The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Roman numerals’

Recently someone who I know asked me where the food court was in the mall close by, so I started giving him directions. He asked if I could go with him and I thought about it and said yes, not much arm twisting needed. We go into the mall and he tells me that he has never been inside before. I am quite astonished because he works right beside the mall. He adds that he would have gotten lost had I not been with him, and when I thought about it he was correct. I  have been going to that mall for nearly 15 years so I do not even have to think about it, I know where everything is. I assumed that because the food court was easy for me to find that it would be easy for others to find as well. The reality is that there are many aisles that you could get lost in and the layout isn’t perfect. And, it doesn’t help that three malls are connected to each other underground.

What assumptions do you make that could possibly trip up others? Are the instructions for your training products clear? When you give directions from point A to B, do you leave out landmarks, distance and possible time it takes, to help others gauge if they are on track? Have you ever been frustrated when the instructions to perform a task wasn’t clear? The assumptions you make, are they friends or foe? Do they assist you or hamper you? Do they make you appear credible?

The next time you have to explain something, write or  give instructions or directions, before you begin, pause and think before you do anything. Also think about what you would like if you were the recipient of the explanation, directions or instructions.

We can take making assumptions even further, what assumptions do we make daily? What assumptions do we bring to the table? What assumptions do we make about others? What assumptions do we make about how things get done? And so on and so on… Do all these assumptions that we make cloud our judgment and prevent us from being creative?

In Did You Spot the Gorilla by Richard Wiseman, which I have talked about before, there is an exercise with the face of a clock in Roman numerals. A few of the numbers are missing and you are asked to fill in the missing numbers. I finished the exercise in record time and found much to my dismay, that just like everyone, for the number four which we are taught is IV, on all watches and clocks it is IIII, except for the Big Ben in London. I made a reasonable assumption, but it was an incorrect one. Please read Could You Swear to It?

One of the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is to don’t make assumptions, but as an information professional, I have to make assumptions because I never have all the information that I require so I have to fill in the gaps based on experience, so perhaps the agreement should be make assumptions with caution. Are there specific instances where you are forced to make assumptions, how do you handle them? So, the way you deal with assumptions in instances like these, is to state what you do know, what you don’t know, and what you think.

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Photo Credit: Zemanta and Apture (The photo is of Richard Wiseman)

I have always prided myself on being very aware and having excellent observation skills, but every so often something happens, which takes me down a notch or two and reminds me that there is always room for improvement.

There are lessons to learn every day.

In 2003, my niece and I traveled to Grenada for the Caribbean Gift and Craft Show held in late September. As is our practice when we travel, based on recommendations from the hotel where we were staying, we hired a local as our tour guide.

We spent quite some time on a tour of a Nutmeg Factory. Having grown up in Jamaica, I was familiar with nutmegs, but I assumed that you used the nutmeg straight from the tree. I had no idea of the intricacies involved in the entire production process. During the tour, I learned that the nutmeg is separated from the mace which is subsequently used in lipstick manufacturing. The nutmeg is used as a spice, but in recent years it has also been used to make essential oils, which is good for pain relief.

Look around you, what incorrect assumptions are you making?

Life is a gift, take nothing for granted.

Again in 2007, my niece and I traveled to China for an international conference. For our trip, we booked a 4-day tour for Beijing before we traveled to Shanghai for the more formal part of our trip.

Being in Beijing reminded me of how much I take for granted. A normally simple task such as ordering in a restaurant became a major event because we did not speak the language. And, the menus did not have photos so we could not point to a dish indicating that that’s what we wanted to order.

I felt completely out of my element. Later that night, while lying on my bed in the hotel room, I was reminded of what it feels like to not be included, and to me this was a perfect lesson to be always mindful of how I treat others, and to make the extra effort to make others feel included. I have been at networking events and did not reach out to others who clearly appeared uncomfortable because I told myself that I was an introvert, so let the other person take on the responsibility.

What are simple things you can do to make others feel welcome and like they belong?

Because you are certain it is so, does not mean it is so.

There was an exercise in Did You Spot the Gorilla?: How to Recognise the Hidden Opportunities in Your Life by Richard Wiseman, where you had to fill in the missing numbers on the face of a clock with Roman numerals. I completed the exercise in seconds and thought how easy the exercise was. I was wrong! It turns out that in nearly all instances, except for the Big Ben in London, the number four is represented as IIII on clocks and watches and not IV. Richard Wiseman is from the United Kingdom so I automatically thought that this had to be a UK phenomenon.

The next day I went looking for clocks with Roman numerals and discovered that the number four was indeed represented as IIII. I always prided myself on being very observant, so I was shocked that I didn’t notice this before. I asked many of my friends if they had ever noticed that the four was written as IIII and not IV, and I was very pleased when they all answered no.

It appears that when the brains come across anything over and over, it tends to switch off. How many things do we miss because our brains are switched off?  And are we operating on automatic pilot?

To learn from my lessons, give your life a shake up, be aware of what is going on around you, and be grateful and appreciative for all the good you have in your life now.

• Each night before you go to sleep give thanks for three things that you are grateful for
• Be a tourist in your own city
• Participate in cultural events other than your own
• Attend a live theatre performance
• Eat at different restaurants
• Start a conversation with a stranger
• Perform a task a different way
• Hop on the train and ride it to the end of the line, get off and explore the area
• Identify five other ways you can give your life a shake up

Each day we should be striving to be better, and these are simple things we can do to evolve and blossom into the person we were meant to be.

Related Post

Could You Swear to It?

Photo Credit: Avil Beckford Laughing Buddha in Beijing Restaurant

While reading Did You Spot the Gorilla? : How to Recognise the Hidden Opportunities in Your Life by Richard Wiseman, there was an exercise where you had to fill in the missing numbers on the face of a clock with Roman numerals. I completed the exercise in seconds and thought how easy the exercise was. It turns out that in nearly all instances, except for the Big Ben in London, the number four is represented as IIII on clocks and watches and not IV. Richard Wiseman is from the United Kingdom so I automatically thought that this had to be a UK phenomenon.

The next day I went looking for clocks with Roman numerals and discovered that the number four was indeed represented as IIII. I always prided myself on being very observant, so I was shocked that I didn’t notice this before. I asked many of my friends if they had ever noticed that the four was written as IIII and not IV, and I was very pleased when they all answered no.

It appears that when your brain comes across anything over and over, it tends to switch off. How many things do we miss because our brains are switched off?

Do you function on automatic pilot? Do you take the same route to work each day? Do you use the same process to solve problems? How many times do you use old assumptions when making decisions? What do you do to get a fresh perspective? How do you interrupt your brain to prevent it from switching off?

For the next month I would like all my readers to do something different, just for the sake of doing it different. Let’s consciously interrupt our brains to prevent us from becoming complacent. If you get a chance, also read Did You Spot the Gorilla? It’s a very quick read.

Photo credit: Creative Commons chrisjohnbeckett via Flickr