What Does Your Wake Look Like?
20 Aug
First, off apologies for majority slacking on the blogging lately. As Jenny posted earlier, this has been a whirlwind of a summer! I had the chance to finally relax the other day and picked up one of the many books I’ve been dying to read lately: “Integrity” by Dr Henry Cloud. I only got around to reading the first chapter, but he brought up a very thought provoking topic that I thought was worth sharing.
He talks about how one of his favorite things to do, is sit on the boat and watch the wake that it leaves behind. He said that you can tell a lot about the boat from the type of wake that it’s leaving- if its choppy, smooth or rippling all depends on how the boat is being driven. This brings me to the point we should all ponder- what type of wake are we leaving behind? Are we making it an enjoyable experience for the people behind us, or are we sending them flailing and screaming for mercy?
At my last job, my coworker gave me excellent advice- he said no matter how long I am there, to be sure to make change and add something to it. He was right, because in every interview there was always one question- “What change did you bring to the organization?” (aka what was your legacy?) Stop for a moment and think about what change you have brought to yours. If you can’t think of anything, you are probably just gliding along with no concern for the wake you are leaving behind. If you aren’t making things easier for people around you, and really contributing and building others, why should any company hire you or keep you?
Just as if you want to change the wake, you have to change how you are steering the boat, to change the wake you leave behind in life, you need to first look at yourself and how you are “steering your course”. If you are believe in hard work and building people around you up, your wake will be smooth and enjoyable for everyone in your path. If you are lying, cheating and being lazy, chances are your wake is going to be bumpy and not something that anyone wants to be in.
This is definitely something to think about. I know this inspired me to be a better captain!
Tags: change, gen y, inspiration, wake
I needed this. For a few weeks, even though I’ve been accepted into an amazing fellowship program, I had been reminding myself of how awful being laid off was and wondering why they chose to get rid of me instead of someone else. I still haven’t been able to let it go completely. Granted it’s a small organization and I had the least education and experience in my dept., but still. It hurt. But reading this, I asked myself, “Did I leave anything behind? Was I completely useless there?” And then I remember that I was the one to introduce social media to the organization — I started a blog and a Twitter account — two things the organization is actively using today. So I guess I did make a difference. And that means I have the capability of making a difference throughout my service as a fellow.