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As much as we succeed in many things in our lives, from passing our first maths test to achieving great things with sport, business or personal goals, we never do it on our own or in isolation.

Every success may be driven by one person but the support behind every success is where the power and, often, momentum comes from.

Parents advising and guiding, school teachers encouraging and challenging, managers / the boss giving opportunity and growth, and the leaders, we meet along the way, supporting an environment for excellence to be nurtured – they are all part of our successes.

I don’t think, during my ups and downs in life, I recognised everything going on around me, I was too busy thinking about me and my stuff, to even notice who ‘had my back’.

I remember getting in to a spot of bother when I was in the RAF and, after a severe ‘telling off’ everything seemed to be ok. I was expecting more of a repercussion but didn’t ask questions and it went away, I carried on as normal.

Years later I was speaking to someone, who was quite senior in the RAF when I was serving, and he shared a story of how quite a few influential high ranking Officers had discussed my ‘mistake’ and had agreed to ‘park it’ due to my previous conduct my potential future, and the fact I was needed for the RAF football team. (One of them was my Dad and he never mentioned it to me!)

It’s not always obvious who provides the safety net for you to make mistakes, who supports you to get back on your feet and who motivates you to go again, when times are tough, but they are there – sometimes near by, but sometimes from a distance and behind the scenes!

I wonder if the things I have done in life had a positive impact on others. I am sure that I have been there for my family and friends, that’s what we do, it’s the rules, but how about the transactional, brief encounters we have on a daily basis, what do people see and what do they think?

I believe in the ‘butterfly effect’ and am grateful for everything people have done for me to get me here now. The positive things have certainly helped.

I also believe that negative things can also make a big impact on us. Some of the things, in my life were not pleasant and, at the times, felt uncomfortable but as W. Mitchell said “It’s not what happens to you that counts, it’s what you do with it that matters”

We can learn from failures and grow, although no-one really wants to do that, it does happen. With support, and good people around us, it is possible to bounce back and be even better than before. It’s important to surround yourself with ‘good people’ and also to thank them for everything they do.

If life is good for you at the moment, then celebrate – you deserve it. If life is not so good then gather your support, make your plans and take action, success (whatever that means) is achievable for everyone.

It’s important to keep going, you never know what impact the next step / action can have, the tipping point may be close.

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