Labours of Love and Learning

I have definitely done a lot of internal musings this week. Struggling with self doubt and questioning my capabilities. It's been interesting, though not pleasant! But I've come to the conclusion that I'm being a little too hard on myself. When you're working in a new space doing new things, you can't expect that you will have the expertise and efficiencies yet to carry them out flawlessly. They take a lot of effort and you are on a steep learning curve. You'll soon be able to step up, but you might make mistakes, drop the ball and generally just feel like you are chasing things rather than being one step ahead for a little while. Maybe you're used to feeling like you can do anything, and do them pretty damn well, so this disconnect gets to you even more. I don't like to feel incompetent. And generally I know I'm not! But gosh, the dreams I had last night about systems and processes made me feel like I didn't know anything (note to my subconscious...let me rest so I can actually do the things I need to do in waking hours!!).

I'm not sure if you ever feel totally on top of everything around you. The to-do list is forever long and you're constantly prioritising and then reprioritising everything because everything is important! Welcome to the world of business huh?! But then I remember what I'm part of and how I'm contributing and being rewarded on almost a daily basis and it's all worth it. It is a journey. And a really exciting one at that.


So, what am I learning?:

• Still put yourself first. Eat, sleep, exercise and do those activities that make you feel good. Doing this will make everything else easier to handle
• Keep looking at the big picture. When everything is busy and you're feeling stressed it is easy to look at the 'small' things (that feel big) and forget the real reason you're doing what you're doing. Put it in perspective.
• Do everything with the right intentions and for the right reasons. If it doesn't work out (and not everything will!) you can learn from it and still hold your head up high.
• Have a 'I feel good about me list'. Sometimes you need to be your own cheerleader. I know it sounds funny and you might sound up yourself (you don't need to show it to anyone!), but having a list of things you've accomplished, personality traits that are great, fabulous things people have said about you, compliments you've received can give you a bit of a pick-me-up when you need it.
  
• Communicate. When you're not feeling confident and I you can, talk to the person and clear the air. You are often interpreting things in a skewed manner that is making you feel worse! And that is often not the intention of the person you're talking to, so clear the air.
• Remember balance. There are only so many hours in the day and some of them you need to use to further things outside of work. Sure you'll need to work hard to meet deadlines and get things moving, but you also need to live. You need to connect socially, you need to go to the gym, you need to have some down time. Don't feel guilty about shutting down the computer at the end of the day and doing the other things that are important to you.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo