Looking back to Hō‘imi Forward
Hō‘imi is another Hawaiian value, one that blends parts of Managing with Aloha’s ‘Imi ola (create your best possible life) and Ka lā hiki ola (hope, promise, and optimism), with generous helpings of Nānā i ke kumu (look to your source, particularly with Sense of Place).
Hō‘imi is a powerhouse in value-verbing, for it literally means to look forward, looking for better and best, and to do something about what you see. There is an element of restlessness with it, and the wanting to move on, shift, and tweak things, yet that discontent of Hō‘imi is positive and eager — for again, it expects better and best to be waiting in the wings.
The looking and ‘to look’ part (imi) is a distinction of Hō‘imi: Visualization and visionary thinking is a big part of it. You look at what is, to see it as clearly as you can, and you look toward better and best possibility — you expect that possibility is where you can see it, even if only in mind’s eye. At least for now.
We call it the value of positive expectancy, because the confidence in Hō‘imi is convicted by the experience of doing and getting things done. Remember, values reside in people, and in the elements of our human nature.
Just imagine the powerful, proactive punch in the value pairing of Hō‘imi and Ho‘ohana!
Look Back with appreciation, See Forward more clearly.
We’re within the final stretch of 2018, and it’s a good time for this exercise using our 19 Values of Aloha.
For my business, I like to do this as a team journaling practice during Thanksgiving week because the value of Mahalo is so pervasive: We are more appreciative, we speak to our thankfulness much more readily, and gratitude influences our reflections. We “live in thankfulness for the richness that makes life so precious at work and at home, and we are able to sense our gifts elementally.”
Thus, at Say Leadership Coaching, we do this individually first, and then we compare notes as a team in one of our Thanksgiving week huddles.
Christmastide week (between Christmas and New Years Day) is when I will turn to this exercise on a personal basis.
I have structured the rest of this post in workbook page form for those of you who prefer digital ease: Copy-and-paste the section below, and then add more writing space to it before you print. The exercise is simple, but I do encourage you to take your time with it. Give some thought to the “trigger phrase” after each value’s name which I have taken from our “language of we” used here on this site. Then, write down 2 impressions for each value — express your current mana‘o.
Look Back (value-verbing done): How did you turn this value into a verb in 2018? How might it have expressed itself in a life of its own, taking you for the ride? What has that meant to you as a keeper, and lesson-learned? If it was barely a blip on your radar, just skip it and move on to the others, and move on to the next part.
See Forward (value-mapping desired): How do you want to use this value in 2019? Is there something specific you intend to do? Why? Do you have any partnership with someone else in mind, or a tangible goal it connects to?
As part of 2. See Forward, you may want to give it a theme, (similar to what I did here in 2013: Going Forward into 2013, with Aloha and here in the beginning of 2018: Good) for the double duty of this exercise, is that it can be your draft to Value Your Month to Value Your Life in the coming year.
One more coaching: Focus. It is easier to say “no” to extra baggage and the irrelevant, when there is a burning “yes” inside you. You may not call that “yes” your Ho‘ohana yet, but this can be a start.
1. Aloha ~ the value of your Aloha Spirit
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
2. Ho‘ohana ~ the worthwhile work of choice
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
3. ‘Imi ola ~ personal vision in professional mission
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
4. Ho‘omau ~ your tenacity, persistence and resilience
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
5. Kūlia i ka nu‘u ~ your striving for those higher summits of accomplishment
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
6. Ho‘okipa ~ being of service in Aloha
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
7. ‘Ohana ~ surrounding yourself with other people
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
8. Lōkahi ~ standing up for your individual role, collaborating with your team
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
9. Kākou ~ speaking with Aloha in all communications
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
10. Kuleana ~ taking on responsibility, and new readiness in accountability
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
11. ‘Ike loa ~ lessons learned, and the 2015 curriculum you desire
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
12. Ha‘aha‘a ~ humility opens us up, and will sometimes surprise us
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
13. Ho‘ohanohano ~ distinctive behaviors in dignity and respect
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
14. Alaka‘i ~ What was your Managing / Leading ratio, and will you shift it?
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
15. Mālama ~ the definition and objectives of your stewardship
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
16. Mahalo ~ actions in appreciation, thankfulness, and gratitude
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
17. Nānā i ke kumu ~ your Sense of Place and your health
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
18. Pono ~ your sense of balance, and personal/professional integration
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
19. Ka lā hiki ola ~ “the dawning of a new day” and your Sense of Hope
Looking back:
Seeing forward:
After you’ve completed your worksheet, write a paragraph which sums up your impressions. Capture whatever it is you’re thinking. Now put it aside to sleep on it.
Be an arrow, shot with Hō‘imi attitude
When you find pockets of quiet time in the holiday days to come, play with your worksheet a bit more, and decide what you’ll do with what you’ve learned, and what you now perceive as your current truths. These, after all, will be a draft of your own intentions.
In playing around with it, you might want to reorder these values in groups, in value pairings, or for batching and project-steering. The usefulness of this exercise is all about the choices you make: Ethos.
Postscript:
When Managing with Aloha was written 14 years ago, I had identified 48 different Hawaiian values in my studies with kūpuna. Hō‘imi was not included in the 19 Values of Aloha of my book because I chose to focus on Hawai‘i’s ‘rootstock values’ as a universal collection. Hō‘imi is, however, one of the Core 5 Values of my company, Say Leadership Coaching.
