OK, maybe you should.
I was prompted by a story I heard on a podcast. A woman corrected her young child in a store for saying thank you to an employee that had just passed them some ice cream. The mother explained that this person had a job and that meant they did not need to say thank you. Interesting concept and interesting parenting choice. It challenged me. I am a habitual thanker. Why? Is it still relevant? Anyway I slice it, I still think it is good, but in defense of this headline and the parent…here is where I have come out. I try to thank my team mates. I am sure I am not the easiest person to work with, but I truly appreciate what they do every day. Without them our mission would be impossible. They are the ones that do it. All of it. The grind and the good. They are the ones to fulfill any promise I make. I am thankful. I really try to thank our customers. They have a choice. They have a phone book, they have Google. I see the competition. My ability to achieve my goals and dreams is directly related to the people that choose to do business with me. I am thankful. Not in an asymmetric way, but in a way that lets them know I get it. They had a choice. They did their homework, they made a choice. They are trusting us. I recognize that people don’t love making decisions. I am thankful. Maybe the point I am challenged by is that it shouldn’t be just words. Maybe that is the point. Maybe I use it too cheaply. When I express thanks, am I really summing up my feelings of gratitude’s or is it an empty platitude. A bookend to a conversation. As always the audio must match the video. What we say has to match what we do…I resolve to have my actions match my words. Perhaps we can all engage just a little more deeply, communicate more sincerely and thank a little more. So go ahead forget the headline and say thank you, just really mean it. Thank you for taking the time to read this…I am grateful.
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There was a time in my life when I was sure of everything.
Then there came a time when I was sure of nothing. As I started out in the workplace I developed the bad habit of not being honest in my self-appraisal. Call it false humility. Low self-esteem or just setting a standard too high. I could never cut myself the slack I naturally extended to others. It evolved into a habit of not being confident about my skill set and what I had to offer the world. Unfortunately like many immature people I probably over compensated with bravado or cockiness, all the time questioning myself. This is where I had the unmerited favor to be found by a mentor. I have had more than one or two mentors along the way. Coming into my life for the season required. They had the ability to speak into my life at the right moment in the right way. They spoke in a way that was uplifting and encouraging without using false platitudes. They didn't take the shortcut of just trying to give an ego boost. Along the way mentors have shared their time, their skill and allowed me to come alongside to learn. Some even put me in a position to execute in a way that would allow me to discover the things that they had seen from the very beginning. To be clear, I made and still make mistakes. True to form mentors are there with sensitive, honest feedback that allows me to continue the process of growth. Today, while still on a journey of working hard with goal centered improvement, I am so very thankful for those that took the time to mentor me and set me on this path. To all the mentors that see a spark and take time and effort to help fan the flame of development…I hope you get the opportunity to know the difference you make. If you were made better by a mentor, take the time to make sure they know the difference they made. When we develop people, we develop families. We develop business and communities. The rising tide lifts all boats. We are all better because of it. So you set the goal. Work hard. Hit it…now what? What next…? Much has been said about how to set a goal. Spending time to identify and set a goal. Getting through the process to achieve it. We are told to set the goal, identify the obstacles, and create plans to overcome them. Timeline it with required resources…Rinse, lather, repeat. When I was younger there was no end to goals I wanted to achieve. Maybe that was you too? We start off with maybe a few easy ones, you hit them and then you start to get the hang of it. Time to celebrate and enjoy it, you earned it. As you get older you focus in on the big goals. What do you want for your family? What do you want to learn about next? How much money do you want to earn? What role do you want to have next or end up in? What kind of company do you want to work for? These goals can start to be really big and need years and maybe even decades to figure out. If you are lucky and you factored all the variables you hit the goal. If you do the process right, you pick good goals, hard goals, goals that take time. You hit them…it is great, maybe even life changing. …but here’s what is not discussed, written, or blogged about. Then what? In my experience it can create a vacuum. You have been working on the goal for a while. It has been your compass and direction, your North Star. Every day you knew what you were working towards. That vacuum can be tough to overcome. A sky without stars is tough to navigate in. It can feel rudderless, directionless. However, this is just the illusion that comes about from being rusty. Too much time spent working on goals rather than setting them. The trick is getting back to the beginning. The imagining stage. To see the world as is it could be. You have done it before, you just need to remember the way. If this is where you are, remember you are one of the lucky ones that has set and hit a goal. Get out the blank page and think of the future again. Only this time go bigger. This time go further. You will be so glad you did. |
Authorthese are just the thoughts of someone who used to know more but now knows less... This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategoriesArchives
June 2023
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