It seems we go through times in our life and work where we are presented with challenges, opportunities, teachers, gifts and lessons about our path and direction.
These times give us a chance to see what’s working for us, what isn’t, learn the lesson and then break the patterns. This has been one of those times for me, so I wanted to pass along some of the lessons that have shown up for me this week.
1. Always stand up for yourself and what’s right for you. This week I finally said ‘enough is enough’ and took a stand for what was right for me. I stood up for myself, and also took a stand for my career and business. I’ve realized, being a compassionate human being, it’s sometimes a little too easy for others to step on you. This week, I was presented with mulitple ways and different people with whom I could practice this valuable lesson of taking a stand for what was right for me.
2. Drive your life, don’t let anyone else take the wheel. This, by far, has been the biggest lesson. Waking up to the realization that being a people-pleaser doesn’t serve me, and putting everyone else’s needs and demands above and before my own will not only cause burnout and resentment, it directly takes me away from my goal and larger purpose of how I want to contribute to the world and bring value to others. Driving my life must become a priority, the same as driving your own life must also become a priority for you. We simply have to fight for what we want. It must come first. And, we must break any pattern or habit that directly takes us away from creating and fulfilling that desire in our own life.
3. Your skills are not always your strengths. I’m skilled at many things. I’m super fast at tasks, I’m fairly above average when it comes to technology, but I’m admittedly not the best when it comes to accuracy and precision. My strength is in the sheer quantity of the work and volume I can produce, finding ways to strategize and see a bigger vision, and producing end results. I’ve realized that others have taken my skills and seen them as strengths I should use, yet these aren’t the strengths I’m passionate about utilizing. A skill doesn’t mean it’s a strength, and a strength doesn’t mean it’s a passion. This lesson was about remembering that just because you can do something, and just because you know how to do something, doesn’t mean you are actually good at doing it, nor is it what you are meant to be doing with your life.
My commitment to you is to stay focused on the ways I can serve the most people with the biggest impact possible. To let go of the small stuff, drive my own life, and focus on the activities that are both my strengths and my passions.
What lessons and gifts have you learned lately? What commitment can you make to ensure these lessons don’t continue to show up for you? How would utilizing these lessons allow you to serve more and make a greater impact?
