I was initially excited about this trip because I was going to take the Perspectives Coordinator Workshop, and you know by now how much I LOVE this course. :) But by the beginning of last week, I was also looking forward to it in order to get awaaaay! The last two weeks were not good at work, so bad actually that it forced me to wake up to some things and lead me to want to make some changes in myself...finally! I needed to get away and gain a fresh perspective on my job and who I am on the job; have a major self re-evaluation.
I love having reflecting periods and even though it seems natural I would have planned this one since I just turned ten years on the job, I didn't, it came unexpectedly and with extreme force. I was all of the sudden confronted by my unhealthy patterns head on and realized it was time to make some alterations. I don't regret my past but do not want to move forward making the same mistakes that are so clear to me now. See, I realized I had no boundaries when it came to work, or extreeeeeemely loose ones that could be pushed around by anyone. I lost clarity on my role along the way, so of course the safety that a clear structure provides was lost as well. There is no way to stand up for yourself when you lose who you are, as if you were in a permanent fog. I was up and down in my heart all weekend as I was seeing my behavior patterns and feeling so discouraged and hopeless. As I processed through all those emotions though, I began to be ready to put some practical steps in place and began researching some things. A major boundary I need to establish is my schedule and within that time frame then, establish a productive mentality. I googled "work smarter" for this and the second listing was for an author on this exact matter, Stever Robbins. Never heard of him before, but every single thing on his website hit home, down to his introductory video, which I wrote down word for word! There is a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from him and am thankful to have come across his path. I'm getting his book and look forward to what else I can learn about having a balanced work life. :) My heart's desire is to be a diligent, productive employee, who understands her responsibilities and carries them out within her work boundaries. Hmm, that should be my mission statement huh - do people have work mission statements for themselves? I've never thought of that, but, here it is. :)
Today was actually my climax to all this (yes, that means major crying! ugh) as I met with my direct reports, which turns out by the way that they had planned to talk to me about a lot of the same things I brought up - awesome! Things were clarified, restructured and I feel like a lot of my fog has finally lifted. They did their part, I've acknowledged my part, so, nothing left but putting these things into play! I'm ready - no turning back, not holding on to my disappointments, only looking ahead now. I love my job, am thankful for my job and want it to be the blessing it's meant to be in my life. So, lessons learned and now moooooving on.
Thanks for checking in. And by the way, if want to check out my new-found author, here's his website: http://www.steverrobbins.com/
Happy productive working to YOU as well!!! Til next week.
=). Good stuff. Heather
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