Phew!! This week sees me celebrating a first. The first successful delivery of my online programme Imposter Syndrome Sources and Solutions! I’m still in the slightly shocked phase, processing everything, all the things I had to learn to get the content out and and all the things I still have to learn as I reflect on what worked and what would make it even better. I’ll simply say “Thank you” and promise you an update later.
I can hardly believe that we are now six months into lockdown or whatever lockdown has become in your part of the world as there certainly are different experiences emerging.
In conversation within a social media group this week someone suggested they were resilient, like a ball bouncing back while another participant shared that she was feeling fragile and dented… And I remembered something I first read many years ago that might be relevant here – Brian G. Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola, delivered this as Georgia Tech Institute’s Commencement Address in 1991:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – Work – Family – Health – Friends – Spirit, and you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”
Now my intention here is not to promise that everything apart from work is so fragile that it will shatter – in the areas of relationships or health we can sometimes make mistakes and still repair through apology or new behaviours that actually make things stronger – but the lesson is not to take the parts of life outside of work for granted. We need to invest in our health, our growth, our relationships.
In the address, Brian Dyson gave some practical suggestions as to how we could invest in ourselves:
- Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special. - Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you. - Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless. - Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life. - Don’t give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. - Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us together. - Don’t be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave. - Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings. - Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
- Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
- Don’t be afraid to learn.
Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily. - Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
- Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift:
that’s why we call it – the present.
As a coach or trainer I could take pretty much any one of these and turn it into a coaching session or webinar. If you were to take even one of these to heart and to practice this week, which would it be?
Which of these resonates with you, speaks to your needs or inspires you? Do let me know!
Enjoy your week!
Margaret