This post is part of an archived series of blogs called The LeVine Line, written by former Ambassador Suzan G. LeVine during her time at U.S. Embassy Bern.
21 September 2015
Last year, I introduced the concept of Cheshbon Nefesh in this post (accounting of the soul) – where one looks back at what they’ve accomplished and looks ahead to set goals. Last year, my focus was on Trust and Openness – throughout my personal and professional life.
I feel like I’ve made some progress on that this year – and I hope that others around me – and those who are tracking on the relationship between our countries – have seen progress on this front. There’s always more work to do, but, again, I think we got some excellent traction.
This next year – well – I think it’s important to continue the focus on Trust and Openness. Plus – I will add a focus on sustainability and scalability. If you have enough catalytic energy, you can do many many things. BUT – how do you sustain and grow those things once the catalytic energy is being used to launch something else?
As I look at the initiatives we’ve launched and/or the positive momentum we’ve generated, I want to look at how we keep them going! Launch and last, not launch and leave – you know?
Sustainability and scalability are also concepts that, I think, can apply to one’s life. In the microwave culture in which we live where our food is cooked in 30-60 seconds and where our written communications are often whittled down to 140 characters or less, it is harder than ever to have long-lasting connections and to really create meaning. I’m not sure what shape this might take, but I’m looking forward to exploring.
