How many of you are good at growing plants? How many of you have a green thumb? If you said yes to any of these questions, you are familiar with what plants need most to thrive. They need sunlight, good soil with nutrition, and most importantly, plants need a drink of water. Now, I’m not someone who is good with plants. I don’t have a green thumb. And thankfully some of my plants remind me when they need attention. When I forget to water my plants often enough, they start drooping and falling down. But as soon as I give them a drink of water, they stand up and stretch out to feel the warmth of the sun. As humans we also need a literal drink of water to sustain life.
I suggest that our stories are like a drink of water to us as well. Sometimes when we are drooping and feeling down, looking back at our stories can be the drink of water we need to stand up tall again and stretch out to feel the warmth of the sun. This provides encouragement and inspiration needed to face the challenges in life and work towards our goals. Like a drink of water, your story matters. And those stories don’t have to be grand or complex. The simplest stories may also be the most profound. I’ll share one simple story from my childhood that is still a drink of water for me 40+ years later.
A major arch across my personal and professional life is that of resilience, adaptability, and creativity. I can trace it back to when I was a young teen growing up in rural Georgia along the red clay banks of the Chattahoochee River. We were a poor working-class family and didn’t have a car because neither of my parents ever learned to drive. We depended upon family, friends, taxis, or walking to get around. At 16 I was already working a part time job after school and wanted to get a car. But where some people saw limitations and barriers, I saw opportunity if I was adaptive and resilient. I spent that Spring riding my bicycle all over town until I found a used car that I could afford. My adaptability and resilience resulted in me getting a car. You may be curious about what my first car was like. It was a turquoise blue Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with removable T-tops. You couldn’t tell that 16-year-old that he wasn’t cool in that open car. That car meant freedom and more open doors of opportunity for me as well as my family. This story was and continues to be my foundational drink of water to inspire me in challenging times. I called upon it many other times including in some of the following life challenges.
When I joined the Air Force as a Signals Intelligence Analyst, I called upon the same drink of water story for inspiration and learning skills for adapting to new life experiences and career paths. Then, when I left the Air Force and entered the commercial business sector, I had to continue calling upon the drink of water story to be resilient and adaptive. In the six years after I left the Air Force, I experienced four different job layoffs due to corporate downsizing, mergers & acquisitions etc. But each time, I learned to develop transferable job skills and experience as well as building my network of colleagues, friends, mentors, and support resources. These were essential for collaboration to adapt to each new career and life change for myself as well as supporting other friends and colleagues navigating their own change.
Fast forward 20 years. I had grown my career through on the job experience and certifications in positions that did not require a degree if you had equivalent years of experience. Then, suddenly, everything changed! Many of the jobs began requiring a minimum of a bachelor’s degree no matter how many years of experience. I was no longer employable in the field that I had been working in for 20 years. Once again, I had to call upon my resilience, adaptability, and creativity in my mid-to-late 40’s to go back to university and complete my bachelor’s degree as soon as possible. I not only completed my bachelor’s degree, I went on to complete a master’s degree in industrial & organizational psychology, and a graduate certificate in executive and professional coaching.
All of that led me where I am today, as a business professional and certified professional executive coach who is passionate about helping others build their resilience, creativity, and adaptability to navigate the change in their personal and professional lives. My past experiences, both personal and professional, inspire my interest in Talent Development, Organizational Effectiveness, Change Management, and Coaching. And I’m excited for the opportunities ahead. And all these challenging times led me to reflect on that childhood story of riding my bike all over town to find a car I could afford on my own. That early story was and continues to be my foundational drink of water inspiring me through all these challenges, and the glass was replenished with more water from each new story added.
This is my story. This is who I am, and this is my drink of water. Whenever I feel challenged in life, struggle with accomplishing goals and overcoming obstacles, I look back at this simple yet profound story, and it inspires and reminds me of my resilience and perseverance, like a drink of water, bringing me back to life ready to face the challenges and not just accomplish my goals, but thrive! I believe each of us has many stories that are drinks of water. So, I encourage you, when facing challenges or feeling defeated when trying to achieve your goals, look back on your stories, find your drink of water, stand up proud, inspired, and refreshed to achieve your goals and thrive, because your story matters.
