Last week before venturing out to the OTC floor (that’s short for Offshore Technology Conference for those of you who aren’t versed in oil and gas lingo), I went to what I thought would be a seemingly humdrum luncheon – you know, one of those events where you show up and you’re literally the only female there. You B.S. for a few minutes and then endure a tedious presentation about some overdone industry topic.
But to my surprise the speaker at this particular event was pretty inspirational. He’s the CEO of Crosstex Energy and his presentation focused on what we as professionals should do to embrace our accomplishments. I thought the way he approached this was really unique – he started by describing how athletes celebrate after a big win. He pointed out that, when you really stop to think about it, they aren’t specifically celebrating the win or victory. Instead, they’re celebrating how they got there and what forces allowed them to succeed.
He begged the audience to answer the question: What is your scorecard? When you get that long-awaited promotion or land a client in the New York Times, do you sit there and revel in the success itself or are you taking the time to rejoice in how you got there? To me this is a pretty big distinction. This type of proactive thinking allows you to concentrate on the effort that went into that big win and even reflect on the challenges you faced along the way.
For those of you who are just tuning in, I started this blog in 2011 to dare myself (and my readers) to look at life in a much different way. If you couldn’t tell, I’m in a pretty transitional stage in my life these days. I’m exploring who I am and challenging my own thinking. That’s why this particular lunch topic really resonated with me. Everything we encounter in this life is a learning experience – be it good, bad or indifferent. And I think a lot of us neglect to learn from these experiences in the way we ought to, including myself.
So, how do you celebrate your achievements? Do you take a lesson from every accomplishment and think about how you got there? Are taking an active role in becoming a part of something greater than yourself?
What’s your scorecard? I’m still working on defining this for myself and would love your feedback.
insatiable curiosity 