You Are Remarkable…Now Believe It!

‘Tis the season to start thinking about performance appraisals. I know, it’s not the most pleasant of thoughts, but for most of you it’s going to happen.

If you have the opportunity to provide your boss with a summary of your achievements before he/she writes the appraisal, by all means do it!! Don’t let their distracted memory dictate what shows up in your permanent file.

Before you start writing though, take some time to reflect on your accomplishments and on how you see yourself. Throughout our careers and lives we get labeled and if we’re not careful we start to believe what others have assigned for us.

Early in my career I was working my way through college. I was basically at the bottom of the corporate ladder, but I was ready, READY, to take on the world. The company I worked for had very strict guidelines about how you could move up the ladder. For me, no degree meant no moving up. The world would just have to wait.

Several years later and two degrees under my belt (thank you very much!) I was slowly making my way up the ladder. Hello world!

By this time I could tell my fire wasn’t as strong. I had fallen into the labels I was given for not having a degree. “You are not worthy.” “You don’t have the right credentials.” If I believed them, then they must be true.

It wasn’t until someone else believed in me that I realized what I was doing. A wonderful manager was giving me promotions and raises and opportunities without me even having to ask. It was a great concept, but it also made me realize I had to take charge and rise above anything holding me back. The world was mine again!

So if you find yourself thinking you are average that is how others will perceive you. You are remarkable and the world needs to know it! Now I’m not saying to shout from the rooftops how great you are. But if you truly embrace what you have to offer the world and give of yourself genuinely and authentically, you will be rewarded in ways you never thought possible.

Now, get to writing that performance summary!