You are not what you do.
You are not what you do.
You are not what you do.
Change isn’t easy, especially when you decide that it’s time to revise some aspect of your own life.
To successfully refocus a business, one needs to change the way they think about their industry, and that is what I am attempting to do today.
Blogging about this topic is just one way for me to take my own advice by sharing my voice, presenting my authenticity and being more empathetic.
To initiate this growth, here are three concepts that may help you:
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Your career is not your whole identity.
To do good work, you must let go of allowing your career to define your value.
As women in the business world, we are often taught that we must minimize emotions in order to succeed. Our crutch becomes when we define our value by how we perform in a work setting, which makes it difficult to accept anything other than our best performance.
And when we don’t perform our best, our emotions take over and allow us to judge our identity and value as lesser-than.
When we associate our identity heavily with our best performance, we do not allow ourselves to fail. This restricts us from being creative, taking risks and becoming better explorers and innovators.
The risk of centering your identity around your career is that it restricts innovation within yourself.
To become better versions of ourselves, we must practice self-care and kindness towards our whole selves. Our identities are intersectional and it’s impossible to be defined by one aspect of our lives.
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Telling your whole story is important so people can get to know the real you.
For years I have shared my story on college campuses and corporate events worldwide, and I noticed a trend. Deep inside me, viscerally, there was a voice telling me that I wasn’t showing my whole self.
My stories became about my successes, and rarely did I mention the things that went wrong.
People can respect you because of your successes; however, successes can also create separateness. They are a form of establishing superiority rather than equality, whereas your failures make you relatable and promote empathy.
I really took this in stride in 2020 when I rekindled my social media presence. I’ve been intentional about the language I use and the way I interact with others. A digital experience is still a human, and all of us take that to heart after months of staying at home. We’ve become more transparent, open and honest about how we’re doing, even if we’ve had a bad day.
When you make yourself relatable, you support others better because you show them that they, too, can work through those failures to come to a similar form of success.
It’s so valuable to the people you serve to bring your whole self to everything you do, not only for them, but for yourself too.
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Minimize the need for affirmation.
Affirmation in any external form becomes risky because it’s not coming from within. It is a process to learn how to value oneself not just because others tell you you’re great, but because one is following their own path.
All the affirmation in the world can never replace the self-confidence that comes from being yourself and defining success in your own terms.
I used to struggle with this because of the rounds of applause I would receive when I told my story at college campuses and corporate events around the world. When I was alone with nobody watching, I knew I should’ve felt the same effects of a huge venue with tons of people praising me… so I made a change.
Once I began transitioning to another part of my career, I realized my self-worth needed to come from within instead of validation from others.
Positive self-talk has been really helpful for me during these times and continues to be powerful for me today.
Final Thoughts
To manage change through a career, find other ways to define your identity other than your career, share parts of yourself that make you relatable and discover ways to affirm your choices within yourself.
If you’re facing this type of situation, what challenges are you having? What is holding you back? Reply here or DM me on Instagram and let me know.
In love and respect,
