The Inconsistent Parent; or “Do As I Say!”

“Don’t EVER drive more than 5 mph over the speed limit.”

“Always suspect that the “other guy” is just trying to do his best.”

“You may not see the end game, but TRUST that you can get there.”

“ALWAYS save an angry email for 24 hours before sending!”

“Live INTO the change.”

Whether we are parents, team leaders, siblings, friends, or teammates, we can all remember being given advice (or orders) from someone who didn’t  “walk the walk”.

In fact, we’ve all probably given a lot of great advice that we never applied to our own lives.

In my case, I excelled at this as a parent – so much so that my blessedly old soul of a six year-old daughter (at the time) nicknamed me “The Inconsistent Parent.”

So, you’d think I’d be an expert at recognizing my own behavior in this area after years of proudly earning that title.

But until very recently, I wasn’t.

We usually have confidence in all of that advice that we give away to others.

Some of us — many of us —  live for that moment when someone has a breakthrough and does something they never believed possible:

  1. Builds the gold standard team out of dysfunction
  2. Gets that next promotion
  3. Realizes that change makes value not just vulnerability
  4. Starts and grows a business from scratch

But we don’t always turn our own wisdom on ourselves.

Really – look for your blind spot on this!

Because in the mistakes and successes of your life, in the things that you could control and in those over which you had no control, you have earned the benefit of your own wisdom.

You generously share it with others; now maybe it is time to realize that it can also be your own treasure!

Don’t fail to recognize yourself as one of your own best mentors and advocates.

Give yourself a listen!

 

Author, Virtual CFO, and Finance Coach
Your First CFO: The Accounting Cure for Small Business Owners” on AMAZON