Tag: self awareness

Did I Do Enough Today? Embracing Daily Accomplishments

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“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” – Albert Einstein

At the end of yesterday, I looked at the three holiday cards that I intended to send off this week and grimaced. I didn’t get them done.

And yet at the end of the day I asked my 10-year-old daughter if she’d had a good day and she said, “Yes, and it’s all because of you, Mom.”

I don’t know if I can take credit for that but I did take four kids to the Museum of Flight (my two kids and a friend each). I fed everyone, did the laundry, took Cooper the dog for two walks, touched base with a few friends, and even managed to take a shower, meditate, and create some calm to carry with me throughout the day.

But I still looked at those cards and asked the question that I frequently wrestle with, “Did I do enough today?”

The answer that I usually come to is that I did as much as I could and it was enough. I might not be changing the world or getting things done at the pace I would like, but I show up and will eventually get where I’m going. I’ve done a lot of work to accept that as enough. Thank goodness I manage to sleep at night so I can start again the next day.

So here’s my question to you – do you ask yourself, “Did I do enough today?” And if so, what’s your answer?

(featured photo is the Space Shuttle Trainer at the Museum of Flight)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

Please check out the How to Share podcast, a podcast celebrates the art of teaching, learning, giving, and growing!

How To Share Your Best Self

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“When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or the life of another.” – Helen Keller

My 86-year-old mother recently bought an Apple watch along with the latest generation phone. She doesn’t like upgrading her technology but problems with her old phone made it necessary.

My mom is very smart but her strengths are in music and languages. As with so many of the people that I train in my job as a technology consultant, she’d rather focus her energy on what she likes doing and not have to bother with the rest. However, she is extremely independent.

She doesn’t often ask for help from me because it seems her conscientiousness about getting things done outweighs her frustration with technology. At least that’s my guess because I’m fascinated by how our mental makeup determines how we operate.

So I love this episode of the How To Share podcast with psychologist, talent agent, educator and author Dr. Albert Bramante because he speaks with Vicki Atkinson and me about some of the factors that contribute to how we approach life. He’s written a book called Rise Above the Script to help actors and performers break free of self-limiting patterns.

 His book reads like a toolkit for self-evaluation: taking a look at self-esteem, self-efficacy, and the big five personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness).

Albert points out the many ways we self-sabotage. As he says in the podcast clip below, once we see our patterns, it’s much easier to address them.

Albert says his book (and this episode) is for “anyone feeling the friction between their ambition and their achievement.” It is a fascinating dive into the ways we can bring our best selves to our work and to the world. We know you’ll love it.

Takeaways:

  • Collaboration is key in personal and professional growth.
  • Self-evaluation is essential for breaking self-limiting patterns.
  • Lifelong learning is crucial for personal development and confidence.
  • Self-care practices significantly impact mental health and overall well-being.
  • Understanding one’s relationship with money can improve financial stability.
  • Acknowledging achievements helps combat self-doubt and insecurity.
  • The importance of developing business acumen in creative fields.
  • Taking responsibility for one’s actions is the first step to overcoming challenges.

Here’s a clip of Albert describing the power of self-awareness:

Here are some ways you can listen and watch this fantastic episode:

Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

How to Share Advocacy with Sam Daley-Harris Part 2 – How To Share

In this conversation, Sam Daley-Harris talks with Wynne Leon and Vicki Atkinson and unpacks how transformational advocacy fits alongside other forms of activism like protests, litigation, and voter mobilization—and why it can succeed even when Washington seems paralyzed by shutdowns and partisan conflict. Sam shares some concrete examples from global health and environmental advocacy, offer insight into how citizens are working to reverse damage and protect the most vulnerable, and—perhaps most importantly—explain how anyone can be effective, even with just five to fifteen minutes a day. If you’ve ever wondered whether your voice can really matter, this conversation offers both clarity and hope. And Sam offers to be a guide to help you connect to the issues that matter most for you. We love talking with Sam because he shares how to be effective and counter the effects of fear, cynicism and loneliness. We know you’ll love this conversation! Links for this episode:Transcript for How to Share Advocacy Part 2Sam's Sign-up Sheet for resources on how to get startedReclaiming Our Democracy websiteReclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational Advocacy, 2024 Edition on Amazon
  1. How to Share Advocacy with Sam Daley-Harris Part 2
  2. What Do You Know To Be True?
  3. How to Share a Return Home with Mario Cartaya
  4. How to Share a Mission with Anthony Dyer
  5. How to Share Your Superpower with Roger Kastner

Links for this episode:

⁠Albert Bramante⁠ website

⁠Rise Above the Script: Confronting Self-Doubt and Mastering Self Sabotage for Performing Artists ⁠on Amazon

How to Share Your Best Self transcript

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: ⁠Surviving Sue⁠; Blog: ⁠https://victoriaponders.com/⁠

My book about my beloved father: ⁠Finding My Father’s Faith⁠

Writing a New Chapter

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“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

I heard someone years ago make an interesting distinction. She said that she ran, but was not a runner. It stuck with me once I heard it as a way I could differentiate doing something without claiming that I was any good at it.

I ride bikes but I’m not a cyclist.

I plant and water things in my yard but am not a gardener.

I write but am not a writer.

Part of the reason that I don’t think of myself as a writer is that I’m an electrical engineer by education. The very last class I took before I got my degree was technical writing. I put it off until the very end because I thought it would be easy and found out the hard way, with my degree on the line, that it was just as challenging.

And yet I keep finding myself drawn to write. Recently I was selected to be part of the talented group of writers that make up the Pointless Overthinking blog. Since I am by disposition a lot like a golden retriever – happy, goofy and energetic, my reaction was pretty much along those lines: ecstatic, a little teary and enthusiastic.

I don’t join groups very often these days. I work as a freelance technical consultant primarily alone, I parent alone, and since my Budheo-Christian beliefs don’t align with any particular church, I even worship alone. So for me just applying to join a group is a big deal.

It was an even bigger deal for me to be selected because it came with the sentence, “We were looking for someone who likes to both tell stories and mix in a little philosophizing, and you perfectly fit that description.”

I think I need to update, for my own self-image and not as an act of hubris, that I might not only write but in fact might actually be, a writer.

(Here is my first post on the Pointless Overthinking blog: Creating Context.)

(photo from Pexels)