I am NOT perfect. What an epiphany, right? Not really. I am human just like everyone else. I am on this career journey, and trying to figure out who I should be, how I should behave, what steps I should take, what to say and how to say it in order to get ahead. I feel confident in myself, even on my bad days, but where I sometimes lose faith is in the ability of the decision-makers to be objective and fair. In the last few years I have grown as a professional. I was perusing some of my writings from several years ago and came across this one. I felt sad when I read it, because I remember how I felt at the time when I wrote it. I remember feeling so wrongly perceived, judged, and mistreated. I remember working hard, taking on extra work, volunteering for special projects, and putting forth everything I was capable of at that time. I remember never seeming to be able to catch a break. I remember applying to many opportunities to no avail. This is how I felt back then:
Now let’s discuss this twisted paradigm, clearly in need of a hard shift, that I find myself situated right smack in the center of.
Let us, for a moment, consider that the world is not fair and will likely never reach the half-way point to fairness, let alone the pinnacle.
We advance in this life because we are talented, and intelligent, and capable, and willing, right? Wrong. Imagine that a wrecking ball just hit me in the forehead.
Funny, huh? Not so much.
Let us, for a moment, consider that the world is not fair and will likely never reach the half-way point to fairness, let alone the pinnacle.
We advance in this life because we are talented, and intelligent, and capable, and willing, right? Wrong. Imagine that a wrecking ball just hit me in the forehead.
Funny, huh? Not so much.
An epiphany has consumed my mind and invaded my heart, my passion. I shall describe for you my previous vision, distorted as it was.
Here goes:
Work hard.
Be kind and thoughtful.
Make intelligent decisions.
Create change through your efforts.
Pursue, persist, be patient…blah, blah, blah.
Now, you are either laughing at the absurdity of my naivety, or you are squinting at your computer screen inquisitively and asking yourself, “Where is she going with this?”
There are people in this world who can talk their way into or out of anything and there are people in this world who put their nose to the grindstone.
The ‘talkers’ don’t actually have any tangible knowledge to contribute, they just have an extensive vocabulary and an uncanny knack for talking in circles in such a way that whilst they are speaking, they will drive your thought away from the original focus, and navigate you right off the map.
Then they stop…look at you, because you are standing there looking puzzled at how you arrived at such a location in your thoughts, and before you can even re-route to the originally planned destination – they are gone.
As you stand there, watching the back of their head as they walk away, you are left with a feeling of something left undone. Now, I generally will explain anything to anyone, because it has always been my wish for people to clearly understand concepts and ideas and to not be left confused.
So, my revelation disembarks. All this time I have been travelling around with this silly notion about how to get ahead in the world; reading everything, listening to everything, soaking in knowledge like a sponge, because someday it will pay off. Someday, someone important will see how brilliant I am, what a great leader I have become, and how inspired and inspiring I can be.
Now, imagine the wrecking ball swinging away from my forehead, and a gigantic, million-watt light bulb emblazoned over my splattered brain.
Duh! All this time I have had it all wrong.
Here goes:
Work hard.
Be kind and thoughtful.
Make intelligent decisions.
Create change through your efforts.
Pursue, persist, be patient…blah, blah, blah.
Now, you are either laughing at the absurdity of my naivety, or you are squinting at your computer screen inquisitively and asking yourself, “Where is she going with this?”
There are people in this world who can talk their way into or out of anything and there are people in this world who put their nose to the grindstone.
The ‘talkers’ don’t actually have any tangible knowledge to contribute, they just have an extensive vocabulary and an uncanny knack for talking in circles in such a way that whilst they are speaking, they will drive your thought away from the original focus, and navigate you right off the map.
Then they stop…look at you, because you are standing there looking puzzled at how you arrived at such a location in your thoughts, and before you can even re-route to the originally planned destination – they are gone.
As you stand there, watching the back of their head as they walk away, you are left with a feeling of something left undone. Now, I generally will explain anything to anyone, because it has always been my wish for people to clearly understand concepts and ideas and to not be left confused.
So, my revelation disembarks. All this time I have been travelling around with this silly notion about how to get ahead in the world; reading everything, listening to everything, soaking in knowledge like a sponge, because someday it will pay off. Someday, someone important will see how brilliant I am, what a great leader I have become, and how inspired and inspiring I can be.
Now, imagine the wrecking ball swinging away from my forehead, and a gigantic, million-watt light bulb emblazoned over my splattered brain.
Duh! All this time I have had it all wrong.
I don’t actually have to be smart; I just have to talk like I am!
Fortunately for me, I have not only become very smart over time, but I have learned how to talk like I am. The view can only be up up up from here, right?
Fortunately for me, I have not only become very smart over time, but I have learned how to talk like I am. The view can only be up up up from here, right?
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