| Good Tuesday morning everyone, I’ve got two final Lessons Learned in 2023 to share with you, so here they are: Lesson 6 – Haters gonna hate – This is a lesson I’ve had to learn again as I’ve been more public-facing this year than ever before. I’ve had anonymous trolls tell me what they would like to do to certain parts of my body, vicious emails from strangers calling me all kinds of names, and other (thankfully mild) forms of aggressive, abusive, and sometimes threatening messages. Haterade and insanity, it seems, flows through the veins of the internet. And whenever I am pulled into that current I: 1) Report the abuse/behavior however possible; 2) Remind myself that there will always be people who hate because they are hateful; and 3) Remind myself that I am not trying to convert followers; I am sharing what I know with honesty, candor, and positive intent, but not everyone is gonna be down with the message or the messenger. That’s just life. But the reason I keep going – despite the haterdom – is for the people in the world who I am connecting with and am resonating with. That simple. So let the haters hate. They’ll keep doing their thing. And I’ll keep doing mine. Lesson 7 – Don’t give up before you start – Back in July, I finally accomplished my goal of doing ten chin ups. But the other part of that story is how regularly I stopped before I started really trying, how often I had to battle my own defeatist instincts that refrained “it’s too hard”, “who cares how many chin ups you can do”, “it’s a totally arbitrary goal”, and how often I told myself it wasn’t possible anyway. But over time – and because I’m stubborn as hell! – I forced myself to take my own advice and allow myself to try anyway. Because you never know. And – as you now know – I did it. Ten chin-ups! But it took me two YEARS longer to achieve that goal than I had initially targeted. Two YEARS during which I had to keep telling myself to keep going, regardless of the outcome, to focus on what I can control, to give it a try and see what might happen… And then it happened. Because I didn’t stop trying. And the reality is, that is what success at anything looks like for some (maybe many) of us: we get excited, we get deflated, we want results overnight, and then we quit. Or we keep going. No matter how long it takes. No matter how many pauses along the way. No matter how ugly the process. We keep going. And going. (And battling our quitter’s instincts!) Until we get there. So, maybe, just maybe, the next time you want something but it seems too big, or too hard, or too impossible, just let yourself see. See what you can do if you take the pressure off, if you keep going, if you keep trying, and if you let go of how long it will take to get there. The time will pass anyway. So, let’s just see. xx Rupal PS – You can read my Lessons Learned Parts 1 and 2 here and here. PPS – Hopefully you’ve found time to capture the lessons from your 2023. I’d love to hear from you if you have! |
| This paperback beauty comes out in just a few days, and I’d love for you to see why USA Today said From CIA to CEO “arms readers with the tools to unleash personal excellence.” If you pre-order HERE before 11 January, you’ll get a signed and personalized copy too! My way of saying thank you for making me a part of whatever greatness you will unleash in 2024… and beyond. |
