Brenda’s Blog – October 6, 2020
“I am really proud of how it looks.”
My hairdresser always offers a mirror so I can see the back after a haircut. I always smile and decline. This time she said, “I wish you would look. I am really proud of how it looks.” Years of disappointing, even terrifying results reflected in the mirror taught me just to walk away without the “reveal.”
As I drove home I thought about an assessment process offered by Bill Hendricks and his Giftedness Center. To ascertain motivational drivers he asked me to write out at least twenty experiences with the one requirement: “times when you said to yourself ‘I really did that well.” It was important that these were times when I said to myself “you did a really good job.” It wasn’t to be when I received an award, got an “at-a-girl,” or was applauded. This was important because it made me delve into what I considered success – not how others defined it. He told me it could be a very small event, or perhaps an experience with sizable dimensions, but the measure was my assessment.
Think about this exercise and accept my challenge to seriously consider entering into such an exploration. When you complete your stories, look at them and uncover common threads…they will be there. They will introduce you to motivational patterns and drivers. You will identify times when you were proud of yourself.
You know what I found? I loved to have an idea, bring people together to make it happen, and then stamp “done” on it. Realization became a major driver for me. It taught me having an idea is great fun, but without the execution team I am left wandering around with unrealized ideas and dreams lying around the floor.
How blessed is my hairdresser to know when she is proud of her work. She didn’t wait for me to compliment the style, but boldly spoke out. How free she is!
The understanding of success begins with our awareness of those “I really did that well” moments and organizing our lives to include more activities which prompt that response.