Necessary wisdom
One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of distinguishing
ourselves from the other seven billion people on our planet is to list some of
our favourites - our favourite
things, pastimes, subjects and topics. Whilst each favourite thing is
relatively insignificant in itself, the combined package of our particular
preferences provides a picture of a unique individual. No one else in the
history of our world ever has, or is ever likely to have the same collection of
favourites at any point in time.
Every time we consciously take note of our particular
preferences, we are able to remind ourselves of our own uniqueness, and this
process gradually builds our self-confidence in our identity. We come to
realize that no else can understand and appreciate life in just the way we can.
Our way is no better than someone else’s way, but it will always provide a
different perspective on things.
Our personal collection of favourites also gives us a clue
as to how we currently energize ourselves. They show us what “turns us on” or
motivates us at this point in our lives. Whilst some of these things we prefer
may seem trivial, and whilst many of them may be just passing fancies, reflecting
on them as a whole and noticing trends in the changes in our preferences can
provide valuable insights into the directions our life may be heading.
Creative responses
Favourite Things
CREATIVE RESPONSE (SU): Make a list of some of your
current favourite things and then turn them into identity elements.
*
On a clean page in your journal
(in the “Identity Documents” section but not on your identity chart), write the
heading: “My Favourite Things”.
*
Under the heading, copy the
following list of categories in a column down the left hand side of the page.
My Favourite Things
-
Favourite
Colours:
-
Favourite
Numbers:
-
Favourite
Place in the world:
-
Favourite
Movie Star:
-
Favourite
Music Performer(s):
-
Favourite
Song or Piece of Music:
-
Favourite
Type or Style of Music:
-
Favourite
Football or Sports team:
-
Favourite
Food:
-
Favourite
Movie of all time:
-
Favourite
TV Show:
-
Favourite
Sports to play:
-
Favourite
Comic Strip Character:
-
Favourite
Collections:
-
Favourite
Book (s):
-
Favourite
“Evil” Character:
-
Favourite
Historical Figure:
*
Beside each sub-heading, list and
underline your favourite in each category at this point in time. If you have no favourite you can think
of, simply move onto the next category.
*
Once you have responded to
these categories, feel free to add some categories and favourites of your own.
*
After you have completed your
responses, turn each one into an identity element that you can add to your identity
chart. Write these in brackets to the right of your answers. Here are some
examples.
-
Favourite
Colours: Blue, Yellow and Purple (loves the colours blue, yellow and
purple)
-
Favourite Place in the world: Paris
(is passionate about travelling to Paris)
-
Favourite
Movie Star: Meryl Streep (appreciates the acting of Meryl Streep)
*
If using colours, add some of these
identity elements to your identity chart using colour nine.
Favourite Pastimes
CREATIVE RESPONSE (SU): List the favourite things you like
to do and then reflect on the patterns to produce further identity elements
*
If using a Thematic Journal, on
a clean page in the “Identity Documents” section, write the heading: “My Favourite Pastimes”.
*
This activity has been adapted
from a strategy in “Values Clarification” by Simon, Howe and
Kirschenbaum (Hart Publishing,1972).
*
Under the heading, on the left
side of the page, list and underline at least twenty different things you
really enjoy doing. Start each item with a word ending in “ing” e.g. “watching
sci - fi on television”, or “going
to the movies”, or “eating potato pancakes from the Pancake Parlour”, or “soaking
in a spa bath” etc. Items should include some detail and not just be the “ing”
word e.g. instead of just writing, “eating”, write, “eating apple pie with lots
of thick cream” etc.
*
Once you have listed the
activities, turn them into identity elements and write these in brackets to the
right of each listed activity. Here are some examples to start you thinking.
Favourite Pastimes
-
Soaking in a hot bath (enjoys soaking in
a hot bath)
-
Playing golf socially (likes to play a
social round of golf)
-
Eating hot apple pie and cream (relishes
eating apple pie and cream)
-
Watching inspiring new movies (appreciates
watching inspiring movies)
*
Add five or six of the identity
elements to your identity chart with the colour used for this “Personal Favourites” Identity
Indicator (colour nine).
*
Now we are going to do some
further reflection on this list of favourite pastimes by adding certain letter symbols to the right of each
listed activity in response to the exercises below. Use a different colour for these
symbols so they are easily identified.
*
Exercise
1 (extraversion): Consider how many of your
listed activities you like doing with other people and how many you like doing
alone. Beside each activity, mark those you like doing with people with a “G”
for “Group”, and those you like doing alone with an “A” for “Alone”. You can
mark activities with both symbols if need be. Once you have done that, compare
the number of “G’s” with the number of “A’s” and develop an appropriate
identity element to add to your identity chart. Remember that identity elements
form the last part of a sentence starting with, “This is someone who…” E.g. if
you have far more G’s than A’s, a possible identity element would be “likes to mix with groups of people” or
“likes to be an extravert” or “is a gregarious person”. If there are
more A’s, the identity element could be “likes
his own space” or “prefers to be an
introvert” or “needs time to be
alone” etc. If the “G’s” and “A’s” are similar in number, the identity
element could be, “needs both company and solitude” etc. Use colour nine for these elements.
Here are the examples used above with the symbols added for this activity.
-
Soaking in a hot bath (enjoys soaking in a hot bath) A
-
Playing golf socially (likes to play a
social round of golf) G
-
Eating hot apple pie and cream (relishes
eating apple pie and cream) G/A
-
Watching inspiring new movies (appreciates
watching inspiring movies) G
*
Exercise
2 (outdoor/indoor): Mark your activities with an
“I” if you mainly complete your activities indoors, or with an “O” if the
activities are predominantly done outdoors. You can mark them with both
symbols. Compare the results and write an appropriate identity element such as “prefers to be an outdoors person” or “prefers to be an indoors person” on
your identity chart using colour
nine.
