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Wednesday March 22, 2006

Get a Going

If you hang around me a while, you might hear this very southern voice and phrase “Get a going” come out of my mouth. It usually generates a look because seeing an Indian woman say this with a southern voice seems rather…well, odd.

When it comes up, it’s typically about this. You are who you are today. But you’re not yet who you will be.

And the only way I know that you can become the person you want to be, is to start going in that direction. Whether it’s characteristics, or qualities, or personality improvements, or new skills, or whatever, you first need to aim firmly in the new way or direction you aim to be. And then, slowly but surely you take the baby steps to figure out what you need to know, you start learning, you try new things, you figure out what works and doesn’t, and you generally move towards your goal. Some of the learning, of course, is going to be figuring out what you need to shed or unlearn to move forward.

Look at all the stories in your life. The ones you say about your life, the ones others say about you. And realize that the story you told as you were in the middle of a trying time is not the story you tell later. I got fired brutally from a job and I was humiliated and embarrassed at the time. And now I talk about those days as the point of turnaround. I made different choices from that day, that used my talents better, in a context that made more sense for me and my personality. And if you believe your history isn’t over yet, then the story is not over yet. So you have a chance to keep adding to it, and shaping it. A year from now you may wish you had started to learn it today. Just get a going.

Categories: Learning, Random Ideas