I just realized something about myself that made me stop and laugh out loud with the epiphany.
Y special career spidey-skill tends to be connecting dots to identify trends to build patterns to influence the behavior to sway in the way of the company. I promise, it’s always authentic and true – if I know we can’t fulfill a brand promise I don’t say it.
I am rather proud that I pretty much navigated out of the media side of all my years and passion for that very reason and challenged myself to apply it to other value propositions instead. So I write plans and work with teams to figure stuff out and get the plans implemented versus doing so for several different clients on the strategy side. It’s just as rewarding, simply a change of brain. It’s kinda like when you get used to driving to work every day and then they have road construction and you have to spend a few months taking detour back roads you hadn’t driven on before and retrain you driving pattern while still needing to get to the same place which is payday.
Anyhoosies, I realized a few moments ago that for all the ways I can predict the correct market, media, message and measurement for basically everything outside of myself, I sure as heck can’t do it for myself and I’m living in this skinsuit for crying out loud.
My people recognize my trends way before I do. They think they’re pointing out the obvious too. Oh the irony. I know exactly how great that feels when you truly don’t think you identified something that everyone else hasn’t noticed only to realize, no, you’re just super aware.
Cause I sure am not when it comes to myself and I just called myself out on one. Jesus.
No. Really. I mean Jesus. My sister in law lost her grandmother, who raised her and was like her mom. She had the traditional picture of Jesus on her spare bedroom wall and it moved with her over the years, but was always in their décor her whole childhood.
As was mine.
She gave it to me when her grandma passed out of the blue. I was honored. To this day that kinda warped cardboard print with plastic frame of Jesus is part of my sentimental displays that personalize this house to be recognized as my home.
So why me? I talked about it when I saw it because I remember that same picture in many people’s homes while growing up and it was something that I connected with her on for our memories. We tend to share many similarities like that. I’m actually fortunate to have several family in laws that I have connections of those types with. It makes me so happy.
And it hit me, that after I finished a major cleaning out and re-thinking all my kitchen storage spaces, I purged very little and simply rearranged areas of the home to filter out all non-kitchen things. Or things that Marie Kondo explains no longer provide joy.
And low and behold, I noticed from the kitchen to the story wall I’ll be darned if I don’t have four nostalgia Jesus.
The one on the shelf is cool. It was in my Mom’s from before I was born and in a curio cabinet until last year’s clean out she had. Funny how it fit exactly where it should be. Love.
Guess I have a thing for Jesuses. Didn’t think about that til now.
Two years ago, my mother in law quilted me the most gorgeous couch lounge blanket. Just the right amount of pastel and sweet little birdies and I was instantly thankful in so many ways she made that for me and thought of me and chose those patterns.
What a gift.
She said well I know how much you love birds.
I do? I thought to myself kinda out loud.
Then I looked around. She was like, and she does this, “Well Duh!”
Bird pillow. Bird fly away thingy on the wall. My beloved feeders outside the windows and that new one suctioned to the window so they will eat right in front of me. Grandma Viv’s ceramic cardinal on the shelf by Jesus. My brother Greg’s blue glass bird from that Arkansas place. Oh year the yellow chickadee my daughter Bree got me. Yeah. Huh. I guess I do love birds. Thanks for helping me see it.
I painted four Sasquatch paintings before my mom bought me Sasquatch sticker she found cause she thought of me. Why?
I’m a doof.
And yep. I’m pretty good with subtle domino stuff but a total dyslexic when I pay attention to myself. And it turns out I like Jesus, clean countertops and cluttered memory stories with Sasquatch paintings and sunglass for sunshine.
I decided to go ahead and share it with others so they find their patterns too and embrace the good ones that make them happy. I’m happy to be dyslexic about myself because it shows how I am surrounded by so many observantly authentic and caring people.
My friends at work got me canvases and time clocks to be present. How absolutely lovely people are.
Be the light!
Thanks for reading,
Heather