“F” Stands for…

“F” is an interesting letter.  It is interesting how the poor letter has unintentionally become a symbol of so many things. Not all of them are positive.

While there are several possible articles on the letter “F” – let’s look at “Failure”.  For many of us, an “F” was not a good thing to receive in school, in work or in life.  We all have many examples where people in authority have pointed out our flaws and mistakes.  Just reading about this is probably bringing up some feelings and memories.

My biggest freedom in my life was when I shifted from “F” stands for Failure to “F” standing for Feedback.

Now when someone gives me “Feedback” even if it is rife with judgment or criticism I started looking for the nugget of truth, accept my responsibility for the nugget and automatically become more intentional of what I want. I ignore their delivery or their part in it.  I am not always successful right away but eventually when I shift to this approach, magical things happen.

But to be honest, I don’t get much of that old style criticism anymore.  What I do get is loving, sincere information that helps me get better.

Last week, I put out a video with a very powerful message but a poor delivery.  Part of me knew that and part of me just wanted to play with what would come up if I did something less than perfect.  There is so much that I haven’t done because I wanted it to be perfect. I tried to cover up myself with music and flying in letters.  And it didn’t work.

7  beautiful people sent me e-mails with lists of  suggestions for how I could do it better. And I sooooo appreciate that.  It is interesting to observe my internal response.  There was part of me that wanted to beat myself up for putting something out that was mediocre. Some old stuff was still there.  And there was part of me that was truly OK with it.  And there is a part of me that can’t wait to try some new ideas.

On the day that I did the first video, I created a second one.  It was my second go so I was definitely more animated and present.  I am still working on my recording and technical jitters and playing with different ways of presenting. I did however create it without the distracting music and fonts. (Thanks friends )

Should I have posted the mediocre video – maybe not or maybe… it was the perfect thing to do.  Sometimes our “screw-ups” are perfect.  I have seen so many times in my life and clients when that less than perfect situation became perfect.  My coaching teachers Wendy Down, Michael Stratford, and Tom Stone taught me something very important. They told me that it was not up to me to judge whether something was right or wrong, good or bad, perfect or imperfect.

Sometimes it is the imperfections that teach us the most.

This video is going to be released in tomorrow’s blog – but you can watch it today if you are inspired! (see below)

Remember to register for the productivity upgrade teleseminar series where we will learn much more about all of this.

http://www.unravelthemysterynow.com

Wishing you a wondrous life,

Cora