Personal Imprint Profiling

Are you a RACE HORSE, a WORK HORSE, or, perhaps, a UNICORN? 

Or maybe, like me, you’re not very good at taking personality or psychological profiling tests.  Almost invariably I fit either “All of the Above”, “None of the Above” or something completely off-the-paper among multiple choice question options.  Some might say I’m indecisive.  Part of it may be my reluctance to being “pigeon-holed”.  I also can’t deny some inclination toward figuring out and “beating” whatever algorithm of analysis is being applied to paint my wagon some proscribed off-the-shelf color.  But nobody has yet come up with a formulation that seems to fit precisely ME! 

I knew I was “different” early on.  Nobody had to tell me that.  But I didn’t know exactly how. 

A recent reading of Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out by John Calipari provided some valuable enlightenment: 

“Another thing I get to observe is how classroom smarts and academic achievement relate to what we often call basketball IQ.  I always want a kid who’s a good student, but I don’t fool myself into thinking that it automatically correlates with being a smart player.  It doesn’t. 

You can be a good student even if you’re a slow processor.  You read your assignments, study the material, think, and then write the paper or take the test.  You might be a person who has to sit there for a while until you have the aha moment and you’ve got it figured out. 

A guy like this can be on the dean’s list as a student, but he’s slow thinking on the basketball court … he actually might not even see the situation as fast as one of the other players – or he sees it but takes longer to process it.”  (p. 206) 

All of a sudden, never so much too soon, after reading this I realize I was a “slow processor” ... on the basketball court, on the baseball diamond, on the football field, and in the classroom. 

But I’ve been “bullish” on getting stuff “right” and DONE – as well as on “reading between the lines” and creatively piecing together potential correlations others don’t see.  This inclination served me exceptionally well in the pursuit of biomedical research … after a semester of remedial reading during my freshman year in college! 

However, I now realize why I’ve had to sacrifice a lot more than most to get where I’ve gone.  I’m just SLOW!  It’s why I had to give up my first love of music for 30+ years during postsecondary education and advanced career development.  It’s why I don’t do Twitter or play Candy Crush, GTA 5, Call of Duty or Angry Birds or watch sitcoms or late night TV [I first learned who Luke & Laura Spencer are on the NBC News, Monday, July 27, 2015 during an announcement of Luke’s departure from whatever show they were on.  I didn’t get the feeling I’d missed much!]  … or go to movies or play golf or surf the web … or a whole lot of other stuff lacking a tangible contribution toward sustainability or ultimate value.  I’m simply too slow to do all that and still keep my head above water! 

You may be a “slow processor”, too!  Or you may have other “extenuating circumstances” that demand more of your energy and attention than you can efficiently or effectively manage. 

But that’s OK!   Whatever your personal imprint or profile, and whatever your limitations, adjustments can always be made to advance knowledge, improve skills and become a faster processor.  This we learn most graphically from “Unlikely Champions” who overcome severe deficits to rise to the top of the field of their greatest passion.  We may not all, each or any become NCAA sports heroes, but we can BE what we CAN be! 

Above all, we don’t have to apologize for or feel bad about not measuring up to somebody else’s standards in somebody else’s game on somebody else’s time frame.  Finding our own game and then pushing it for all we’re worth will eventually get us where we’re going – even if we’re a “slow processor” with multiple barriers to overcome. 

Anyone who ever said it would be easy is either wildly misinformed or grossly misleading or playing in a league far below their potential.  Sweat will be generated, scars will appear, and sacrifices will be made.  Even “fast processors” have to do due diligence in skill-building, mental preparation, endurance expansion, practice practice, practice, and repetition, repetition, repetition.  Progressively getting better, faster, more efficient, more knowledgeable, more in command and control, and more effective is the name of the game. 

Best news of all:  You can CHANGE your Personal Imprint Profile!   While I definitely started out as a “slow processor” … and was also a “slow developer” … I can now function as a “fast processor” in at least three areas – mainly because I paid my dues, put in the effort, made the sacrifices, and now have a reference framework on what to look for (NOTE: being able to anticipate/envision the possibilities and probabilities is an earned gift even fast processors have to acquire) and have a well-stocked arsenal of options on what to do with it. 

“Anyone can learn anything if given enough time.  Success (mastery) is the result of hard work, determination, and never give up / never surrender / never satisfied persistence.”  Tom Walters 

Anyone can also become a millionaire if given enough time.  But the time-value of applied effort has to be understood and rigorously engaged; it makes no sense to work minimum wage for 100 years in order to earn a million dollars; you will have had to spend it all in the process just to stay alive.

Whatever your Personal Imprint Profile, let’s get it working NOW – and advance it as we can – to get the full benefit of everything that’s in us!   Quartermaster