Well. It’s 23:30 as I write this so I am definitely cutting it close today. I just didn’t want to break the chain.
I have to admit that I am super tired as I have only just finished the urgent and important stuff on my plate. The good news is that tomorrow is a team get together day so it will be a bit of downtime for a change.
I guess the thing I am most grateful for today is that I can afford the technology that I have. It is liberating. Yesterday afternoon, I took my son to play soccer with his friends, and I needed to wait at the venue. I also had a meeting that I needed to dial into. So there I was, multitasking to the max, and all I needed was my cellphone and AirPods. I even found myself dashing into Starbucks in the middle of the meeting because I really needed a coffee. None of this was possible 10 – 15 years ago, and in South Africa, this level of convenience is still out of reach for at least a third of the population.
For my son, this is all the norm, but for me, it is utterly mindblowing that my whole world is on that cellphone. I don’t even need a purse anymore! I am really grateful that I am able to afford and use the tech that is now available to us. It’s amazing!
I am going to keep it short and sweet tonight. Thanks for popping by!
Hi Hi. It has been a long minute since I last wrote. I have to admit that I have been feeling out of sorts over the past few months and once again, my mum came to the rescue. This time the message came through my best friend.
Healing
I haven’t had a heart-to-heart talk with my friend in years. She lives in the UK and we both let distance and life get in the way of our connection. On Thursday evening we took the time to have a veeeery looooong call and she told about her last conversation with my mum. It was exactly what I needed to hear and I spent Friday morning just crying my heart out because it was what I need to do. I have been feelng a lot more grounded since then. My year will get better from here on out. Thank you my friend and thank you Mummy for coming through for me from the other side.
A New Hobby
I have discovered that I actually really do enjoy photography. I was inspired by an iPhone photography influencer on Instagram. I didn’t quite realise what great pics I could take with my phone. I just have a basic iPhone 13 but the camera is still great. I am still playing around with it and I am just starting to figure out the editing apps. I am so excited! Below is just a few of my attempts. Forgive me if the collage looks extra big. I can’t seem to make it smaller.
Portrait of ShoesA sunset from my windowFloral portraitFloral Potrait IIJust meShoes Multifaceted Me
Sink or Swim
Work has been challenging as well but I have been enjoying each new challenge that has come my way. There are days when it feels like my brain has actually expanded. I feel both exhausted yet energised. It’s so weird. I am learning a lot but I am also putting my strengths to work and I get to work with some of the best marketing minds in our business right now. I feel very blessed.
Life’s Knocks
Of course, all has not been rosy. I have gained weight instead of losing it and have been beset with aches and pains which has irritated me. I am working on sorting these issues out but until then I guess I will just have to grin and bear it. I also reconnected with another friend that I believe is like a soul mate. We connect in a way that I have never connected with anyone else before but we have disconnected again for reasons that are what they are. I do believe that we will connect again. Now is not the time though. Until then I will carry on but I will miss him dearly.
Growing and Learning
Lastly, my son’s grandfather took him and his brothers to the UK to watch Liverpool play. I am so grateful he had the experience. It also opened his eyes to the fact that there is a big wide world out there with so much to see and to do. The travel bug has now bitten him so now I will have to start saving for a trip for him and I. It’s a great problem to have!
That’s it for now. Thank you for popping by. Please feel free for any photography tips. I am eager to learn more:)
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:
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.
I need to work on my self-belief to truly take ownership of my area of expertise.
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?
Grounded African 