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Dec 8, 2020

You can find show notes for Episode 154 at https://transformingmission.org/podcast

Thoughtfulness comes in many forms. It can take the form of a text message to check-in, an extra 15 minutes on a telephone call, or doing something to help someone. 

Mother Teresa said, “Thoughtfulness is the beginning of great sanctity. If you learn this art of being thoughtful, you will become more and more Christ-like, for his heart was meek and he always thought of others. Our vocation, to be beautiful, must be full of thought for others.”

On this journey of becoming more and more Christ-like, you’re invited to be full of thought for others. 

This week, you’ll experience this thoughtfulness in Beth Marshall. She shares how her Intellection talent theme guides her toward deepening relationships with others. You’ll hear examples of meeting people where they are and the importance of listening. 

Want to build thoughtful relationships with others? Start by listening. 

Clifton Strengths Mentioned in this Episode

  • Ideation - People exceptionally talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
  • Intellection - People exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.
  • Learner - People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
  • Input - People exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a need to collect and archive. They may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts, or even relationships.
  • Connectedness - People exceptionally talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links among all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has meaning.

Weekly Questions:

This week comes with a challenge and then a question, followed by another question. Keep reading, it will make sense after you do.

1. Here’s the challenge: as you ask someone a question, the challenge is to reframe that question. 

No, this isn’t a mindless exercise to reframe the question just for the sake of reframing it or playing a language game with yourself. The challenge is an invitation to pause and reflect. Give thought to how you might reframe the question so that someone might hear it differently in that first attempt to ask the question.

2. The second one is actually a question. How or where do you do your best thinking? 

And once you've identified that, here's the challenge: I want you to give yourself a gift this week. What’s the gift? The gift of time. Now, I know that this is a season that there are more things on the to-do list than normal and time is one of the things that you can’t multiply. But, giving yourself the time on your calendar to actually pause and do some of your best thinking is a gift. 

We're coming to the end of the year. And so you might think about what you celebrate this year? You might think about what are you looking forward to in the coming year? Or what goals are you setting for 2021? (Yes, I just modeled for you the first challenge.) 

These are just examples. You may have something else that you need to do some deep thinking about - go for it! The invitation is simply to give yourself the gift of the time to do that deep thinking this week. 

Mentioned in this episode