| There's been an interesting window on the soul making the rounds on blog communities and journal pages. The Johari window is a personality awareness tool that illuminates the gap between what we think of ourselves and how others see us.
In the 1950s, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham invented this as an exercise to promote self-awareness and discovery. A subject picks five words from 55 that he or she feels best describe them, which is then followed by another participant known to the individual repeating the exercise judging the original subject. What follows is an interesting endeavour to reach a composite sketch of an individual. The results can be affirming or a wake-up call to the unaware.
Set up your own Johari window at kevan.org/johari. Choose from complimentary terms like able, clever and loving or somewhat less forgiving words like nervous or self-conscious. The Arena window is the agreed terms, the Blind Spot highlights how your friends see you, the Façade frames the terms you see in yourself but others do not, and the Unknown window is a list of words not selected.
If you're feeling particularly masochistic, sign up for the Nohari window at kevan.org/nohari. This window focuses on weaknesses rather than strengths – and with descriptors like weak, dull and callous, you'll need a thick skin. But as my friend Mason would say, "no one likes a coward." |
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