What is being a badass?
Someone leaping tall buildings in a single bound? Someone winning the Food Network Holiday Baking Championship? Someone making a one handed football catch? Someone with 93 wins in NASCAR? Someone winning the Noble Peace Prize? Yes!
But you know what – Someone buying coffee for the next person in line. Someone delivering blankets to the homeless on a cold Chicago night. Someone hiking up the Hancock building for charity. Someone buying Christmas toys for foster kids. Finding a way to improve system-wide productivity at work. Those are badass actions too. Actions that we all have done, yet we forgot to add to the badass credit column!
We all have a badass persona inside of us. Now is the time to bring it out like the Hulk on a bad day. In 2017, the goal is to be aware of the potential of your badass persona. You can have the job you love, you can be a part of projects that energize you, you can transform the areas of your life (both professional and personal) to be reflective of you – yes, yes you can.
I think we have all been victim of the impostor syndrome. The little voice in our heads that whispers, “Your ideas aren’t good enough for this crowd.” It’s insidious and it sucks the life out us. Especially when find ourselves listening to that voice more than the other voice that is cheering our successes. We all need a kick in the butt from our inner cheerleader from time to time, regardless of who you are, and your position in life.
Get the awareness out there!
An activity I am fond of using as an introduction in workshops is a twist on the standard “interview and introduce”. Here’s how it works:
- Have each participants grab 3 sticky notes (it can be any 3 small pieces of paper, I find sticky notes are readily accessible.)
- Have them number each one and write their name at the top.
- On sticky note #1 answer the following question: “What are you most proud of personally?” excluding statements like “I’m most proud of my children.” Could be they are most proud of losing 20 pounds, learned to cook a hard-boiled egg (surprisingly hard for some people) or traveled alone on vacation for the first time and lived to tell about it.
- On sticky note #2 answer the following question: “What are you most proud of professionally?” Could be they led an important project, was recently promoted, received an industry reward, help the boss solve a problem that saved money.
- Sticky note #3 varies, but is usually: “In this workshop, what will success look like to you?”
- Upon completion of answering the questions, they are to stand up. When you say go they are to find someone not near to them, and talk about the information on sticky note #1. They have three minutes to share. At the end of three minutes you stop the activity, have the participants exchange their sticky notes #1.
- Start the timer again, having the participants find a new person to talk to about what is on their sticky note #2 – again they have three minutes.
- Repeat for sticky note #3
- Debrief – have the people share the exciting and interesting things they have learned about each other. Ask specifically about each numbered sticky note, “Who wants to share something great from sticky note #1?” get a few answers, move to sticky note #2 and then sticky note #3. Sticky note #3 leads you to the goals of the workshop.
Sharing your wins!
Here’s what is always interesting to me. I do this activity with newly formed teams and with people who have worked with each other for years, and everyone still manages to learn something new about each other. Why? It’s not because people aren’t doing badass things, they are…it’s that they don’t share those badass things. Many times I hear, “Oh, it’s not that big a deal.” YES.IT.IS! You can feel the mood and atmosphere change, people are proud and positive. Sometimes we all need a push.
I ask you, what would happen if you claimed your own “badassness”? (Is that a word? Well, it is now.) How would you feel? How would that affect your day, your week, your month? Regular acknowledgment of your “badassness” can only help to propel your “Progress and Purpose“. This is not me going all rainbows and butterflies on you…however, as I mentioned in last week’s post, this is about how we choose to see life. Are looking at life through a positive or negative filter?
The moment you’ve been waiting for…
So, here is this week’s giveaway, for the “Learning Rebels January Book Extravaganza”! (You have to say that in James Earl Jones voice to get the true impact.) “You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero.
Post a picture of your “badassness” on either (or all) twitter, Instagram or the Learning Rebels Facebook page under the raffle post. This could be anything that makes you a badass. Do you foster dogs? Let’s see a picture of the cuteness. Do you volunteer at a school, shelter, food pantry, senior home? Let’s see a picture! Did you ROCK your latest course creation? Screenshot please. Manage to lift 50 pounds at the gym? Show us! Grow the biggest zucchini EVER this summer. Share! Color your hair pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Week? Yep, that counts too.
You will get one entry for every application. When posting on Instagram or twitter, don’t forget to hashtag #LearningRebels you have until 1/13 to enter.
Let’s start the year out on a positive note. We all have a little (or big) bit of badass inside us. Let it out, and shout it out. Don’t let 2017 hold you back with self-sabotaging or impostor syndrome. #LetsDoThis!
The January Book Giveaway winner for week 1: “The Power of Habit“…Rachel D! YAY YOU!