*
Exercise
3 (money): Label with a “$10” symbol those
activities that, on average, would cost more than $10 to do them. You will have
to use some common sense here and take into account the total “set - up” costs as well as the cost each
time you participate e.g. you might have a golf membership and your own golf clubs
so it does not cost you $10.00 each time you go to the golf course. However, if
you take into account your membership fees, the ongoing cost of golf clubs,
balls, lessons and fuel costs to get to the course etc. you would probably
conclude that golf does cost at least $10 per game. The purpose of this
exercise is to reflect on your dependence on money to participate in your favourite pastimes. If
most of your activities fall into this category, add an appropriate identity
element to your identity chart e.g. “requires
money to enjoy his favourite pastimes” or “seems to be a cost
intensive fun maker”. If only a few fun behaviours require these sorts of funds, your
identity element might be, “seems to enjoy
life without requiring much money” or “does
not depend on money for fun” etc.
*
Exercise
4: (risk taking): Place an “R” beside those activities
that involve significant personal or emotional risk every time you do them. Again,
you will need to use your common sense here. You can get hurt playing tennis or
golf, but it is not very likely, and those sports are not usually regarded as
risky. However, “Aussie Rules” football or any “contact” sport would be
regarded as risky. Smoking and binge drinking could also be regarded as “risky”
since research shows that such activities damage our bodies. If you have ticked
more than a third of your activities, you can add an identity element to your
chart something like, “is a frequent risk
taker”. If only one or two activities are listed, you could write, “usually avoids risks whenever possible”.
*
Finally, add a selection of these
identity elements to your identity chart using colour nine. If any identity elements are very
similar or identical to ones already on your chart, just list them anyway - when reflecting on the chart later,
the repeated elements will provide a clue as to the more prevalent identity
elements in your life.
Favourite Subjects and Topics
CREATIVE RESPONSE (SU): Make a list of your favourite subjects
and topics, turn your responses into “Identity Elements” and add them to your
chart.
*
Another type of “favourite” is our
interest in particular subjects and topics. When we are with others, there are
always certain topics that particularly interest and excite us, whilst other
topics seem dull and boring. Think about times when you can particularly
remember enjoying the discussion. What were the subjects or topics being
mentioned?
*
When we read for pleasure, we
will choose books containing our favourite subjects. When we surf the internet, again we will usually visit
sites reflecting our favourite subjects.
*
If using a Thematic Journal, on
a clean page in the “Identity Documents” section, write the heading: “My
Favourite Subjects & Topics”.
*
Below are some suggested areas
to explore. Use each area as a sub-heading and under these sub-headings, list
some of your favourite subjects down the left hand side of the page. Beside each subject,
list any favourite topics that come to mind. See the examples below.
*
Remember that the word,
“subjects” refers to the general area of interest e.g. history, and “topics”
refers to more specific interests e.g. history of the gold rush era.
School and Higher Education Subjects
-
Through your years of school, what subjects and
topics most interested you? Think of those subjects at which you were most
successful. Within particular subjects, were there any topics that particularly
fascinated you? Were there any projects that you particularly enjoyed
completing? Can you remember class discussions of any topic that particularly
involved you? List these under the subject and topic headings on the chart.
Reading, Library and Book Shop Choices
-
Imagine that TV, the Internet, your smart phone and
radio are not available for a month or so, but you do have access to a big
library, or a very large bookshop (and the money to spend). What sections would
you be sure to browse? List the subject areas and particular topics you would
check out. Think about the books you read, particularly non - fiction books, and list the subjects and topics of those. Even
if you are not much of a reader now, think about what you would like to read
about if you had the time and opportunity to do so.
Television, Radio and Film Documentaries
-
Think about the subjects and topics you tend to
watch or listen to on media. What kinds of programs do you most enjoy? List
some of the subjects and topics that have interested you over the last year or
so.
Internet Browsing
-
When browsing the internet for pleasure, what
are the subjects and topics of the sites you visit most frequently? Imagine
someone was looking at your browsing habits over the past couple of months to
work out products and services they might try to sell you. What subjects and
topics would be at the top of their list?
Discussion and Chat Topics
-
When you are with others, what subjects and
topics do you enjoy talking about? What things do you write about on Internet
networking sites (if any) e.g. Facebook and Twitter? Think about times when you
can particularly remember enjoying the discussion. What were the subjects or
topics being mentioned?
*
Once you have listed some
subjects and topics, turn some of the most common subjects and topics on your
list into identity elements. Add these to your identity chart using colour nine. E.g. “is fascinated by science fiction” or “loves to talk about computers” or, “enjoys reading philosophy and theology” etc.
Remember to duplicate any identity elements that already exist on your chart.
*
Here are some examples listed
under the suggested sub-headings. The suggested format is Subject: Topics (Identity Elements)
Favourite Subjects And Topics
School Subjects
-
History:
Ancient Egypt (is fascinated by Ancient Egypt)
-
Literature:
Shakespearean plays (greatly appreciates Shakespearean plays)
Reading, Library and Bookshop Choices
-
Philosophy:
Books about different understandings of God (explores radical faith
positions)
-
Psychology:
How the Brain Works (enjoys reading about the human brain)
Television, Radio & Docos
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Self Help
Programs: Popular psychology (has a passion for popular psychology)
Internet Browsing
-
Software
sites: Programs for creating graphics, or computer utilities (loves playing
with new software)
Discussion and Chat Topics
-
Music:
60’s Bands and Songs (enjoys talking about music from the 60’s)
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