Words that caught us: How'd they do it without me?

 

(Note to self…)

 

Somewhere nearby,

Something went well

Without my input or contribution.

 

The details were perfect, without me.

They made good choices, without me.

The deadlines were met, without me.

There were no mistakes,

And the client was exceptionally thrilled,

Even though I wasn't there to oversee it.

The quality was excellent,

Even though I wasn't there to supervise the work.

They gave it an interesting new angle and oomph,

Without any of my input.

And they had great fun doing it, without me (ouch!)

 

How'd they do it without me?

 

One of the greatest contributors to our stress

Is our false believe in our indispensability.

We, very often, get surprised,

When something good is accomplished,

Without our presence, input or contribution.

 

We will easily and surely

Stall ourselves and others,

Limit ourselves and others,

Break and wear ourselves down,

If we consistently act on the false believe,

That it can't be done right

Unless we are there,

Or, unless we do it ourselves.

 

More often than not,

That's why our bucket list is overflowing,

With things we'd love to do

And places we'd love to visit.

That's probably why we've postponed our vacation,

Every year. 

That's probably why we didn't honour that coffee date,

With a friend who is hurting, or reaching out.

That's probably why we didn't return the call.

That's probably why we neglect our self-care.

That's probably why we don't spend enough time

With our kids and mates.

Where are you pulling and stretching yourself thin?

Is that call to duty made out of a genuine pursuit 

For contribution and excellence,

Or out of the false believe that it can't wait,

And/or, no one else can do it well enough?

How long will it take us

To unwrap and let go, of this false belief?

 

This reflection was inspired by this note by Seth Godin