[2023-07-01] Saturday Synopsis #50 and Happy Canada Day
I love the perspectives I shared in "Advice for career and life." Of note, as I reflected on the various stages of my life, I didn't mention my job post cancer. In fact, I didn't mention cancer at all. If I were to update the article, I would say that from 55 to 57, I've been engaged in a different type of public service: sharing my cancer journey and life story to inspire others. What do you call that role?
This week's photo was taken in Wakefield. Happy Canada Day everyone!
3 Ideas From Me
My most significant learning from my twenties would be this: strive to do a good job, be willing to take on projects that others find daunting, and remember that your reputation is cultivated by every interaction you have―with bosses, clients, coworkers and even subordinates. How you get along with others matters, including people who have seemingly no power to help you advance in your career.
Surround yourself with people trying to get better at the same things as you. "People seldom get better as individuals. They get better as groups." [Author and blogger James] Altucher points to examples of groups from literature to art to business. Top athletes often talk about the value of training with other athletes. And entrepreneurs benefit from hanging out with other aspiring business leaders. Why does this approach work? "You each challenge each other, compete with each other, love each other’s work, become envious of each other, and ultimately take turns surpassing each other."
Being optimistic doesn't mean dodging disease and living forever. It does mean choosing a healthier lifestyle, which can improve one's quality of life and perhaps the length of that life too.
2 Quotes From Others
A woman walked up to a gate of a guarded community and asked, "What kind of people are here in your community?"
The man at the gate replied, "What kind of people are there where you are from?"
"Well, they are mean, rude, nasty, and short-sighted," she said.
"You will find the same people here," he told her.
A few minutes later, another woman walked up to the man and asked, "What kind of people are here in this community?"
The man at the gate replied, "What kind of people are there where you are from?"
"They are kind, loving, authentic, and good," she said.
"You will find the same people here," he told her.
~ Cyndie Spiegel
For many, the eagerness to please stems from self-worth issues. They hope that saying yes to everything asked of them will help them feel accepted and liked. Other people-pleasers have a history of maltreatment, and somewhere along the way, they decided that their best hope for better treatment was to try to please the people who mistreated them. Over time, for them, people-pleasing became a way of life.
~ Amy Morin
1 Question For You
At 55 (soon to be 56), with two cancers behind me, and retirement stretching before me, it's time I started practising to be the kindly and slightly plucky old lady I aspire to be. May I be so lucky as to get there. And if I do, perhaps I will wear purple with a red hat.
What audacious behaviour have you adopted as you've gotten older?
