Here is a thing I know about people: worrying what others think about your evolution threatens to keep you small and unchanged.
Let me give you an example:
On Day 1 of So Now You’re a Manager (virtual edition), I say “Hey, so you’ve got about 2 weeks after our last class to try new things. After that, this class will fade into a weird, fun memory of virtual class with that lady named Jen…
So when you get to work on Monday, try something new. Ask different questions during 1:1s, be more direct, try a new manager style. Blame this class – it’s going to give you social credit cover. Your reports will know you’ve just been to manager training and they’ll give you a longer leash for disruption because of it.“
In truth, I think almost anything can be a disruption: a weird dream, a long weekend, a thoughtful film. All you have to do is show up and say “geez, I just had a weird dream last night and now I’m realizing that [INSERT LIFE-CHANGING REVELATION HERE]… so I might seem a little different this week!”
Boom. Now you’re a vegan. Or a manager who takes notes during 1:1s. Or the proud owner of some much-needed boundaries.
I’m telling you all of this today because… wait for it… WE ARE EMERGING FROM A GREAT DISRUPTION. This is your chance! You just lived through a worldwide pandemic and it would be very reasonable for you to be changed afterwards. But the window for living into that change will close – so get on it.
I say this all the time in coaching and I’ll say it to you today: it’s okay if you don’t know where you’re going. You just have to know where you’re going next. Some of your next might be large and disruptive, requiring a new set of friends or career. But some of your next could be as tiny as “mute these 5 people on Instagram because they make me feel terrible.”
After I finish work today, I’m going to cool off from this hot weather with my feet in our kiddie pool, eat a popsicle and look at the garden we planted. This sentence would have been incomprehensible last summer… but disruption happened. Through a series of nexts, we made a big decision and moved across the country. Life is changed.
I hope you can imagine an incomprehensible sentence today… because that means you’re already working on making it real.
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To sum up: you are worthy of change. You don’t have to justify this change to anyone… but I’m a human like everyone else and I know how daunting change can be, especially when folks are watching. If you need an excuse, blame Covid and, socially, it may go a little easier.
Don’t stay the same because you’re afraid. You’re cooler than that.
This blog post is based on a chunk of the June 2021 Plucky newsletter. Interested in hearing monthly stories like this? Subscribe here.