When you type too fast while trying to catch up with your flying thoughts word blog turns into word bog, and then bog become the perfect metaphor for how you feel and what you’re about to write about.
Bog the noun, means wet muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body, marsh, swamp. To bog down (bog the verb/cause) means an entity or an object to become stuck in mud or wet ground. This week was little icky and i felt like I was getting stuck in mud and my feet were heavy with dirt that I could barely move on from the predicaments I found myself in. Nonetheless I was able to pause and reflect on self, and how important personal interrelationships are in leadership.
The first blog post I want to reflect on this week was actually a news post I first read on inhabitat.com about the decision by Syrian government to be the latest nation to sign the Paris Climate Agreement, making The US is now the only country in the world to refuse the Paris Climate Agreement. It was embarrassing, it was sicking it was ridiculous to find out that the nation I belong to that praises itself on being the leading nation in the world (emphasis on self praise) was the only nation that doesn’t officially recognize climate change or need to act on it. Are we really worse than Syria or North Korea? REALLY??? This isn’t a blog recap so much as a cry for help or a public frustration effort.
The following day was the election day 2017… surreal day for some of us. The family woke up late. Kids didn’t want to go to school, everyone was grumpy and running late and us adults wanted to make sure we get to vote at some point in the day. We briefly reflected on how important (or not) it was to cast a ballot because it was only the local, the not important election. Our little city government did have only 1 thing to vote for too. I left for undecided in hurry. While I was walking from the garage to my office I get a text from my husband with the picture of him and our girls standing next to the sign I VOTED. Simultaneously I get the email notification of Seth Godin’s newest post. It was called
Disastorino and it was about the election, marketing, selling and buying (of ideas) and importance to speak up and make your voice heard no matter how insignificant it seems. Seth contrasted politicians and retailers of which both are selling a product (politics or coffee for example) and how each could learn from each other. Politicians win by spending money on dismantling the opponents and causing doubt among already septic voters. The retailers on the other hand focus on targeting specific markets and guest segments, tailoring their message only on what makes them good and why you should choose their product over someone else and then the consumer picks the winner. It was interesting analogy and a good read. It really resonated with me that day because I was running late into a meeting about our holiday campaign and product assortment we are trying to sell as corporation. And it resonated with me as a voter who thought that it would be nice to vote but that it would be OK if I didn’t because my day already started on a bad note. Making me realize that every vote counts, no matter how small it is. I thought back to my frustration from the previous day, the Syrian decision to sign the Paris Climate Agreement. And realized that frustration won’t get me anywhere. It never does. Voting does. Spreading my message does, doing something about it does. Volunteering and spreading awareness does.
Last blog I read a quick 2 minute read on
Entreprenuer.com called
Brain Science Says to Trust Your Gut in These Key Moments. The post talked about a scientific experiment conducted in Europe on how when found in difficult situations we have a hard time thinking clearly. The conclusion however was, that even though the outside influences both positive and negative taint our thinking abilities and ruin our concentration. While our reaction to stress may cause us to make bad decision at the moment, in the long run reflexive reaction is preferred to alternative of making a decision on incomplete and unpredictable information. Basically, when under stress it is important to listen to your gut instinct to get yourself out of the bog, to make a change.
