Tag: journalling

Reflections #1 – Authority

Allowing others to dictate to me in areas where I am the expert weakens my authority.

Photo by Keegan Houser on Pexels.com

Last week, I had an experience where the outcome of a presentation was not received in the way I had expected it to be. I was pretty devastated, even though I am conscious of the fact that I never have total control of the outcome. In hindsight, there were a number of reasons for this. One of the key reasons is that I allowed my superiors to dictate the methodology to me even though they are not experts in my field. The minute I did this, I weakened my authority as an expert in my field.

The realisation was a wake-up call. I began to reflect on all the other situations where I was uncomfortable with the outcome. I realised that I had done it in those situations as well.

Next, I asked myself how I can take back my authority because I have allowed this to go on for too long. I have arrived at two courses of action for myself:

  1. Seniority does not equal authority in all aspects. I must ask more and better questions to understand the stakeholder’s needs and expected outcomes to confidently design the correct study to deliver the result and not let them dictate how to do it. They honestly don’t know.
  2. I need to work on my self-belief to truly take ownership of my area of expertise.
  3. I must remind myself that failure is not the end of the world. There is a lesson in it. Learn from it and move on. Do not fear it.

Reflecting on what happened has really helped me get to grips with how to prevent this type of thing in the future.

Have you found yourself in a similar predicament? What did you do to overcome it?

Thanks for popping by. Be blessed.

Celebrating 2023: A Month of gratitude – Day 16

It’s been a challenging year. I share my wellness techniques including ample sleep, hot baths, walks, and more.

Hi there! I can’t believe I missed writing about day 15! I have to admit, though, that this year, I am super tired, and all I want to do these days is “veg”. This year has been fabulous, but it has also taken its toll on me.

Usually, I would feel terribly guilty because I would be worried that I am just being lazy, but I know I am not. I am just really, really tired. I know that if I don’t listen to my body now, I am likely to crash and burn at some point in the near future. That helps no one. Our well-being is so important, yet we take it for granted until our health takes a huge hit. I have a few tools in my well-being arsenal that have helped me through this year. These include:

  • Lots of Sleep: Some weekends and even some weeknights, I spend most of my time just sleeping as much as possible until the day arrives when I feel well-rested again. I don’t know about you, but I often find that it takes more than one night’s good sleep to get me back to feeling rested when I am exhausted. 
  • Hot baths – This is usually my weekend go-to when I need to sort my thoughts out. With a few candles, an essential oil burner, and my Spotify “Chill Beats” playlist, I am good to go. I love the smell of jasmine, wild orchid, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood. I also enjoy the scents of lime and clary sage and Ginger & lime. The latter has such a clean scent. 
  • Walking– walking in the afternoon with my friend, Megan, has helped as we bounce our thoughts, ideas and some of our frustrations off each other. Walking is known to help generate new ideas, so it has been great to have someone to walk with and talk through the ideas as they come through. 
  • Green Tea with Jasmine/Camomile Tea – These help me get a good night’s rest. I sleep like the dead when I drink jasmine-scented green tea. I woke up feeling like my brain had completely shut down. My sleep feels dreamless, although it probably isn’t.
  • Journalling – This is where I vent most of the time. It is so liberating to get stuff off my chest without any filters. Journalling is proven to help people get through difficult periods. In “Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within”, Janet Conner has a well-researched chapter on the science behind why journalling works. The entire book is beneficial as well. I don’t always do it daily, but knowing that I have somewhere to vent unfiltered when I need to is always reassuring.
  • Friends and family – sometimes, connecting with a friend is all you need to leave you feeling rejuvenated. It’s just my son and I at home, so I come to teenage conversations every day. Sometimes, I need to connect with a fellow adult in the evenings. Then I pick up a phone and call a friend. Thankfully, whoever I call is always available to chat. I am very grateful to my friends. I really don’t know what I would do without their support. I am blessed.
Photo by Jess Bailey Designs on Pexels.com

What tools do you have in your toolbox to get you through life? I would love to hear what works for you. Please add them in the comments.

Well, that’s it from me today. I think I will hop into the hot bath and then enjoy a cup of jasmine-scented green tea next :).