Five Years of Growth!

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” 

—Alice Walker

Career challenges come and go.  They elevate, retreat, and impact us is so many ways, both positively and negatively.  The last five years of shelter in place, return to work, hybrid work, and soon going back into the office full time, has truly been a lot.  Like many of you reading today, I’ve experienced the personal/professional life moments that will commonly be referred to as the “Pandemic Period” of life.  We often talk about challenges making us stronger and when the dust settles, we are better off for having experienced those challenges and won’t ever regret saying yes to something that makes us fearful, anxious, and doubtful.  As I’ve reflected on the last five years of my life (including the lives of my friends, family, and co-workers), I can definitely pinpoint where I’ve been challenged, where I’ve grown, and what I’m still hanging out to from the pandemic.  I hope you enjoy reading my key “Pandemic Period” learning moments.

1. Empathy is a real thing - Prior to the pandemic, I was enjoying life, successfully completing tasks at work, and felt connected to those around me.  As we entered our shelter in place period of life, I realized that I wasn’t as connected with my family as I thought I was.  I also didn’t know what empathy truly meant even though I would practice it every day and tell myself that I was an empathetic person.  Once we realized that the pandemic was more than a two week break from those around us, it caused many of us (including myself) to relate better to others, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, and relate to others challenges.  My biggest challenge was making sure I held myself together, practiced self-care, and took on the fear, anxiety, and doubt of my kids.  You could see the true fear in their eyes and they were nervous every day.  I’ll vulnerable myself and say that some days were better than others and I didn’t hold myself together great every day.  I had to check my emotions at the door daily and it was hard because everything was done at home, we had never experienced this in our lifetime, and I didn’t necessarily have a true door to walk into from work to check my emotions.  I’ve taken a lot of learning lessons from that experience, have leaned into my strengths and emotions, and grown stronger from it, even though it was hard at the time.

2. Connecting virtually was essential - After we realized that our work from home posture was going to be longer than expected, I leaned into my coaching/mentoring background and emotional intelligence through creating a goal to connect with someone new each week.  Networking can be hard at first and if it’s not a two way street, these conversations can be awkward.  I promise you it does get easier and when you lean into connecting with and learning from others, you find out more about yourself and others too!  I’m a big proponent of mentoring and whether these conversations were based from a foundation of mentoring or a simple catch up, they helped me get through a challenging time in life.  It also embraced the true philosophy of human connection.  I learned through the pandemic that I needed connection and also that I could not work 100% remote.  We need human connection to thrive in life and can only stay inside and away from people for so long in life.  As I walked into each conversation, I was able to fully and authentically be myself.  It was engaging, I met new people at my company, and was set up for ultimate success at the end of the pandemic.  I’ve continued this goal of connecting with others both virtually and in person.  I learned that everyone simply wants an opportunity to be seen and heard.  Active listening goes a long way with others and people truly love to talk about themselves, share, and learn from others.  When you’ve gone through challenges in life, you’ve realized that you can’t go through with it alone.  Human connection got me through the pandemic and will help you grow and succeed in life!

3. We are more than capable of anything we put our minds to - As I’ve grown in life, I’ve fully leaned into the simple philosophy of being a little better today than the day before along with running your own race.  I’ll be vulnerable again and say this is very hard for me.  Life is a competition and it’s not at the same time.  Our goal in life is to grow, but not throw other people under the bus as a result of our growth.  Running my own race can be positive sometimes and other times I get caught up in the mantra of not being enough in life.  I also struggle with giving myself credit for who I am and who I’ve become in life.  I’ve been in my career for 20 years now and still get imposter syndrome all the time.  What helps me is leaning into my own strengths, my own growth, and serving others.  I’ve heard a common philosophy that when you reach out to help others, it not only fulfills you and helps you feel accomplished in life.  I would highly recommend adopting a life of servant leadership to help you learn about yourself, stay positive, and selflessly give back to others.  I’ll always be your biggest cheerleader in life and always the first one to say you are enough!  Keep going in life because you’re fully capable and doing an amazing job!

I’m a firm believer in that life is short, it has a finite end, and we get back what we give out in life.  Enjoy every day because you only live once and you have so much positivity to put out into the world.  One of my favorite bands, 311 is a proponent of a simple quote, “Stay Positive & Love Your Life!”.  I follow this daily and hope you truly can too!  We’re all in this together (the common pandemic quote) and will continue to grow in life.  Lean into your most positive strengths and remember you are amazing!

Keep growing and know that I truly believe in you always!

• Ryan