base, I cannot hope to impact people in the way that I want, much less in a precise way. With a base to build off of, I can present a consistent, non-contradictory picture of who I am, in every encounter with someone else. I could tell you what base I build off of, but I don't need to shove it in your face. A quick look around this blog will easily show you what that base is.

There's more I would like to muddle through, but duty calls, (I have to make sandwiches for a trip) and I must answer. I'll try and get the second part of this up on Monday or Tuesday, as I won't be here Saturday or Sunday. Until then, remember, you do have an impact even if you do not see it, and that impact is based off of something. Have a good weekend!