In the Face of What’s Missing
Monday, May 18th, 2009
It’s easy, not having my own children, to sometimes feel as if I missed the parenting boat. All I have to do is look into the face of one sweet baby, and I could be swept away. It can spiral me into what’s missing—and in the past it may have—but it doesn’t anymore. Instead I focus on the amazing gift of the moment with the child and how fortunate my husband and I are to have time and energy to spend with our many nieces and nephews.
Reflecting on this has me ask how many things we tend to dwell on that we can’t have for various reasons and may actually prefer not to. i.e. why didn’t you get that new business deal (when in truth you wouldn’t have time now to devote to it), or get that promotion (with it’s additional responsibilities), or make that new career connection (when you haven’t revised your resume in months), etc.
Take a look at your life and see if you hold regrets or disappointments, rather than use them as times to reflect on what you do have OR to use them as firestarters to get you in action. For example:
Time can slip away from you due to unsuspected projects that arise – even for those of us who are good planners – yes, even a Career Strategist. We’ve all experienced how you set a day and time to do something, and something more pressing unexpectedly pops up and takes you away from your original work. Today I had a useful reminder because typically the day before I leave for a trip (I’m heading off to a week-long coach conference tomorrow), I try to finish too much. Sound familiar?
