Allowing Connection

I am lucky for a number of reasons - my career being one.

I turned the page to a new chapter in my career this past August. One of the main reasons was to be of service to others on a more consistent basis. Now 8 months in, I've learned that the more I interact with others, the more I learn about myself, an unexpected but exceptional perk.

We are comfortable around people we know well - family, friends, or colleagues we see on a daily basis. On the flip side, we are more uncomfortable around people we do not know well. My day is filled with the latter, inherently pushing me out of my comfort zone with each conversation.

We often think of comfort zones as technical barriers - a new responsibility in our careers or an unknown revenue stream in our business - something in which we are pushing our capacity.

But the most significant of comfort zones we can break through is an internal decision we make when we are around other people. In these times, to have a meaningful connection with someone else, we are forced to be nothing but our unadulterated selves. This can be easier said than done, especially when we don't know the other person well or haven't seem them recently.

"How will this person perceive me?"

If we are ourselves, it matters not how we are perceived. What matters is that we are being - appreciative of who we are, what we do, what we enjoy, who we love and the choices we make.

Here's to:

• Removing the wonderment of how I am perceived by others.

• Striving to be myself around anyone in which I am lucky enough to connect.

• Reminding myself that I am good enough as I am.