Comments on: Getting Back or Looking Back?

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:06:00 +0000

Nice analogy, Wendy.

Too many people stay stuck. It's less work than trying to figure out a way to break free. Kind of how content farms work on the psyche, I guess.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:06:32 +0000

If I didn't use experiences like the example, to learn from, then my shoe would still be caught on the bottom rung of the ladder of success and I would probably quit trying to get it unstuck and quit my dream altogether.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:08:22 +0000

And we live for sweet clarity, Hugh. :)

That self-assessment is a great idea. That you took it a step further and sought out feedback - golden. We can't know how we're coming across to folks unless we ask, right?

By: hugh.c.mcbride

hugh.c.mcbride — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:26:20 +0000

Wow -- talk about a timely post. Through much of the last 1/2 of 2010, I found myself spending *way* too much time looking back, particularly at a few missteps I'd made on the job. (Stunningly, this did not serve to enhance either my mindset or my performance going forward).

For me, a significant part of getting myself forward-focused again was to take a very honest look at which parts of the problem were due to my actions, & which weren't. Once I'd identified (and accepted) those factors, I was able to have a couple of frank conversations with a few folks of significance in my career.

This allowed me to express the misgivings I'd been having about my performance & to get feedback from some folks who were close to the situation yet (obviously) had seen things from a slightly different perspective than I had.

The result: Clarity. Sweet, sweet clarity :-)

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:25:12 +0000

Sarah, remember before those glory days? Consider today that same time, only your next glory days will come even sweeter than the last ones.

It's what keeps me going. :)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:18:22 +0000

Thanks for sharing this, Lori. I could definitely relate to your story. That nagging sense of self-doubt can be difficult to overcome. When I look back at the past, I tend to get totally nostalgic. There are a couple years that stand out from all the rest, and when I am having a bad day I wish myself back there. I want to value all those great memories, but not focus on them so much that I forget how blessed I am now to be doing what I’m doing. I want to find gratitude in today and not get stuck thinking about “glory days.”

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:44:33 +0000

Thank YOU, Nikki. It's something all of us need to hear, memorize, and act on.

I knew what you meant. Typos are welcome here. Shows we're human. :)

By: Nikki

Nikki — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:28:26 +0000

Gah (oh my typos).. and I should say that it's funny to ME. I mean it could be funny to many, who knows?

By: Nikki

Nikki — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:26:43 +0000

Thank you Lori - It is about the balance and for far too long I thought that in order to be successful at this I had to bring in the money. Well, I'm finally able to say I'm bringing in the money but in the process I lost my center and my love of the words that I was putting down. It was the mechanics of it all and so funny (to many anyway) that it took me actually seeing the money coming in to know that this wasn't making me happy or really more successful. My eyes see things differently than they did when I started and so now it's about loving what I do again.

I've definitely had my share of bad experiences and I'm glad to say that those negative experiences didn't break or sour me.

Jake, I am bookmarking Ithaca to read today, thank you for the inspiration.

Thank you again Lori, for understanding and seeing through my rambling! :)

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:17:21 +0000

Negative patterns - exactly that, Devon. Going back to fix those is exactly what we need to be doing.

That is awesome, Jake. Thanks for that. It fits perfectly with our journey.