Taking stock Tag

Driving back from an afternoon tea party, I saw a road sign that said ‘surface dressing for one day only’. For some reason, it struck a chord. The road into my town is getting ready for surface dressing. How about that? It got me thinking about the word ‘dressing’ and the importance of dressing the surfaces that we have. When we hear ‘dressing the surface’, I am sure most of us will think about clothes and shoes that are visible to the naked eye. As I thought about 'dressing the surface', I began to consider other things we can dress like our bodies, minds, our spirits and souls. So here are my thoughts on what and how we can dress. [caption id="attachment_870" align="alignleft" width="275"] Photo by pexels.com[/caption] Dress your mind with the right information You might ask, ‘how do you dress the mind?’. You can dress your mind with the right kind of information, knowledge and insight. We are in an age where there are so many tools to help dress our minds, including phone apps, books, podcasts, TED talks and a whole host of YouTube videos. There is information on any topic you want to learn. Now, it’s easy to adorn your mind in the right ways which could translate to improved decisions creating better results. [caption id="attachment_871" align="alignright" width="330"] Photo by Pexels.com[/caption] Dress your mind with the right thoughts Many years ago, I let my preference for introversion dictate what I did and I stayed in a mindset that told me I couldn't do any public speaking. This was until someone gave me an opportunity to speak without the option to say no. I had to learn to think differently about my personal preferences especially when I saw the response from the audience. Today, I speak to audiences of any size without giving a thought to my preference for introversion. The book, 'Quiet' by Susan Cain was really useful in helping me to celebrate and leverage my introversion. You can adorn your mind by thinking the right thoughts and listening to the right information that will nourish you and change your mindset. No one can be better than the information they feed on. So what do you think about? We should think on things that are honourable and worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute. We have to replace negative thoughts with positive ones and align our mindsets to work for us.

I watched a video clip of a Google employee talking about Visual Positioning System (VPS) being the next step up from Global Positioning System (GPS). I’m delighted about that as too many times, I have wondered what direction 10 yards SW is. Having a visual positioning system, that will use my location and identified landmarks to direct me is exciting. This got me thinking about where we are going in life – career, relationship and business. Where do we need to get to from our current location? Do we have the right infrastructures to help us get there with minimal mistakes along the way? Are we using a GPS which sometimes doesn’t work or gives unclear direction that requires us to initially go the wrong way just to figure out what the right way is? Here are some of my thoughts on this Figure out your starting point and final destination The two things every gadget needs to direct us are our starting and end locations. For any goals or life journey, we need to map out the road. If our starting point is unclear, chances are we will waste resources and if our end point is unclear, we will miss our destination. So do an honest assessment of where you are, which might mean facing some denials that you’re currently living in. Maybe you blame everyone, but you, for your current position, you believe the odds are stacked against you, you don’t have what it takes or perhaps it’s just not your luck. If so, it’s time to bin these thoughts and take a risk on yourself. Doing nothing produces nothing but taking a risk could result in something. Determine the best route to get to your destination. Through my career, I had short, medium and long-term plans to help achieve my goals. I found that when I meticulously followed them, I achieved most of my goals in the set timescales. How are you going to get to your destination? Do you have a plan and are you committed to it? Every step you take should move you closer to your end goal if you have created the right plan. A plan is just a bunch of ideas until you follow through. Keep your plans in plain sight so you and others can hold you to account. Find a mentor Mentors have made a difference in my personal and professional lives. Some have stretched and challenged me, giving me the confidence to put myself forward for opportunities sooner that I would have wanted to. This has resulted in fantastic outcomes and proving to myself that I am more capable than I sometimes give myself credit for. Mentors can help get you to your destination, saving you time and effort as you learn from their expertise and experience. This is similar to Google app giving you directions that improves your chances of getting to your destination quicker.

I have wanted to write this post for a couple of weeks. It’s been 15 posts and three months since I started my blog so I figure it’s time to take stock.

Is it what I thought it would be like?

Has the journey been easy?

Have I been scared, anxious or disappointed?

Am I glad I took this step of faith?

Am I having the impact I hoped for?

These are just some of the questions on my mind as I take stock of the past three months. The calling to start a blog came to me on the 12th of November 2017 and two weeks later, I published my first post. I still remember the feelings of joy and elation as I saw the numbers of views go up. So what have I learnt over the past three months? I have learnt to take risks. I took a risk when I opted to leave my job in the bank, and I took another when I decided to start a blog. It was scary to start with, as I questioned my decisions but in hindsight, I am glad I took both risks.  It’s true that not all risks pay off but your next one just might. If you don’t take a risk, nothing happens but if you do something good might happen.  It’s ok to be disappointed but don’t wallow in the cesspool of disappointment.  Some posts have done better than others and on the odd days there are no views at all. I can’t help but be disappointed in those moments but then I remind myself to look at the bigger picture. Quite often the numbers are made up a day later. I have a choice to focus on a part of the journey or to look at the whole. One view only sees a challenge or a disappointing moment while the other sees an end goal being accomplished after many ups and downs. You can be afraid but don’t let fear stop you from moving forward. There are times when I fear if I will run out of topics to write or thoughts to share. If I allow the fear to take root, I reckon it will paralyse me. So, I remind myself of those who have had a blog for years or novelists who are able to churn out book after book. If they can find something to say, why can’t I? Also if push comes to shove, no one is holding a gun to my head insisting that I keep blogging. If a day comes that I want to wave goodbye to blogging, it’s my choice. Really, there’s nothing to fear and nothing to be anxious about.