Being confident and optimistic and full of energy and
enthusiasm is easy when things are good.
You make great choices. You take
the time to plan your next move. You
thrive on the small victories and confidently work your way beyond your goals. While you are working hard, the hard work
doesn’t feel so hard because your efforts are being so amply rewarded with
success. Each victory fuels the
next. You take the time to be
healthy. You take the time to give to
your community. You are more
creative. You are more thoughtful. You ensure you are meeting all your
obligations, both professionally and personally. When you are on your game, very few things
get missed. Friends are called. Family is taken care of. Miles area logged. Blogs are written. Life is good.
Sometimes things just don’t go the way you want.
Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t go the way you want,
for an extended period of time.
It is during these drawn out periods, when the success you crave and have come to expect continually
alludes you, that uncertainty sets in.
Everything you have always believed in, is put into question. The strengths you were always so proud of,
seem to dim. The confidence with which
you have always approached every situation becomes frail and almost transparent. You question everything and find very few
answers.
The test…Try being the person you are when you are hitting
your targets and achieving your goals, when you are not. It’s not easy. Trust me.
I’ve always been aware of my extremely high need for
happiness. Like most people, I am at my
best when I am enjoying what I am doing.
I am a goal junkie. Put those two
things together and you have a person who experiences happiness and enjoys what
they are doing when they are achieving their goals. In 2014 and the first part of this year, a big hairy audacious challenge has been put
before me. Despite best efforts and more
hours then I care to admit to working, goals have not been met. Initially,
while my ego was bruised, I saw the missed mark as a chance to practice
what I preach and approach things differently.
I got creative, I dug deep and I went at my goals again. Again, a miss.
I’m not a quitter. As the goals
continued to allude me, I dug deeper and deeper and deeper. The
hours got longer; the tasks more daunting, but I did not give up. As 2014 came to a close, I was working more
and more hours, sleeping less and less and still not hitting the targets. 2015 started the same way. I knew I wasn’t being the person I wanted to
be. I was sacrificing important stuff. I was missing important stuff. I wasn’t
being the person I enjoy being and I certainly wasn’t feeling very darn
proud. It’s not easy being the person you are when
you are experiencing success, when you are not and yet, it is so vitally
important. In fact, it is more important
to be that person when times are hard and recently, I have accepted that .
My kick in the butt occurred when I realized my family was
kinda tip-toeing around me. At first, I
thought to myself “what the heck is
their problem??”. And then I realized,
the problem was mine.
My husband is an incredible coach and my biggest fan.
I see myself in my daughter constantly and if that isn’t
motivation, I am not sure what is.
With their help and unwavering support, I am on a mission to
be happy, be confident, be determined and fight for the success I crave with everything
I’ve got. The fight will be fought
strategically and not at the expense of everything else that is important, in
my life. In fact, I’ve come to realize
that it’s those other personal things that will fuel my professional victory. Being healthy, spending time with family, achieving
personal goals is my way to professional success.
Shamefully, somehow I had forgotten that.
I remember now and I am committed. J
Here is to a successful professional mission fueled by multiple
personal happiness projects.
Until next time….
tbg
