I’ve recently started to do some self-reflection over the past few months and have started to look from the outside in, looking at myself from above. I think we all in a way are self-centred or perhaps self-contained is a better word, and it can be difficult for us to see ourselves the way other people see us, as we are biased towards ourselves. I have also been looking into the idea of ‘strengths’ as a concept, my colleague and good friend introduced me to a more structured way of looking at the subject, and I took Gallup’s Strengths Finder 2.0 assessment, which is an interesting thing to do (link here http://strengths.gallup.com/110440/About-StrengthsFinder-20.aspx). I think we do naturally focus on our weaknesses or what we perceive as weaknesses, so focussing on your strengths is vitally important and each and every person has a unique set of strengths. The idea of actively switching your focus is really a very simple concept and something I’ve not considered up until recently, however the implementation of that information is a bigger journey.

I think the idea of criticism and how we all find criticism difficult to deal with is an interesting topic too, and perhaps maybe seeing it plainly as ‘feedback ’ is a better way of putting it. But I think as creatives/artists this is difficult, as it is so personal. But also, we are our worst critic, and it’s mostly not constructive criticism we give ourselves, so if we can learn to constructively criticise ourselves (or give ourselves constructive feedback), and implement this different mind set, perhaps thinking “I’ve not been working towards my strengths here” or “how can I turn this task around so it does focus on my strengths” will perhaps work towards a happier way of existing, and working in general. Leading on from the strengths concept, I think all of your best strengths combined point towards your element.

I’ve just started to read ‘Finding Your Element’, a book by a writer and public speaker Sir Ken Robinson (a practical guide, based on his original book ‘The Element’). It’s quite a complex piece of work and there are many stages to ‘finding your element’. I have only really just started to look at this, so I am no expert, but I thought the concept of finding your element connected quite nicely to things I have been thinking about and looking into. I thought I would firstly explain what is meant by ‘your element’ and some of the introductory concepts. Everyone is at a different stage of life and some people may know what their element is, or some still maybe unsure. It’s just something I find fascinating.

The book starts with an old story that goes like this:

“ Two young fish are swimming down a river and an older fish swims past them in the opposite direction. He says, “Good morning boys. How’s the water?” They smile at him and swim on. Further up the river, one of the young fish turns to the other and says, “What’s water?” He takes his natural element so much for granted that he doesn’t even know he’s in it. Being in your own element is like that. It’s about doing something that feels so completely natural to you, that resonates so strongly with you, that you feel that this is who you really are”

In the book it explains that in your quest to find your element you have to try many different things, and have new experiences and test yourself in different circumstances. For some people they may have discovered their element at an early age, or some later on in life. Examples include (but not excusive to), artists, musicians, dancers, doctors, councillors, accountants, teachers, carpenters, cooks, anything!

My colleague mentioned this to me once when talking about strengths: “A strength is a natural talent with practice”. I think the strengths model combines and works in harmony to support your ‘element’.

The Element is the point where your personal passions and natural talents meet.
The book says there are 3 elemental principles:

#1 Your life is unique

#2 You create you own life

#3 Life is organic

I’ll briefly explain this:

#1 Your Life is Unique

You are unique in 2 different ways:

The first is biological
The second is cultural

Biological

“Finding your element involves understanding the powers and passions you were born with as part of your unique biological inheritance. Learning about your genetic inheritance can be a powerful way of understanding why you think and feel as you do.”

He also says that those set of genes manifest in different and unique ways:

“If you are a parent of 2 or more children, I’ll make you a bet. My bet is that they are completely different from each other’.

I was talking about this to a friend about her two boys and from my own experience; my 2 sisters are completely different to me, even though we were all raised in exactly the same environment. So on a genetic level you do inherit characteristics from your parents, grandparents and so on, but the way in which they manifest makes you unique.

Cultural

“Our own lives are all shaped by the crosscurrents in which we live. The decisions you make and that others make for you all influence the paths you take or turn away from. Finding you element means reflecting on your own cultural circumstances – on the opportunities for growth that you want and need now.”

From my experience in Trinidad, I met a man called Dane, he is a steel pan maestro and involved in steel pan projects from leading groups to arranging. I think his element is musical, but it would have been really interesting to see how that would have manifested if he lived in a different culture.

Principle #2: You Create Your Own Life

There are a few passages that I thought were great for this one:
“ Whatever your history and circumstances, you should never feel locked in by what has happened to you up to now. It is often said that you cannot change the past but you can change the future.”

“ You are not given a résumé with your birth certificate. You create your life and you can recreate it. As the psychologist George Kelly says: “No one needs to be a victim of their own biography. Or as Carl Jung puts it “I am not what has happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

I think this for me really struck a chord, a lot of people think ‘they’re past it’ or I’m too old to do this etc. A lot of participants on music/percussion courses the company I work for run, or bands I’ve been in, use this language. I have found when they’re feeling stressed about learning a part, or if it’s something they feel uncomfortable with, they use this language, even though I appreciate that this principle may be the most difficult to overcome. It’s all about moving forward, trying and discovering new things, which may lead to finding your element, which leads onto the third principle.

#3 Life is Organic

He says: “Life is not linear; it is organic. My life, like yours, is a constant process of improvisation between: my interests and personality on one hand, and circumstances and opportunities on the other. The one affects the other. Many of the opportunities you have in your life are generated by the energy you create around you.”

“Finding your element means being open to new experiences and to exploring new paths and possibilities in yourself and the world around you.”

I think that you could be following a path for a large portion of your life, then for some reason, those circumstances may change or someone at an early stage seen something within you and nurtured your element. Also, you may start a new job or start to work for a particular organisation that brings that element out of you. It can happen at any time. So it’s never too late

It then goes onto shortly to discuss education, which I thought was interesting:

“For the most part, educational systems inhibit creativity and are organised on the false assumptions that life is linear and inorganic. The conventional story is that if you study particular disciplines and stay with the prescribed programme, and pass all the tests, your life with fall neatly into place. Well it might work that way, according to how sure of what you want to do, then again it might not.”

A dancer friend of mine said about how she was at school and they thought she was a disruptive child, she said she had all this energy and was bouncing off the walls, then one of her teachers decided to ask her to help in the PE class as an extra thing, acting like a role model to the younger children. I think more teachers need to focus on their student’s strengths and natural abilities and nurture them in that way.

So that’s something to think about and your own experiences.

There is much more to this and I am still going through the book but I thought I would pass on what I have learned already and there were some similarities to the work we have already been doing.

To end, I’ve written up some questions at the end of the first chapter for you to ponder on:

• What have been the most important influences and turning points in your life?
• Which aspects of your life engage you the most?
• Which ones engage you the least?
• Do you know what your element is?
• Do you know what direction to move in?
• What would you like to do that you haven’t tried yet?
• Why haven’t you?

Check out Sir Ken Robinson’s work here: http://sirkenrobinson.com/