It’s been a while since I’ve heard from Rick, who always asks interesting “systems questions.” Today he asked: “I was just wondering what steps people can take to not be guided by the emotional programming they have acquired from their family of
origin. How does one learn to separate oneself from this programming?”

That’s a tall order, but then, it describes well the work of differentiation, doesn’t it?

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A new series titled “Systems Ju-jitsu” begins today at the Perspectives on Congregational Leadership blog: http://perspectivesig.blogspot.com/2010/05/systems-ju-jitsu-part-1.html

Today someone asked how the job is going, two years into the deanship. If it’s between “10. The best job ever;” or, “6. I’d rather shoot my eye out with a nail gun;” and “3. I’m recommending my worst enemy for this job;” I’d say most of the time it’s a “7. It’s a challenge.”

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