Make Yourself Proud

Another page in the You’re Doing a Freaking Great Job book says “Make Yourself Proud”, attributed to someone named Peter W. Smith.  Why do you think it is that we more often quote people whose names we recognize?  For example, I recently posted a quote by Judy Garland and another by Audrey Hepburn – both from the above-mentioned book.

Whatever the reason and whoever he is, I like what Mr. Smith has to say here.  He isn’t advising us to merely be proud of ourselves, but to MAKE ourselves proud.  In other words, we need to earn self-pride.  So how would you go about that?

Doing the right thing comes to mind.  I realize the “right” thing isn’t always clear, but I believe the right thing is usually simple.

Some of the most important decisions we make are simple, and—bonus!—almost automatic:  braking when we see brake lights in front of us is a good example.  It’s the right thing to do most of the time and we don’t even have to think about it.

The right thing can also be as ordinary as getting up to go to work when every fiber of your being says “I don’t wanna!”  That’s my personal triumph every weekday morning lately.  I am SO ready for retirement and the freedom to stay up late or sleep in!  There are a lot of reasons to be proud of yourself; you don’t have to be a super-hero, brain surgeon, or best-selling writer.

So…what do you do, or not do that makes you proud?

 

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Back to Basics

The next page in the You Are Doing a Freaking Great Job book, simply reads:

What does “back to basics” mean to you?

Basics could be the ABCs, or reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.  Perhaps “basics” refers to living off the land – growing your own vegetables, raising chickens or goats or cows.

Then there’s the fashion basic – black.  I used to wear black a lot.  Many larger women did and still do.  I didn’t trust my own judgment about what colors might flatter me so I went for black because it was easy.  And of course there was the lie we all believed for years that black was slimming.  [Eye roll.]  Now I wear a variety of colors and love it.

Basic jewelry equals pearls.  A simple string of pearls was the one piece of jewelry my mother gave me when I was a young woman.

Basics can also include learning to roller skate, or ride a bike, or drive a car.  Baking your very first cake, meticulously following the directions.

I’m trying to relate “basics” to my job and the only thing I can come up with is learning to touch type and taking dictation.  I never learned to take dictation myself.  But I can proofread, spellcheck, transcribe audio, type quickly and accurately and file like a badass.

Basics got me where I am, with a few flourishes along the way.

Let me know what back to basics means to you, won’t you?

Quotable quotes

From the Freaking Great Job book:

Here Comes the Sun

Since I am pre-writing and scheduling some of these posts I have no idea if there really is sunshine this 3rd day of 2018.  But that’s the next page in the book, see:

So if there isn’t sunshine where you are, here’s a something to make your hump day a little brighter!

You Deserve All the Good Things

Hey, who am I to argue?  That’s what the next page in the You Are Doing a Freaking Awesome Job book says.

All. The. Good. Things.  Let that thought settle in and make itself comfortable in your brain.

Sooo, what constitutes “Good Things”?  For me at least it’s simple stuff:

Finding my usual parking spot available at the park and ride – every day.

The occasional Theo Chocolate bar – my favorite seasonal choice is the Cranberry Orange!  When it isn’t the holidays I stick with the Cherry Almond.  What can I say – I like crunch in my dark chocolate.

A few months back I switched from coffee to tea (yes really).  I was drinking entirely too much.  Now I have a cup of caffeinated tea first thing in the morning at home, or occasionally I’ll pick up a Lightly Sweet Chai at Starbucks on my way to the train.  Their regular Chai is too sweet for me.  Rarely, I’ll treat myself and get a Flat White, which for those of you not in the know, is a Starbucks not-sweet coffee drink – yes, they have those!  Another of my good things would be to indulge in coffee again at will, not rarely.

Comfy shoes.  No wait…comfy shoes that I can wear at work!  Ahhh.

And Universe, if you’re listening I’d like one genuine, real vacation please.  It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, I’d just like to not spend it with family.  Pretty please.

