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Let’s Talk Turkey!
Ladies,
I want to talk with you personally today. As women, by nature, we are emotional creatures. We tend to filter experiences through our emotions before we filter them through logic. There are times when this filtering process is reversed, of course, we are all different. But for the sake of my point, let’s go with the emotional filter first. I want to share an experience with you that changed my view and caused me to be more forward thinking.
One evening, I fixed my love a turkey sandwich. He loves my sandwiches. I’m pretty good at making them. I usually take my time and try to put sub shops to shame. I love presentation and taste. This particular evening, I didn’t have all of my “normal” ingredients to make THE sandwich, so I made a quick version. I gave it to him, and he ate it and I thought I would hear his usual “that was the best sandwich ever” statement. I didn’t. Instead, when he finished, he said, “that was not you, that was terrible.” I thought he was joking, but when he turned around and continued explaining why it was terrible, I knew he was serious. I was immediately offended and was ready to defend myself and snap off (neck roll included) and he said something at that moment that made me shut up and reflect. He said, “instead of getting mad, why aren’t you taking what I said, finding the lesson in it and preparing to do better next time? Why are you allowing the problem to linger and not find a solution? Why are you only focusing on the negative? If you want to be the best you have to BE the best. You know, I love you and am not messed up about a sandwich, but my job is to make sure you’re giving 100% on EVERYTHING.” Imagine my face after that “check”. I will be honest and say I had multiple emotions. Part of me wanted to still fume about the sandwich (I tend to dwell). But listening to what he said, I had to be done with the self-pity and excuses. I know that even with something as simple as a turkey sandwich, the moment was deeper. I had to woman up. This moment was about my product, my brand. What was I giving my customers/clients? What was I giving anyone I met that could be a potential customer/client? What would I do with limited resources in real life? I had some inner work to do. If I say I operate in excellence, then that should be all the time. Excellence doesn’t mean perfect, it means giving your all, finding a way out of no way and producing.
My take-a-ways from this conversation were:
· Always be prepared
· Listen for the lesson
· Change your negative/emotional filters in order to accentuate the positive
Let’s talk turkey! This phrase means ‘let’s cut the chase and be 100’! As women, we wear a lot of hats. We strive for perfection, not necessarily excellence. We see phrases, billboards, memes and more talking about the "superpowers" we possess. Sometimes we are being stretched so far that we lose resources in one of the many areas we operate in. What do we do? Do we produce a mediocre “sandwich” and say “at least I did it” or do we step back, re-evaluate and see what we can cut and/or maximize in order to operate more efficiently and effectively? Sometimes, we exude mediocrity without even realizing it. My challenge to you today is to step back and evaluate your current situation. Are you producing excellently or are you just pushing out a product? Are you offended every time someone critiques your work objectively? Are you too tired to take on that project, but do it any way because you feel obligated or want to prove a point? Do you refuse to use self-care which helps you operate at the top of your game? What do you need to always be prepared? What lessons have you missed because of offense? What conversations have you filtered negatively? These are just a few questions to leave you with as you ponder on you, your brand, your essence, and your mark in the earth. If you apply the three principles above, you will find yourself walking in excellence, not perfection.