Tonight I experienced something very conflicting. A few nights ago I read a Facebook post that made me cry. A friend and kindergarten teacher posted a quote from one of her tiny students in Spanish that said, “Mama said that Santa died in the war.” The teacher understood that this was probably the mothers way of saying, “I’m sorry, baby. But no Christmas for us this year.”
The morning of that post I heard a radio station promoting a giveaway for needy kids. If selected, the kids would get a bike for Christmas. I connected those dots after reading my friend’s post and called her so I could nominate the student for this giveaway. Longshot, right? Wrong. He got the BIKE! They called tonight and we are going to pick it up this weekend.
So, I updated her sad, so sad Facebook post to let folks know it wouldn’t be a bleak Christmas after all. Then accolades came rolling in via comments…for me. What the heck? I didn’t do anything. I just nominated the kid. Really, we should all be thankful the teacher shared the story that inspired me to think to nominate him. We should be outraged that kids don’t get Christmas, right? Someone posted, “Strong work, Wendy!” And I felt kinda sick.
Why did I feel sick? That is just weird. I sobbed tears of joy as the radio station employee told me this kid was getting a bike and now I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. So, I thought on this awhile and now I’m trying to sort it here, because I think this is pretty universal.
We (especially women) undermine our value, our efforts and our contributions when we communicate to others.
Why does this matter? Humble is polite, right? How should I respond? My post after the “good job” comments was essentially an apology for this becoming about me! I couldn’t just accept the gracious and heartfelt appreciation for my efforts.
So, I wanted to better understand why I was being pulled like a rubber band. I turned back to myself and thought about my strengths that led to this kid getting a bike. I am a dot connector. THIS is what I do. I see a need and everything in me is looking for a solution or a connection; a way to tie things up. This situation was one of those times. I am talented at seeing seemingly disconnected things and odd times and putting them together to fix a problem. This is why my former clients dubbed me the dot connector.
If I truly see what my talent is in this situation (and dozens of others like them), then I can appreciate how maybe my talent is unique and appreciated by others, like the ones commenting in this Facebook post. I was uniquely suited and karmatically positioned to help that boy. I did good.
That confession didn’t hurt much. and the remote view of myself is enlightening. It is something you might need to pull out of your own hat. Seeing your good work through the eyes of those that appreciated it. Removed from self-conscious filters. Separated from the judge that is waiting to take us all down a notch.
Now, because this isn’t all about me. I challenge you to think about a time when you might have undervalued something you accomplished. Something that was just awesome. Did you brush off a compliment or a thank you? Did you explain it away as just a coincidence, good luck or even shift the credit to someone else?
Without judgment, look at and acknowledge the talent and gift you brought to the table. Compliments aren’t so frequent they should be ignored. You must have done well. Now, get a pen and write down what it is you did and how you did it. It will come in handy!
Resume Roundtable: Crafting Your Professional Narrative will be back in January 2013. We’ll work on this kind of distant observance to help you write a dynamic resume.
Tagged: Hire U, Resume Roundtable, Social Curation