What are your Good Things?

Happy 2018!

 

It’s been rather a long time since I’ve posted regularly here and I’ve missed it.  So I want to try something different this year in the hope it will get me blogging a bit more often.

A couple of Christmases ago I bought copies of a fun little book for the Shared Services team I lead.  I think I may have posted about it and if there’s time I’ll try to find that post and link to it.  In the event I don’t have time or can’t find it, the book is called You Are Doing a Freaking Great Job.  As you might guess based on the title, it’s an inspirational, heartening, and uplifting tome.  Tome is a funny word, isn’t it?  Whenever I read it I envision huge volumes with some weight to them.  This book is only a bit over 4 inches square and about an inch thick; its weight is in the contents.

I’m hoping to take a page (maybe every day, maybe once a week, who knows) and reproduce it here, perhaps with a photo of the page if it’s especially attractive.  I’m sure there will be days when all I can do is quote the book, but I’m hoping at times to delve into what the book’s message that day means to me.

So let’s get started shall we?

If you can’t quite read the writing inserted above, it says “An encouraging little Introduction”.  One of the reasons I decided to try using the book for inspiration was this page.  Each line by itself is inspirational, and altogether they tell me to start fresh each day.

Even if yesterday sucked I need to keep my head up.  Today’s a new day.

“Take your time” can apply to so many aspects of each day:  from driving to the train safely, to carefully proofreading a document even if it’s huge and will take hours.

I never got around to posting this last year but I was genuinely promoted – with a new title and a raise!  To be honest, I was flabbergasted when the big boss called me at home (I was out sick that day) to tell me the news.  When she mentioned the amount of the raise my jaw literally dropped and I was speechless for several seconds.  I really was ill and my brain couldn’t quite compute what she was saying.  I’m proud of myself.  I earned that promotion darn it!  But there are those days when I do something I consider stupid, or I take a shortcut that bites me.  Those days it’s a little harder to be proud of myself.  I need this reminder that even when I mess up I’m still excellent at my job.  We won’t talk about relationships…

“…right where you’re supposed to be.”  And just where might that be?  Well there are a few ways to interpret that for me personally.  Earlier this year I had an opportunity to move to a different law firm (one my friend had gone to).  At the time I learned about the position they were creating I was under a lot of stress and my first reaction was to update my resume and send it to my friend.  She sent me some information on their benefit package as well as other aspects of the job.  I looked them up on line and found many familiar faces.  But something held me back.  I’ve been at this firm for over 19 years.  I’m one of the big dogs – administratively speaking.  This was before the promotion by the way so that didn’t factor into my decision making.  I went over and over it in my head for the biggest part of a day and a night.  Then I contacted my friend and asked her to withdraw my resume.  All the weighing I’d done brought me to the conclusion that as stressful as my job is, I would miss it.  I would miss the people I’ve come to know and care about.  On top of that I’d be trading my tenure here to be a little fish in a big pond at the new place — having to prove myself all over again.  So. Not. Happening.

Does this resonate for anyone else out there?  Do you believe you’re where you are supposed to be?  What are you proud of about yourself?  Do you procrastinate…or give yourself time?  Let’s keep our heads up together this year, shall we?

Happy New Year everyone!  May your 2018 be filled with blessings and wonderful adventures.

Calendar Wisdom

We’ve all seen them right?  Calendars which spout inspirational or wise words every day or month?  Then there are the humorous types like Maxine™ or Nuns Having Fun.  I love calendars…watching my life ebb away a day at a time is awesome y’all.  Okay, okay, just kidding!

But I do love calendars.  They’re a necessity in a law office and consequently an easy and legit method of putting my snark on display.  Case in point, here’s the image for May:

Happy May everyone!

3

Three’s company or three’s a crowd – you pick. Please back up your answer in the comments below. Or not. I’m not the boss of you. 

9

Countdown continuing…

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And the countdown begins…