Online meetings and self improvement
Pervasive video and self examination
The scooter kid up the street is at it again.
He’s obsessed with doing tricks.
From light till dark it seems like he’s out sliding, spinning, grinding and hopping every chance he gets.
There’s something new in the mix these days. This year, he has a camera. Multiple cameras actually. Between his go pros and iphone, the kid is consistently shooting from three angles.
This kid looks at himself a lot.
There was a time when we only could see ourselves in mirrors or in pictures that took a least minutes to appear.
Now, we do things, then we see ourselves doing them.
In the case of this scooter kid, he has learned how to learn by watching himself and making small adjustments.
He also gets the satisfaction of knowing that not only can he do trick, but he has proof.
It’s a bit odd to me. The video stuff, it’s a great tool for improvement. I know that the few times I’ve seen video of myself surfing, watching has helped me learn and improve.
And?
I don’t surf for ‘improvement’. I surf for a sensation. Watching a video can help me find more opportunities for that sensation. And. Sometimes constantly checking myself, examining myself, learning from seeing myself?
That’s fucking exhausting.
We spend a lot of time in our lives examining, checking, watching, constantly working to improve.
Sometimes, it’s better merely to surf.
No record of the event.
No need to examine what I’ve done.
Just a moment on a wave.
I’m curious though.
Does anyone go back and watch their hours of go pro footage from ten years ago?
If we keep progressing with our ‘tricks’, how often do we go back to watch the now easy ones on old videos?
Finally, this brings me to the topic of the day: Online meetings. There’s always a camera on us.
We get faced by our face as we’re facing others.
Well. I turn the view of myself off.
It’s like the old saying goes:
It’s difficult to see other people when you’ve got a mirror in your hand.
Totally true about the mirror in your hand. Yes filming yourself is a powerful tool but would be exhausting.
In my work over the last two years, I have moved from 100% in person to 100% remote to 80% remote to 80% in person. In the fall, I expect to be 100% in person. Back to normal? No way. I have learned new skills that have improved my performance regardless of the medium. I have lost the shine off of some and am observing myself practice to regain them. I am, indeed, a different person as a result of COVID anxiety, remote work and new technology. We all are. I was a considerate person before. I think I have now jumped the shark on that one. Every action now goes through a multi-stage filter of potential impact on the other people involved. Supporting success is exhausting. But I am now better able to see how my choices affect me, too. Do I put myself at the front of the line? Not yet, there's work to do. But am I preplaying the result of the "Yes" I am being asked to give and trying it on for size before giving a "Yes"? You betcha. And I have changed my mind on a "Yes" when the preplay in my mind looked like a reel from "Self-Help Fails" on YouTube. No, the channel doesn't exist yet. If it did, it would be a well-populated channel and I would be rich from ad revenue.