I was interviewed for a course on ethical leadership a couple of months ago. One of the questions was what drives my value system and priorities at work. I suppose I had not thought of this before, but it was during that interview that I realized providing equal access to opportunities, inclusion, and appreciating diversity are very important values of mine. As I was asked additional questions about why these were so important to me, I realized it was my experiences feeling marginalized while growing up, in college, and and even at work when I did not fit in the norms that really drive me to ensure those around me have the opportunities to be included and differences are valued.
About Me
One Small Step At a Time – Career Advice
It is quite daunting sometimes to think about how to accomplish our major personal and professional goals. I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking I could and should be able to reach goals that take time and effort all at once and as soon as possible. However, this type of thinking has led me to abandon my goals and/or made me anxious. Losing 30 pounds is not an easy task and in the past, I wanted to see the results right away. When I did not see immediate results, I gave up. However, when I shifted my goal to losing a pound a week, I became more patient, my expectation became more realistic and I started to enjoy the process. I still have a long way to go, but I am now seeing some results.
Importance of Finishing What You Start
Starting something is important. After all, to finish something, you have to start somewhere. However, as important is to commit and actually finishing them. This year, like many of you out there, I listed my resolutions. One of them was to be healthier which includes losing weight. I have made this promise so many times in the past but somehow I never stuck to it. This year is a little different. I’m now seeing the results. In the last two months, I have lost 12 pounds through exercise and healthier eating. This may not sound much but for me it is. I finally started keeping track of what I ate and dedicated some time to start walking, even for 30 minutes stretches and going to the gym.
The inspiration for this blog post actually came from looking at the draft blog posts I see on my list, ones that I’ve started but did not quite finished. Even if these ideas are good, readers of my blog will never see them if I left them incomplete. So, here I am again committing to finally completing the posts “in progress.”
What ideas/projects have you started you should start working on again?
A Painful Reminder of My Able-Bodied Privilege
I was reminded of my privilege as an able-bodied person to have the ability to freely walk around when I could not walk last week. This was all because of a severely sprained right foot. I had to get an X-Ray to make sure none of my bones were broken. For the last few days, I’ve been hobbling around, even dragging my leg, trying to go up and down our stairs at home and going from the parking lot to our buildings at work. I started to notice certain things like how far the elevator is from the parking lot, even from the disabled parking spots. It took me a little longer to get from one meeting to another. I had to ask one of my colleagues to bring some water so I can drink some pain medicine.
My disability is temporary. In a couple of days, I should be walking around again with no pain (I hope), but this sprained foot did provide me a reminder to check my able-bodied privileges.
There are many privileges we are afforded in life and sometimes I know I don’t always appreciate them. This painful albeit temporary experience certainly reminded me of that.
Practice What We Preach – Do No Harm When We Tweet
This is as much as reminder to me as to anyone else I connect with on twitter or on other social media platforms. Let’s practice what we preach when we tell others to practice kindness and be the leaders we’re supposed to be in our professions and our communities.
I was about to tweet something sarcastic and derogatory during the Oscar Award show, about to join others who were mocking some celebrities, but I caught myself and stopped. Are we not to model the behavior we want our students and colleagues to be? From time to time, I see tweets that remind me to “check your last 10 tweets. Would someone hire you based on those tweets?” Even the benign sarcasms can be misinterpreted on social media. Look, I’m no Kristen Stewart fan when it comes to her acting but the tweets that came across my timeline were not the most positive, even mean. I actually felt bad for her as she limped on stage. She may never see those tweets but some of the students or friends we’ve been preaching to about the proper use of social media may.
I’ve been guilty of not being so nice on social media either, not on purpose, but inadvertently. If you catch me acting on social media in a way that’s not appropriate, make me accountable by calling me out . Let’s make a commitment towards practicing what we preach by modeling good and acceptable behaviors we expect our students and others who are looking at our actions can follow.