Failures are stepping stones, there is no win or lose, only win or learn.
This is how my favorite podcast host Kevin Kruse breaks the ice when he asks his guests to share a time when they failed. They all have a compelling, insightful story to tell. What would I say? I didn’t have much experience with failure and practically none in my professional career. All of that changed when I lost my job. Continue reading “Embrace the failure”
Here I was – full of energy and feeling confident again. But I was also feeling pretty angry, battling with emotions of unfairness over losing my job. My commitment to fulfill all required job duties until the end was solid but I was acting resentfully.
I wanted to prove them wrong, provide evidence that they made an error in judgment and underestimated my capabilities. I worked as hard as I could but since it was coming from a place of anger and resentment it cost me a lot of energy and I felt exhausted. Then a friend (thank you Carl ♥) asked me a simple question: “Why are you doing it?” And I answered with my serenade that I want to show everyone that letting me go was a mistake…
His second question made me think much longer:
Why are you giving others so much power over yourself?
Once I learned I would soon be jobless my professional confidence came down like a shooting star and I got into a vicious circle of never-ending series of questions:
I was heading straight down the rabbit hole, beating myself up. This attitude wasn’t helpful for me, and even much less for those around me. But unlike them I didn’t see it – I was obsessed with finding the real reason, pinpointing that one defining moment when things have changed… Continue reading “Get Some Perspective”
In some aspects I am a typical millennial: eager to make an impact and open to change. This entails a fair amount of job-hopping. There was always a reason to leave, a new challenge to pursue. But only once it wasn’t my decision to quit. I wasn’t literally fired but I was let go, replaced, and at that time it left me feeling devastated.
Your contract will not be renewed. We will be hiring someone else.
Ever since I launched this blog my mailbox has been flooded with one particular question asked in various forms:
What happened to you?
I guess that a radical change in mindset doesn’t come without an impulse very often. You can call it epiphany, a-ha moment or a wake up call. In my case I felt like I literally woke up from a strange state of uncertainty and mental numbness. Awake, in this new reality I had to face the hard news:
I lost my job. Continue reading “The Elephant in the Room”
BitterMe or BetterMe? 