This blog entry is a bit on the personal side but I hope it will help those who are feeling overwhelmed with life whether it be personally or professionally. Like most, I have been dealt some pretty bad hands throughout the years. Actually, the entire deck of cards has been filled with Jokers at times. Several years ago a mentor of mine reminded me to always have an “eternal perspective” and that most things don’t lasts forever. While this is true, I’ve found it difficult to keep that perspective when I’m in the thick of it. Life happens. Things break, relationships fail, you get passed up for a promotion, you don’t get the job you want, on and on it goes until you question your circumstances and how can you escape?!
A month ago, one of my children reminded me of a core life principal I was taught long ago. Just make it to the next cone……aka “win the day”. To provide a bit more context, every July 4th, Provo, UT has the Freedom Run where individuals and families enter in a 1 mile, 5K or 10K race followed by a parade down University Ave. This year, my youngest son wanted to run a race so we signed him up for the mile. At packet pickup, he was stoked to get his bib and SWAG bag and couldn’t wait to get on the course the next morning (EARLY the next morning)! Once the gun sounded to start the race, he took off like a shot even though I recommended he slow down and pace himself. No more than 2/10 of a mile had passed when it began…”I so tired”, “I can’t do this”, “this is too hard”, “can we stop?!” One of the guiding principles at the Lambert House is “if you start something, you finish…don’t quit”. As I was trying to not push my five year to the point of tears, I looked up and saw a bright orange traffic cone in the distance and it hit me! “Hey see that cone up there?! Run to that cone and touch it!” He ran and touched it. “Ok, you see that other cone ahead? Go touch it!”. Once again he ran and touched it. Whether it was a cone or a tree along the rest of the course, he worked on just getting to the next stop.
After 14 minutes and several seconds, my son had finished something he said he couldn’t do. FINISH!!
Life is tough. Social media is great for many things but I personally think Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, make it way too easy for us to compare ourselves to others and we are left feeling inadequate in some ways. For me, I’ve been in IT for 15 years and some days I feel like I’m being passed by like I’m standing still. There are so many smart and talented people at VMware and our partners that I find it hard to keep up. I’ve failed at becoming a vExpert (finally made it this past year though!), failed certifications, failed at maintaining customer relationships, etc. However, I’ve had my share of successes to! To those who are struggling to keep up and/or find their place in the ever changing world of IT….or just life in general…take a step back! Take time to reflect and see what you HAVE accomplished…then ask yourself what you want to do next. Decide what you want that next cone to be and got for it! Then repeat over and over. Before you know it, like my son, you will have reached your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)!!!
P.S. I won’t deny that at some point your cone may be moved by something or someone. To assist with that challenge, I have found the following books to be of assistance. Dr Spencer Johnson’s “Who Moved My Cheese” and the Steven Covey classic “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
Street2Clouds 