The Message IS the Message Received – #SelfAwareness

Understanding the Message Matters

When I say “the message is the message received” I’m reminding myself, and you, I guess that when conveying a message you need to take responsibility for how others hear it. Well at least, IF YOU CARE about being understood. That’s not to say that, when people intentionally misinterpret AND, yes that happens, OR, refuse to give you freedom to either explain or elaborate AND, that happens too, you should simply shrink away and beat yourself up. Of course not. Communicating is not an exact science and while taking responsibility is essential, #selfcompassion is also an important ingredient in learning to message effectively.

Going Back in Time…

I recall as a child hearing the commercials done by Heritage Canada. There was one about the famous Canadian, Marshall McLuhan, philosopher, academic and thought leader. McLuhan wrote extensively on media and one of his most quoted phrases in Canada is “The medium is the message”. I didn’t understand it then, but I repeated it often, inappropriately, when I was a child because I loved what I thought it meant. Perhaps it was how it sounded!

As an adult I struggled to appreciate its real significance. Now, of course, with social media, it’s SO OBVIOUS. It leaves me wondering whether we are better able to recognize the significance of the message with perspective and time. In other words, did I lack the ability to see its meaning in a world where I was part of changing media, unlike now, as I find myself part of the established class AND I’m feeling the recent changes foisted upon me? AND, am I feeling this AFTER or, perhaps BECAUSE, I have built my life and success around the old ways?

Is that why, my parents could recognize the importance of holding TV in-check while NEVER feeling the need to lessen my exposure to radio or books ? Now we’re blaming parents for allowing their children access to social media? Will that become the radio or books in the future?  I’m not sure, BUT it’s striking me that perspective is driving so much more than we consciously realize or are willing to accept.

My thinking and reflection on this week’s #podcast episode is really challenging me more than I expected. As a result, I’m feeling a few new insights percolating, and I plan to keep exploring. I loved reflecting on McLuhan’s description of the message coming out of our sensorially-shaped mind. I can’t stop thinking about that and I’m choosing to pause every once in a while in my day to consider how even my inner voice takes the form of a medium, impacting my senses and how I’m experiencing the world from the inside out. Of course he’s right in saying that we are overwhelmed, perhaps over-come some times, by the volume and intensity of the external messages hitting our senses. As a result, it’s becoming far more critical that we build practices in our life that are giving AT LEAST equal value to the inner senses. This will both influence what we put out into the world and how we internalize the reaction to our messages and our ability to practice self-regulation (more on that in a future post).

Connecting Message to Mission

All this said, I want to simplify my point. When we are self-aware, we are better able to effectively interpret and gauge the veracity AND the value of every message that’s bombarding our senses. I’m also thinking we may need to start by accepting a few truths – not because they are easily understood but because ONCE we discover….blah blah blah – Galileo said it better than I can….

Discovering the truth in a message is not so easy but it is worth the effort.

Inviting You Along…

I’m on a mission to become more #selfaware and I’m inviting everyone in their 20’s and 30’s to join me. I look forward to learning a lot from your unique life experience and perceptions of the world AND I believe you will benefit from learning just as much from my experience and hard-fought wisdom. Check out my services outlined below and on my website.

Take a few minutes to listen to this week’s #podcast episode and then when you have time listen to a couple of the audio stories I tell on my website. By the time you read this there may be a more recent podcast episode available on my site as well.

This week’s theme has felt like a corner stone of my system for building #selfawareness. How so? The heart of my work is, understanding how the medium, or our external expression of self, accurately reflects the message, or the inner self. Stay tune as I continue to explore AND join with me to do this work together.

AND one last thing – here is the message from Albert Einstein that used to keep me up at nights AND the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I know this is one of the pillars driving my passion for these workshops and my mission. ENJOY!

Einstein’s message reminds us to open our thinking patterns to learning and growth

#selfawareness, #selfworth, #selfregulation, #resilience, #unpack4impact, #belonging