One segment of my recent podcast with Sam McIntyre really stayed with me. The new shape of family, and the shape of self.
First, Sam and I talked about how families today are built differently.
The Shape of Family
How many of our families actually look like the Apple emoji?
Probably not too many. Our family includes a rescue dog and hedgehog, as well as whomever is staying in our Spare Room. So, maybe our family’s emoji looks more like like?
Equally, and in part because I spend more time with them than I do my own family at home, my work team is also my family. These are the people that I choose, that I love. I have their back and they have mine. We’re in it together. You see, the point of family is, you are each other’s people and you’re here to take care of each other. (Tune in at 25:45 to hear the full discussion.)
The Shape of Self
The second thing Sam and I touched on, in terms of the shape of acceptance, is self-love.
Do you sometimes feel stretched too thin? You’re either doing well at work but home suffers, or your family life is wonderful but you’re floundering a bit at work. Yet, by asking yourself, “Where am I not good enough?”, you can render yourself incapacitated… stuck in the in-between. Don’t do it!
Instead, recognize that you’re doing your best, and that you’re learning to do even better.
Choose the big moments… those key opportunities where you’ll define your success. For me, it’s about how my family feels – can they count on me in the important moments? Do they feel my love in the language that matters to them? Equally importantly, how does my team feel? Do they feel alone or anxious? Or do they know they can rely on me to guide, support, and celebrate?
The Shape of Acceptance
Let’s accept ourselves, and our best efforts. Let’s not scrutinize the small moments and beat ourselves up for the small failures. Let’s show compassion to ourselves. And give ourselves space, time and opportunity to do even better next time. After all, if we can’t accept who we are today, we won’t get to become who we’ll be tomorrow.
To listen to more of my podcasts, go here.