Hi there Reader,
Welcome to this edition of Meaningful eMail with the most recent takeaway and updates linked here at the top, and then a full article for your consideration.
Grab what's helpful today, then save others for future reference. You never know when you or someone in your network could use a boost!
Recent Takeaways & Updates
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Top Takeaway: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Break through your Upper Limit to live and work in your Zone of Genius! The video version of my takeaways is on LinkedIn or read the article on my site when you click the button.
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Join Us: Passion, Purpose and Practical Application
LinkedIn Live 3/13 11am central
I'm joining two amazing coaches for a discussion on how to make passion and purpose more tangible. Bring your questions!
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Upcoming: Mid-Career Remix Roundtable 3/20 Noon central
Tired of doing what you 'should' do instead of what you want to do? Join me and special guest Cathleen Mohr, who helps people recognize what’s truly theirs and what’s just inherited ‘shoulds’ - a key element of stepping into a career and a life that feel like your own.
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Let's Explore
Rebel streaks
I was a teenage rebel.
I scoffed at my curfew.
Busted the school uniform code.
Got a strange piercing.
Well, at least that’s how my inner wild child saw it.
The reality? I wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize my scholarships.
Scoffing at my curfew to me? Parking my car at the end of the road until 11:58 then strolling in at exactly midnight. (Oh boy, I was a rebel all right.)
Busting the school uniform? Wearing brightly colored socks under the correct ones and having juuuust a strip of color show at the top. (Watch out now, I’m on a tear.)
That strange piercing? A second one in my left earlobe, but not my right - just like my inspiration: Molly Ringwald in Pretty In Pink. (You don’t wanna mess with me mister)
While these might seem like tiny rebellious acts in the grand scheme of things, they were meaningful to me.
I was pushing against expectations - testing out society’s rules - and each time I did I learned something about society and, more importantly, about myself.
Some pushes took me way outside of my comfort zone, so I’d come back to ‘center’ and try again. (I’ll leave those indiscretions for my memoir.)
But the pushes that felt just right gave me space to express myself in my own way. Not in the ways others felt I should, but the ways that felt natural to me and who I wanted to be.
That third piercing? I still love it 35 years later.
And now, all these years later that same rebellious streak is stirring again. This time, it's not about breaking curfew, it's about breaking free from the shoulds that have piled up over decades.
You might be feeling it too.
Questioning every damn thing.
Forcing smiles.
Second guessing routine decisions.
Wanting to shrug off the shoulds:
You should go for that promotion
You should wait til the kids are out of school
You should just tough it out
You should be grateful for what you have
You should just put in the time
You should stay in the career you’ve built
The good news is this is normal. Teenagers push boundaries on the way to becoming more independent. Mid-lifers shrug off society’s expectations on the way to finally doing life on their own damn terms.
Maybe you haven't quite thought of yourself as a rebel lately, but if you're questioning everything - your career, goals, even what success really means - guess what? That's your inner rebel talking. The part of you that's tired of playing by someone else's rules.
So the next time you hear yourself saying "I should....", take a moment to think about:
- where did this expectation come from?
- do I even believe this to be true? Has it been 'inherited'?
- if I could rewrite the 'rule' what would I choose instead?
And if you'd like to take this deeper, here are some options for you:
- A complimentary Connection Call - just you and me for 30 minutes - pick your time here.
- Join me and Cathleen Mohr at the next Mid-Career Remix Roundtable: March 20, Noon Central. Sign up here.
