Professionalism

I've been pondering. Opening a new post. Typing. Reading. Not feeling the words. Deleting. Closing the browser. Then feeling lost that I don't seem to know what to say on here right now. There is always so much pressure or rather self-created pressure to say something put together.

The other day I got a message through Linkedin (wow does anyone else just feel totally overwhelmed by the number of accounts and social media outlets there are now!?) telling me that this person was interested in seeing if I would talk with them about my career path. Career Path!!?!?! Um wow. Do I have a career path? Am I qualified to talk to someone about how I "got to where I am at"? Half the time I don't even know how I got here! (Or what day of the week it is!). It is flattering. To hear someone say that your life is admirable. Worthy of their want and interest.

It is also hard to remember that what they see, what they know, is such a small sliver of the bigger picture. Yes, of course I will talk to someone about my career path. What they will end up hearing is that is has very little to do with picking a straight line and following it. There is so much that has changed, gone wrong, gone right, been a surprise and also been so woven into my personal life, that talking about my "career path" is like extracting a few disjointed pages from a novel and trying to tell someone how the plot ties them all together. Again, I am flattered and I hope that this is the start of being a mentor, or at least someone who can give someone some ideas about things I have experienced and that they know they have yet to face.

I also wrote something recently that got me a lot of flattering and....surprising praise. It seemed so straightforward when I wrote it. What came out of it, brought me a little boost of confidence and a little bit of fresh air in my emotional lungs, that recently have been feeling so oxygen deprived that this was good. Really good.

Since this post took a turn for the somewhatprofessionaltopics I will always share a nugget that a co-worker gave to me the other day. "Show up with the best attitude you can for that day". Not necessarily the best attitude ever. Or the best attitude despite feeling really shitty, but just the best attitude you personally can apply given your current circumstances. I liked it. It is realistic. Factoring in that some days are just bad. Rough. Challenging. While others are awesome. Inspiring and Motivating. So you just have to show up....and bring the best attitude that you can given the circumstances. Wise. So wise.