Beginning Again

Well, I made it through the second quarter and didn’t strangle any sales guys, so that counts as a big positive. Also, I have started July off on a good foot by doing chores with a good attitude and without grumbling (though no one but me would have heard). Finally, I’m up and going at normal time for a work day, even though my boss bid me to take today and tomorrow ahead of the holiday break easy and work from home, doing only essential tasks because I deserve a break. I will do so, but sticking to routine helps me avoid temptation to turn “work from home” into an unrecorded day off.

All of this and the train of thought that leads me to record it all form another start on my goals of positivity and personal growth. I’ve learned that progress in such things, for me, is actually a series of efforts rather than one long pull to the goal line. I’m not sure why that is. But I’m not unhappy about it. Growth still happens and it’s mostly conscious and intentional. That I seem to need to start out toward the same goal a lot doesn’t diminish the progress I make each time. And because I do start again, rather than give it up, is a meta-win. Not quitting is as important to me as starting in the first place.

So, I’m beginning again. Focusing on the good things, consciously avoiding negativity, and trying to bring substance into my writing. This quarter, when I take stock at the end, I want to have the ability to judge myself as having accomplished all of my primary goals and improved performance on the stretch goals I set for myself last week. But more importantly, I want to be able to say that I’ve stayed the course from this new beginning and head into the next beginning with momentum.

Have a great week, my friends, and may you have many successes on your own new beginnings.

2nd Quarter Report Card

As you may recall, I have been working on a weekly posting goal all year, plus a commitment to positivity and some other personal growth goals. At the end of March, I posted my Q1 report card. As I said then, these goals and the effort to achieve them are for me, and this report card is an accountability device that helps keep me motivated. But because the objective is entirely personal, I try to be fair, yet generous, with myself when rating my performance. Last quarter I got all A’s and made the honor roll. I also set some stretch goals to keep me from resting on my laurels.

So let’s see how I did in Q2. I’ll be grading on three main topics (Weekly Posting, Creativity/Nurturing My Spirit, and Work-Life Balance) plus the stretch goals (More Substantive Blog Posts, Practice New Sand Casting Skill, and More IRL Socializing) on an A through F scale.

Q2 2018 Report Card:

Weekly Posting: A

Substantive Posts: D

I’ve kept the posting streak alive and I’m proud of that. But this quarter I had a lot of fluffy, list-y, place-holder posts. And there was the unintentional teasing of a weighty, substantive post about gender issues that mostly fizzled. While I did do a fairly substantive post on the general subject, it wasn’t the post I wanted to write. I know I can do better. So A on the main goal, but a nearly fail on the stretch goal.

Creativity/Nurturing My Spirit: A

Practice Sand Casting: F

This main goal, being a compound topic, is inherently squishy when it comes to ratings. My objective was as to encourage a bit of self-focus, self-care. That’s a struggle for me in a lot of ways, but it’s an important antidote to the stress I deal with in my job. So, the way I see it, anything that makes my heart lighter counts for this goal. And although I have not practiced sand casting even once this quarter, I did a lot to make my heart happy. The big one was getting to give an epic gift to my brother and sister in law. That was a month ago and we’re all still floating in the clouds with delight over it. Several other small gestures of kindness, both given and received, add to this tally. So I’m giving my self an A for Spirit Nurturing, but a big ol’ F for actual practice on sand casting.

Work/Life Balance: B

IRL Socializing: F

Being social is just hard. For me, anyway. I find crowds exhausting and small talk insipid. My small pool of friends are all very kind to accommodate these personality flaws and don’t demand a lot from me socially. But I really have to get better at this. I’m doing fairly well with keeping up with our monthly supper club outings and joining in when unscheduled gatherings happen. I’ve been to my family’s studio a few times to hang out, and even went out with a couple of friends this past weekend. But I’m not finding new friends and I’m not initiating the outings, usually. And my most frequent interactions with people other than family or work colleagues is still via text. So, a solid B on the main goal, but an F for the stretch goal of seeking out IRL social contact.

So, overall, I’d say I’m passing, but not honor roll this quarter. I’m going to keep the same goals and stretch goals for next quarter and see if I can’t get back on the Dean’s List. 😁

I hope your summer is full of fun and satisfying personal accomplishment. Be well, my friends.

Quick + from a big ol’ –

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I tasked myself with finding at least one good thing whenever I found myself grumbling or focusing on the negatives in any day. Holding myself accountable to that with this quick post. 

Today was a very Monday-ish Monday with many things, big and small, filling up the negative column. One large, hairy, noisy and unpleasant negative was kicked off from a coworker’s I’ll-considered broadcast email that put my team squarely in the crosshairs of a potentially devastating executive team backlash. She has apologized and assured me that that was not in any way her intention. I believe she’s sincere, but her intent is not the actual outcome.  My team and I have to deal with the consequences and I spent way too much time today undoing those consequences. That sucks big time. 

But, there is at least one positive outcome: I exercised an amazing number of diplomacy muscles and have mostly reversed the damage. Also, I had a fairly direct chat with my coworker and shared the consequences with her. She now knows to come to me first before broadcasting something about my team that can be easily misunderstood. So, there’s a positive in the ashes of the negativity bomb. 

Positivity for the win…