In The Over/Under on Whelm last week, the focus was on finding the space between overwhelmed and underwhelmed; Contentment. There were links, resources and thoughts… and I humbly recommend the read and reflect.
As a child, I was both shy and imaginative. Exceedingly so on both counts. Oh, I had my friends, but I was indeed shy; choosing less so to speak up in class and even beyond. Somewhere that started to change and that is another story. Suffice it to say for now, I remain shy by nature but refuse to let it hold me back in any way. I tell my students that shyness has strength in it… Humility. But Humility is not about humiliation. Have a read and reflect on it.
That said, I am in and amidst the busiest time of the year for me… the commencement of College. Beyond everyday prep, there is the construction of a multitude of projects and teams for the year; and building the relationships necessary. 4 courses. 5 classes. 12 teams. 80 students. 12 entrepreneurs, companies and organizations. 4 immediate colleagues. And content prep. That is not a complaint (I love what I do); but a realization of all the moving pieces of these first few weeks of project management. It is not lost on me that effective educators are managers and leaders in that they have teams of students that require coordination and evaluation and motivation… and money is not a resource to stimulate either. There are evaluations and deadlines and projects and more… and any success is considerably rooted in the capacity to engage, without money to motivate. Again, not a complaint. A realization and remembrance.
Why do I note such? Often times, the overwhelm can be somewhat addressed by realizing what you have been accomplishing, already. Taking inventory of our successes and our rises to the challenges can effectively advance a true Confidence.
Track record builds such. Looking at our lives and what we have lived through, survived and even thrived through… can be a source of moving the needle on Confidence in the here and now.
A wise mentor once said to me, “Courage first, Confidence second.” Courage is the soil from which Confidence grows. If we look back on our work and life and see where we have practiced Courage in the face of overwhelm and challenge, we build evidence to grow that Confidence. It becomes no longer a concept, but a case study; a case study of evidence.
My thought to you, and me, this week is to take some sacred time and do a detailed inventory of the challenges you have faced and the successes you have seen. Take stock of your trails, trials and triumphs. Be deliberate and diligent and detailed. Do an audit. Build that inventory and admit to it. Detail the knowledge, skills, abilities, talents, capacities and character that you demonstrated and even gained throughout life and work. You can do it with your teams, colleagues, students and more. Evidence based research that builds our Confidence, in the now by considering the past and our track record. Such Confidence goes beyond knowing we have a skill. It goes to a type of Confidence in our capacity to meet the day, unscripted.
Peace, purpose and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln