Willingness to Learn with BrightSunset61

Hey friends, nice to see you again! It's time for another leader interview, and this week we have the honor and pleasure of chatting with @BrightSunset61. We hope you enjoy :)

Hi hello Bright, thanks for doing this interview! We really appreciate your time and look forward to your wisdom :)

Hey there! 🧡 Thank you for this lovely opportunity. I will try my best to share what I have learnt so far.

You’re very active on the listener side of Cups, through both Mentoring and the Listener Daily Check-In Team. What was the transition like for you when you first joined the site listening to members and then made your way over to supporting fellow listeners?

That’s a good question. I have been here for years now. I joined as a listener back in 2016. Back then, listening to members helped me realize how little I know about people’s sufferings and things we endure throughout our lives. It was a new experience for me. It changed the way I looked at everything, for better. I learned a thing or two about empathy then. Taking on community roles, well originally that was not in the plans for me. However, after taking some roles last year, supporting listeners with QLP or as a Project Agent with Listener Check-Ins Program gave me a more stable purpose here at 7cups. I found myself more focused contributing to fellow listeners.

As a Community Mentor for the Listener Learning Community and the Mentor Leader for the Quality Listening Program, you have a hand in training listeners as they work on improving their supportive skills. What are the biggest tips you can give to listeners trying to improve their quality?

That is a lovely question! And that’s correct, I get the opportunity to support and help my fellow listeners learn from the best of what I can give and I’m grateful to be able to do that. If we’re talking about a very general growth on 7Cups, as a listener and a leader, I’ll have to highlight just one thing, that is the willingness to learn and receiving feedback with an open mind. Goes a long way!

While you volunteer your time to assist other listeners in their growth and journeys, you’re also still growing in your own! As a trainee in the Content Developing and Marketing Program, can you tell us about what you enjoy and are learning from the program?

I am glad you brought it up. I am still learning with each day. And about CDM, it helped me explore the various ways by which I could express myself in a better way, I’d say? With an overview, CDM does have a lot to offer but it also comes with an unique opportunity to help explore yourself, which was the best part for me.

Also, there’s one crucial thing I would like to add here. Although I did enjoy my time at CDM, I realized I wasn't able to continue with it due to other roles at 7cups and my work off cups and eventually I had to drop out. This taught me a lesson if nothing else, and that is I shouldn’t bite off more than I can chew.

You’ve been on 7Cups for 6 years! What changes and growth have you seen in our communities since 2016?

This one got me thinking hard, haha! Changes have been constant throughout the community. I’m grateful to have met so many great listeners and leaders through these 6 years, and also learn from them. I really appreciate everyone joining the community to bring more to it. We’ve surely come a long way and I wish us well on the journey ahead too!

Having been active on the site for so long, what tips can you give us to prevent burnout and remember our own self-care?

Self-care is, without a doubt, the most important part of our journey! Can’t pour from an empty cup, now can we? I happen to take regular breaks and organise my work on Cups, put them under slots, so that I don’t end up pushing myself to do any more than I can. A good thing to note here is, if we continue working in a compromised state of being, it adversely affects the quality of our work too.

We so greatly appreciate all that you do for us and our communities! What has 7Cups given back to you in these past 6 years?

That is so kind of you to say that. I really appreciate it 🧡 What has 7cups given to me! Wonderful memories to cherish, great learning experiences, some great friends, and mentors I’ll never forget. So, a lot, a lot lot!

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