Happy Saturday Morning. I’m sitting here sipping my espresso while listening to my husband practice guitar. This week has been a busy one with a lot of mixed emotions both sadness and excitement. My family experienced a loss, and for respect and privacy I will not delve into this, but please just send positive vibes and prayers to my family. My friend’s child just went through a major surgery and is recovering currently. I had a job interview for a promotion on Friday. I was nervous, but really got good vibes from this interview, and if anything, at the very least it was good practice for me articulating myself. This has been a week of a broad spectrum of emotions, which is making me reflect.
Reflection is the first stage of growth and improvement for me. It allows me the ability to sit and evaluate this past week’s events and identify areas that may need growth. The very first interview question was (and I’m paraphrasing) “what have you worked on in the past 2 years for growth and it what ways has it impacted you and your work?” I got really excited about this question… I immediately started thinking about all the self-improvement/inspirational books I’ve read and listened to in the past 2 years that were pivotal in helping me in attitude, mental toughness, relationships, and work. This book written by Mitch Albom is titled “Tuesdays with Morrie, An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson” was a wonderful book that was recommended to me by a psychology professor that I met at the DMV when I was getting the tags for my truck. It was a story of a man that had developed a bond with his college professor, they met every Tuesday to work on projects or talk. After graduation the student got wrapped up in his career and became frustrated with his life years later. He then saw an interview on television with his professor, who had been diagnosed with a terminal syndrome called ALS. The student calls and meets up with the professor, and together they decide to meet every Tuesday and write down the professor’s words of wisdom about what is important in life.
On the other end of the self-improvement spectrum, there are two books I have read in the last 2 years that have been very impactful for my mental toughness. Both books were written by Navy Seals. The first book is by David Goggins titled “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.” This is a story of a man with so many things stacked against him, training his mind to overcome obstacles that most people would not fathom approaching. This book has workbook like activities in every chapter using the techniques that the author used to get the mindset that he had to not only become a Navy Seal, but an Army Ranger, and an Airforce tactical air controller. If you struggle with confidence or fear of failure, this book is a great book that helped me work through these things.
The second book I read about mental toughness was written by Navy Seal Brent Gleeson titled, “Embrace the Suck: The Navy SEAL Way to an Extraordinary Life.” This book is incredible and reminds us that most growth happens in uncomfortable situations. It teaches you to lean into the discomfort anyways, go get comfortable with discomfort to better navigate it. Personally, this book has made me push myself in so many ways. With photography, it is pushing me to put my work out there, regardless of the critics. It pushes me to learn new things and embrace and grow from failure and use them as building blocks. It encouraged me to allow myself to have uncomfortable conversations to increase connections with people.
If you are wondering how I answered this interview question, I didn’t mention these books in my interview. I did mention that I listen to audible and podcasts about self-improvement, and that I am constantly working on myself to grow holistically. That I push myself to learn new things and volunteer for things, even if I am uncomfortable with it, as to gain new skills. I stated that the most impactful thing that I have probably been working on is that I have been studying the Meyers Brigg theory and other personality theories as to learn how to better communicate so that it is tailored to the individual both in delivering and receiving the information. This has helped me in my personal relationships, and my work relationships with coworkers and patients.
There are three things that I am certain of, and they are: personal growth is a journey and not a destination; that personal growth is not a race, the only person you should be comparing yourself to is your past self; give yourself AND others grace in this thing called life… it’s too short to hold grudges against anyone including yourself. Next week’s challenge: negative space!
