Self-Discovery Journey 2024

My 16-year-old daughter explained it like this: you don't need to be THE boss. You need to be A boss. In my current state of self-reflection, that's a pretty liberating concept. Here's the backstory ... I am currently in a position at my work that I was not actually hired for. I was hired to be the second-in-command, not the Captain. However, the Captain walked out with little notice right before the school year started, and so now I am the Captain AND the second-in-command. (We never hired for the position I was originally hired for. I am doing both roles simultaneously.) And while I theoretically love a challenge, this one has been (to quote a former boss and mentor) "more than a notion". I don't love being the boss of my department because that role requires a lot of spreadsheets and endless meetings, Board reports, etc. I don't mind building a team, setting the tone, and spearheading initiatives. That part I enjoy. I like people! The job I was original...

I am starting to see the sunshine through the clouds. I can see a plan unfolding. I will go back to Lim's suggested process to get me back to moving things forward: Lim's Steps to Self Discovery Step 1. Face Your Demons Step 2: Celebrate Yourself Step 3: Ask Yourself: What is Your Life Purpose? Step 4: Clarify Your Core Values Step 5: Find Inspiration from Positive Things Around You Step 6: Spend Time for Self-Reflection and Meditation Step 7: Journaling I think the real learning is that I can do more than one step at a time. This is not necessarily a "Do this" THEN "Do this." I think to make the SDJ successful, I need to do a bunch of these steps simultaneously. And as much as facing my demons has been therapeutic (especially with the help of Step 7: Journaling), I need to move this along! So as I journal (#7) and find time for self-reflection and meditation (#6) -- did I mention I am not getting up at 4:15 am to facilitate the SDJ? -- I also want to start ...

My SDJ is stuck because my job is getting out of control. My work/life balance has no balance, and I am feeling off. It's a terrible feeling, and one that is tough to correct in the current state of affairs at my job. I can see that I have gone a while with no journal entries. That's because my work took me hostage.  So allow me to take a detour from the SDJ (or maybe this is the point of the SDJ?) and reflect on my work situation.  There are a lot of sayings out there that remind us that work is a job: "Work is a 4-letter word."  "It's called work for a reason." I am always reminded that work feels so important when we are in the thick of it. And then we take a week's vacation (if we are lucky), and we have distance and perspective, and we are reminded that it's just a job.  The idea that work is an inflated part of our lives occurred to me at my husband's grandmother's funeral two years ago. Nannie was in her 90s when she passed, and sh...