Let’s stick with this theme for for another post. I think it is all inter-related, being yourself, living boldly, being able to say no to things you don’t want in your personal or professional life. It is about how genuine you are. After all, what does genuine mean?
Merriam-Webster OnLine Search states that one meaning of genuine is: “actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author <the signature is genuine>”. To me that means that being yourself is about thinking, speaking and acting from your own script, not someone else’s.
How does this relate to our professional life? I think it starts first with your career choice. Are you working in the field that most interests you? Do you have the education that you are most passionate about? Does your daily work life interest you and fulfill you? The list goes on and on. Basically do you know who you are and what you want? Are you living it or at the very least going after it?
The questions roll off the keyboard and onto this screen. The answers are tougher, especailly if you are brutally honest with yourself. What to do, if you find some of the imporant answers being NO, is even tougher.
I think the first thing we can do is allow ourselves to ask the questions and realize that the answers don’t mean we have to change our lives today, though of course we can. We can set about answering the other side, if you don’t like your job, what job do you think you would like? After we understand who we are and what we want, then we can figure out how to get there — in a planful way.
So professionally speaking, I think we can, one step at a time, create a situation that allows us to be more genuine about who we are. We can create an environment where we can truly use our gifts and talents, speak from our hearts and minds and passionately be who we are.
