This is a post that belongs in all categories of this blog and my life. I recently had the honor and good fortune of working with Sue Guiher of Thrive for Success. In just one hour she helped me make sense of some very confusing parts of my life. Before I knew I didn’t quite understand them and tried to reach clarity in other ways. Sometimes you have to wait for the solution to appear, and for me it did with Sue. Ok Jen, let’s get to what happened.
Sue sent me a 30 minute audio of values that I listened to. She instructs you to write down those which resonate with you. She then asks you to narrow down the list to your top 3. Those were the instructions which I did not follow. I got my list down to 7 top ones – each I was not willing to part with and all seemed to be overarching categories that housed others. This was my way of getting all of the values I wanted to be a the top. That Frank Sinantra Song describes me perfectly. Anywho, Sue and I then set-up a phone conference to take the next step. Sue, as seasoned professional, had clearly dealt with others like me. My list was going to be whittled down. I fell back in a trust fall and let her work her magic.
Through that hour on the phone we got to mine:
My Fuel: My authenticity is my oxygen.
I love the fact that I am the friend that always needs explaining. When they made me they broke the mold, so to speak. Make fun of my crazy, my originality, or the way I present in the world and you are stomping on my soul. When I am not valued for being who I am I feel like you are trying to suffocate me and I walk away.
This makes so much sense because in a previous life I constantly heard “we don’t know where we got her from,” and it always felt like I was being punched in the gut.
My Lens: Trust
If I can not trust you we have nothing. You break my trust I can forgive you, but you do not get a shot inside again. From this trust comes everything else in my life. I work tirelessly to be trustworthy to others. Trust is in my DNA. If you have my trust, we will have the most amazing relationship, my trust is the most amazing gift I can give to you. Talk about me behind my back, share a secret, or don’t do what you say you are going to and we have absolutely nothing.
My Anchor: Courage
I know that it does not matter what happens to me in life, I have courage to face it, stare it down, and then boundless courage to move forward. My courage is my root and keeps me in the constant belief that I am can do anything. While I have fears just like anyone else, I act fearlessly in my life. I am resourceful to get through anything, come up with a unique solution and then execute it no matter how scary. When I do not have courage I feel off balance.
Being able to put these three pieces into words helped me organize and make sense of my life on every level. I realized why I was never comfortable with certain groups of people, how I really felt disdain for those who broke my trust, and how, even against great odds I have been able to build my business and take on all that I have faced in these last few years.
