Are you being heard?

A short book that might be helpful to those wanting to get their point across is: "How to get your point across in 30 seconds or less".

Here are other things that could help working/diagnosing the 'issue':

• Whether you 'bake' your ideas inside before they come out to the external world.
• Observe your feelings/emotions when the thoughts come out and correlate those feelings to the outcome: people understood/did not understand.
• If you do not 'bake' your thoughts inside, do you do better when you make a point in a one on one (or even in a small group you are comfort with) versus a larger group?
• Whether your thoughts come in a linear way (easier to follow) or in leaps (some people might have difficulty following your reasoning).
• Tape record yourself - in a meeting for example - and assess yourself
• If there is a person you are comfortable with, ask: "I realized I said the same thing earlier but I felt people did not understand me. Did you understand what I said? Was there any missing link between the ideas I conveyed?".
• Focus on the practical things than focus on diagnosing the issue, simply because of the satisfaction of 'seeing things working'.make it sensory", spell it out in sensory details.
• Give the executive summary at the beginning and the end -- "I'm here to talk a deal on the XYZ....
• Phrase it as an achievable action, I find this particularly works well with tradesmen.
• Credit any interruption they give, with an "oh yeah... " like your listeners said something amazing and then turn the topic right back to what you're saying.
• If they still don't hear then I use a bit of drama, an unexpected swear word or exasperation. Create a bit of social tension.

A going away cake

Thanks to Marie for her thoughts and this picture

It took me a second when I first looked at this photo. Make sure you read the story under the picture.  Keep in mind this actually happened.   This cake is for someone who was moving. 

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went: 

Walmart Employee: "Hello 'this is Walmarts, how can I help you?" 

Customer: "I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week." 

Walmart Employee: "What you want on the cake?" 

Customer: " 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'." 

hhhmmm...

Advocacy for Seniors, is it needed?

The BC government is gathering information on a need for a Seniors' Advocate. They ask the question, How could an Office of the Seniors’ Advocate help seniors in British Columbia? 
Public consultations will be held in communities around the province, beginning in May and going into June. Click here for the consultation schedule. 


So if you want to talk about the need for an advocate find your way out to one of the meetings and to help you prepare the government has a list of questions they will address in the public meetings. These questions are

1. How could an Office of the Seniors’ Advocate help seniors in British Columbia?
2. What should be the priority focus for the Seniors’ Advocate? Should the Office focus initially on health care supports and services, including consumer issues related to those services?
3. Should there be an age range to access the Office of the Seniors’ Advocate?
4. What could be the role of the Seniors’ Advocate in elder abuse prevention and response?
5. How can the Seniors’ Advocate work with existing bodies and organizations currently engaged in similar work?
6. How can the Seniors’ Advocate best engage seniors to ensure that their voice is heard

I personally do not think there is a  need for a Seniors' advocate and neither do my friends. The classification of different groups within society with their own advocate strikes me as an old, paternalistic, tired approach to social issues.  

When I had the opportunity to work in government I realized that once the questions were framed the government could lead people to the answer they want. I suspect in this exercise the results will be what the government has already decided the answer will be.

The appointing of an advocate hides the real issue, which is in my mind, that the social safety net hat we have is not working. The issues seniors have are the same issues that people with mental illness have, the same issues that people with disabilities have, the same issue that children and parents in poverty have, the same issues that people with dementia have. Each group thinks they have special needs, and that they deserve special attention, and perhaps they do, but the issues of housing, food security, transportation, stigma, education and inclusion (to name a few) are common to all groups. Rather than isolating each group our society should be addressing the common issues and finding ways to improve these for all of us.

I resent the idea that once I reach a certain age, I have somehow lost the capacity to think or advocate for myself. I am a person who has take the term for myself as a Sonic Boomer, because I resent the stigma that society has for  the terms senior, older person,or elderly.

So I do not believe we need a Seniors' Advocate, I believe we need a society that works to address social issues for all and that we need to as a society begin by removing the stigma attached to terms such as mental illness, people in poverty, dementia and people with instabilities.

Journeys and stages of life

I was hoping to be fully retired again  (short version--retired, rehired the next day part-time moved to full time within two years, quit, rehired on a temp basis).  About a week ago the person I was replacing phoned to say they were not coming back untlil September, and I find myself thinking about crossroads. Which steps should I take towards rearranging the present circumstances of my life.

Maybe I could stop dwelling upon the present circumstances of my life. I might start thinking that every wrinkle, scar, or gray hair only made me more handsome rather than older :-). If I was to look back on life would I wonder if every tear I've shed, every mistake I've made, and challenge I've faced,only drew me closer to the light? And what if, for every breath I've taken, every sentence I've spoken, and every path I've chosen, that my fans in the unseen multiplied?

While I was hoping to restart my new journey of retirement, at the same time I was feeling anxious and vulnerable. I know that it is only natural to feel vulnerable, but it is an interesting place to be in at times. The last two times I have started on this journey I have retreated back into the world of work that I know so well, one that as a workaholic, I found very comfortable. I know that at this time part of the anxiety I feel is that it seems that I have much to lose. But I am reminded that never again, at any other point in in this journey, will I have so much to gain.

So at this point rather that going adventurng into the world of retirement full steam ahead, I am stalled for two more months,  and for a workaholics like me out any words of advice would help.