Portfolio of Self?

[a2jc4life]

Have any of you ever compiled a portfolio of yourself?  This is something I've been tossing around as kind of a conglomerate of life coaching studies, design studies, and capstone requirements.  Let me see if I can explain what I mean by that.

I don't mean a portfolio in the classic sense of showing representative work, like a design portfolio or the portfolio one might put together for PLA (although there might be some overlap).

I'm thinking more in terms of the "me as a project" version of a design process book.  A design process book contains all the parts and pieces of a design project, as well as the "records" produced by the process, like mindmaps, brainstorming lists, etc., the working designs and ideas, and then the final product.  It isn't just the "cleaned-up" version of the final project that would be presented to a client; it's all the supporting data and "in-process" work, too.

So a personal version would be things like the results of various personality and/or strengths inventories, records of education and training, timelines of key life experiences. etc.  I'm thinking this could actually be super-useful in life coaching (helping people build these, to gain a better "big picture" view), but I'm at a bit of a loss regarding how to organize it.

ETA: Another similar concept, for comparison, might be an author's study of a character in his/her story.

[cookderosa]

Have any of you ever compiled a portfolio of yourself?  This is something I've been tossing around as kind of a conglomerate of life coaching studies, design studies, and capstone requirements.  Let me see if I can explain what I mean by that.

I don't mean a portfolio in the classic sense of showing representative work, like a design portfolio or the portfolio one might put together for PLA (although there might be some overlap).

I'm thinking more in terms of the "me as a project" version of a design process book.  A design process book contains all the parts and pieces of a design project, as well as the "records" produced by the process, like mindmaps, brainstorming lists, etc., the working designs and ideas, and then the final product.  It isn't just the "cleaned-up" version of the final project that would be presented to a client; it's all the supporting data and "in-process" work, too.

So a personal version would be things like the results of various personality and/or strengths inventories, records of education and training, timelines of key life experiences. etc.  I'm thinking this could actually be super-useful in life coaching (helping people build these, to gain a better "big picture" view), but I'm at a bit of a loss regarding how to organize it.

ETA: Another similar concept, for comparison, might be an author's study of a character in his/her story.

That's an interesting idea Rachel. I've seen CVs and resumes that were done as an infographic, is that kinda what you mean?

[a2jc4life]

Not exactly. I'll come back and reply here in a couple of weeks when I've finished my Design Project Book so I can share it as an example.

[Ideas]

So a personal version would be things like the results of various personality and/or strengths inventories, records of education and training, timelines of key life experiences. etc.  I'm thinking this could actually be super-useful in life coaching (helping people build these, to gain a better "big picture" view), but I'm at a bit of a loss regarding how to organize it.

I think that would be really insightful too. For the coaching client as well as the coach. I think it could be done in a simple workbook format with some images attached or pasted in.

[sanantone]

I think it would be a great idea for the client to put together a portfolio of himself/herself.

[cookderosa]

I think it would be a great idea for the client to put together a portfolio of himself/herself.

I agree with Sanantone.

I'm still not totally understanding, so I may be off, but this feels more like something that they could do to get insight into themselves as opposed to something that you'd create of yourself to "show" them is that right? Meaning, this isn't an employment marketing tool, rather this is a sample to help them get busy building one? If I were doing something like this for a client, I might take a fictitious approach instead of doing a real version of myself. Besides them not caring lol, it would be too private.

[a2jc4life]

Yes, Jennifer, that's correct. What I'm thinking of is NOT something that's meant for showing the way one would show a portfolio of work. It's a personal tool.

[a2jc4life]

I've finished my design process book for class.  You can see it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ke6u5x...sp=sharing

It starts with collecting all the relevant data, then moves on to brainstorming and idea exploration, and then has the final images only at the end.  This is a similar idea to what I'm envisioning to a "personal" portfolio.  Less the "finished product" at the end, and more the collection & process.

[katelynn]

Rachel, I think this is actually a genius idea. I've never heard of something like this before. I understand exactly what you mean, you explained it really well. It might be hard to understand for someone who isn't thinking of it in a therapeutic/self-awareness sense. I could see this being a great method of healing and clarity for a therapist to suggest to their clients, or even for the average person who would like to see the bigger picture of their life, all put together in order. 

My only concern would be that people wouldn't be brutally honest with themselves, especially therapy clients. I would argue that the average person lives in self-denial. Have you ever had a shared experience with someone, and then later on you heard them tell the story, but a different version of it? Almost like a romanticized version? I know that you clarified it wouldn't be a cleaned up version, I just think that would be a common issue with it. It's like how if you're 30 years old, those past 30 years are now just memories in your head. No one remembers all of it like you do, so you can tell them however you choose. If you then go to make a portfolio of those 30 years, you might be tempted (maybe even subconsciously) to re-write the important parts, like the traumatic bits. Sort of like self-soothing. That would defeat the whole purpose. This could enable that self-denial if they didn't follow the rules you set up, which doesn't really matter, because it's still a great idea if went about properly. 

For the every day person, it sounds like an amazing project. I like that it's something you'd have to keep adding to. Imagine a world where having a self-portfolio was the norm. Once you dated someone for about a year, you'd exchange portfolios for the day. Your kids would look through yours once they're old enough. Your best friend would be the only one of your friends who was allowed to see every page. 

Please make this happen hahaha.

[a2jc4life]

Thank you, Katelynn; it helps to have some reassurance that I'm not totally crazy. haha

I have to think through how to make this a process someone can follow. Some things seem kind of obvious -- for instance, I have an MBTI profile, a StrengthsFinder test, etc. Those results are obvious pieces to include. But some things are not so clear and objective. It's harder to figure out how to tell someone to integrate them, and then how best to organize it.