We all look for opportunities to grow. To try out something we’ve never done before. I have already mentioned in the past (see Building Something That Matters) how there are things more important to us than just money. Personal growth is one of them.
In SharedBook we keep looking for ways to help our people grow, acquire new skills, and do things they’ve never done before. As exciting as it sounds, it is also scary. Watching the process as we conquer our fears is fascinating and rewarding.
"Don't be afraid to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing." (H. Stanley Judd)
I would like to dedicate this blog post to the SharedBook R&D team. For those that have faced and conquered their fears over and over again with great success, and even more for those who are facing this decision right now, those who may be struggling with themselves whether to take the opportunity and face the challenge … or not.
"It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation." (Dr. Rob Gilbert)
Over the past week, I have offered a few people the chance to do things they’ve never done before: new roles, new projects or brand new challenges. The response was the same: initially they were thrilled about the opportunity; they embraced it, and then came the sentence: “But now I am afraid.” My response is always the same: “It is perfectly OK to have butterflies in your stomach. Learn to love those butterflies. It means you are about to do something you’ve never done before.”
I was thinking of this today as I watched one of our key developers navigate through one of his first challenges in a new role. While it was something that he had never done before, he definitely came well prepared. He asked all the right questions in advance, and made sure to have all the information at hand. And he did beautifully! Watching him handle this like a true pro, lead the process, gain more and more confidence: it felt like pure magic! J
"One of the great discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do." (Henry Ford)
Earlier this week I went through a similar process myself – on my bike. Biking for me is a never ending journey of conquering fears (you can read about it here: The Race). One cold, bright morning this week, I found myself looking horrified at my coach, who was trying to get me to try a new technique drill to improve my turns. At first I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. Then I thought that it might be OK for him to do it, but I would never ever do it. And then he did it, showing me it was possible. I hoped the ground would swallow me right there on the spot, but it didn’t happen. So I focused really hard, got those butterflies to fly in formation, took a deep breath, and … I did it!
Finding out that I could actually do something I never thought was possible for me, was an amazing feeling. It felt like pure magic, and I continued doing it over and over, as I didn’t want the magic to stop.
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face ... we must do that which we think we cannot." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
At the end of the day: those small experiences in which we face our fears and conquer them are what make us grow. And here in SharedBook we have a habit of facing those fears regularly, and taming the butterflies.
This is what gives me the confidence that the SharedBook team here is capable of anything! J
