The complete set of 198 Hints are available in paperback from the CYC-Net Press store.
Listen
Temptations of the selfToday, as we step into our program, group, ward, class, team, club ... wherever we work ... the greatest temptation we face is to feel proud and self-satisfied when someone thanks us, acknowledges us, defers to us, admires us, appreciates us. We probably feel that we worked hard to get to the point where we are trusted to be a counsellor, child and youth worker, teacher, mentor, mental health professional, whatever, and it feels good when someone looks up to us, honours us or relies on us.
Red warning signal. As much as we might deserve the trust of our clients, students or colleagues, we know that it is in their interests that we do the job we do. The doctor asks "Tell me where it hurts" in order to identify possible routes to follow to restore the well-being and good function of the patient – not in order to be recognised as a good doctor!
Our main responsibility for self-awareness is related to knowing our skills, knowing our sensitivities, knowing our biases and blind spots. Nothing to do with self-satisfaction and self-congratulation. Our professional successes are when others manage their lives and relationships more successfully. Our self-awareness is not self-consciousness; rather, it frees us to be other-conscious and other-aware.
So, today, when someone tells us how wonderful we are and we are tempted to bask, we recognise the warning that we have failed to pass on the light. It is, rather inappropriately, shining on us.
