The Entrepreneurial Adventures of Gabe Meyer

Reflect on the IDI workshop from Monday:

• Did your results surprise you?

Yes, my results most definitely surprised me. I don’t know if I was just too vague on answering some of the questions or if this is a valid assessment but I scored much lower than expected. This really surprised me because after living in another country for two years I would think that I would not still be in such a low phase of the Intercultural Development Continuum. However, while living in Panamá it often seemed a lot like the U.S. even though it was qualified as a developing country. I think this could definitely attribute towards the much lower-than-expected score. Even though I was living outside of the U.S. it didn’t always seem like I was that far away.

• What feelings came up for you during the IDI workshop?

The IDI workshop really had me thinking about all of the intercultural experiences I’ve had. I was feeling proud for our class that we were taking this into consideration but also slightly bummed that Americans need this direct tutoring on intercultural behavior. This is especially embarrassing for our nation when the U.S. is supposed to be a mixing pot. Often instead what seems to happen is it just becomes a segregated mixing pot where not much mixing can take place. I do wonder though, what someone’s score who is from another country and has lived in that other country all their life would look like?

• What was your biggest takeaway from that day? Why did it resonate?

My biggest takeaway from that day was that no matter where you are on the Intercultural Development Continuum we all can still improve. This takeaway was only enhanced after reviewing my scores where I was placed much lower than previously expected. I think this resonated with me because of how much we covered what the transformations look like between each stage. It also really resonated with me because it is often common that we overestimate our abilities and unsurprisingly this is somewhat of a similar situation.

Reflect on your experience at the E4 Shift N Share presentations:

• What is your experience with mind-mapping? How did it feel to use that to take notes? 

I wouldn’t say I have immense amounts of experience with mind mapping, but I am certainly not the least experienced. Personally, I love mind mapping as a way to take notes. It is not often that I utilized it but when I do, it makes note-taking much more fun and relaxing. I think one of the main reasons I really like it is also because it creates more of a visual component to the notes. Rather than all of the words being organized line by line on regular paper mind mapping provides an image with lines of thoughts. This is really powerful for me.

• How do you learn best? Visually? Orally?

One of the reasons why I’d say this is so powerful for me is because I most definitely am a visual learner. When I was in third grade I got pulled out of school to be homeschooled. This was because after struggling with school and then being assessed by multiple psychologists I was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD. Taking me out of school helped me to catch back up through private teaching with my mom. One thing she always tried to do while teaching me was to provide a visual aspect. This is because of those diagnosed with dyslexia, about 85% of them think mostly in pictures. As a result, I learn best visually.

• Do you use a specific method of time management? If so, what is it? If not, how might you integrate one?

My method of time management at the time is a little bit more flexible. I have a monthly calendar with all of my class times as well as any specific appointments. I also have a planner where I write down due dates and anything I need to do and what day I think I need to do it on. After that, each day I will try to write out a schedule on my whiteboard of where I need to be and when. On this whiteboard, I will also write down the assignments I need to complete or at least start on for that day. This way by only having my actual classes and appointments limited to times I don’t get overwhelmed about not being on schedule with the rest of the work I need to complete that day.

• What habits are you trying to build in your life? What challenges are coming up with that? 

The core habit I am trying to build in my life right now is the habit of having positive mental health. The way I am achieving this goal or my “system” is to stay consistent with meditation, exercise, and sleep. I believe these are the core three for me since it seems like the habits of eating healthy and drinking enough water seem to already be thoroughly implemented into my natural rhythms, even if I don’t stay consistent 100% of the time with those. Specifically for each of these three subgoals, my goals are to meditate at least five times a week, work out at least three times a week, and sleep anywhere between 8.5 to 9 hours each night. The biggest problem I have run into with each of these is just a feeling of “there isn’t enough time.” I have recently been really combating this by trying to make an emphasis on prioritizing these aspects of my life. The reason I am doing this relates back to our talk a week ago with Arathi where her main point that I took away was, you will complete your best work when you are at your best mentally.

• Have you ever felt imposterism? If so, explain! How have you dealt or not dealt with that?

I don’t believe I have felt imposter syndrome, I do not feel I am currently in a position to be a victim of imposter syndrome. However, I may have experienced it in the past and just not noticed it or I might experience it more severely in the future.