My Authentic Self

This is the activity I completed in our Week 3 class: 

Which people and experiences in your early life had the greatest impact on you? Growing up as the second youngest child in a family of 10.

My mother’s ethic of care and social responsibility.

My parent’s activism in the struggle to support Farm Workers’ rights in 1960’s California, USA.

Leaving my family in the U.S and moving to NZ at the age of 22.

What are your most deeply held values? Humility

Kindness- ‘if you can’t say something nice, etc”

Empathy for others

Respect

What are the moments when you say to yourself: “This is the real me”? When I am:

·        fed up and just say what I think

·         writing and expressing myself with abandon on a written page

·         working in the garden and creating beauty

·         cooking in my kitchen and creating wonderful flavours

How do you balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in your life? Intrinsically motivated at work by a strong commitment to what I feel is right in learning/training environments. This has an energy of its own.

Extrinsically I am motivated by the success stories of individual learners I meet.

I am highly paid for the work that I do and this rewards me for the long hours I often work- allowing me the privilege of creature comforts (good food, a harbour view, nice clothes etc).

I am pretty good at switching off and getting lost in a book or a nature walk.

What kind of support team do you have? I have a very small social network, with only a handful of very close friends.

My large family is always there to listen and support me, although distance makes this hard to maintain.

My husband and a few allies at work are my main support team at a daily level.

I have always struggled to build and maintain friendships, even though in my adult life many wonderful people have sought me out for friendship.

Is your life integrated? If not, what is holding you back? All parts of my life are not currently integrated. For the past 3 or 4 years, my role at work has been all-consuming and I spend far too much time either at work or thinking about work. I am held back by misplaced loyalties and overidentification with my work.