Jennifer Abrams, a professional developer and consultant, writes about finding one’s voice in her monthly newsletter, Voice Lessons. This newsletter is entitled “Moving from Inner Ouches to Opportunity.”
Last night I received an email from a bubbly young woman who was at one of my workshops in July. She had written to say that she had just been at a training in her district facilitated by a consultant who was ‘amazing’ and who ‘got us to be quiet even faster than you did.’ There was a smiley face next to the comment, but all I could think of at 9pm on a Tuesday night in the midst of a busy month was “Ouch.” I wrote back, “I’ll check out his website, thanks! Glad you had a good day and that he was terrific!” but what I was really thinking was “Ouch.”
To say that my lack of a growth mindset at that moment was evident is an understatement. I was grumpy and whiny and needed a hug. I was not on a learning edge. My fragility was front and center. I began comparing myself to this guy. Judging him, and in doing so, judging myself. I started excusing, deflecting and defending. This didn’t go on for forever because I curled up and went to sleep, but you get the picture. It wasn’t useful.
In the morning, I was embarrassed…
