By Tricia Kidd
Do you feel you’re carrying a big burden of responsibility? Is it heavy, unbalanced and liable to fall? There are two things you can do.
Let’s first paint a picture of responsibility: it’s like going on a long hike and taking the children. You put a lot of thought into what to take, but everything, for everyone, must go in your rucksack. Wise parents share the load with their children, not because it makes their life easier now, but because it helps the children to take responsibility later. The children probably have a tiny rucksack in the shape of something like a ladybird and it contains a drink and a favourite toy, and if they are lucky, some sweets.
When you’re a young parent, everything is rammed into your rucksack in a rush, because you have the energy to be busy and have plans for a social event after the hike. When you’re an older parent, you’ll pack your rucksack carefully so that it is an ergonomic fit to your back and is well balanced. You know that any bad fit or imbalance will strain you, eventually give you pain or may even contribute to a fall. Your teenage kids think you are an idiot for being so fussy.
Building strength & learning to balance
Responsibility in business is like that. It is a burden that weighs down on you. Two things need to happen, one is that you need to get strong enough to carry it. That only happens when you carry it and carry it frequently. You build the right muscle groups. Eventually the burden becomes a part of you, and you feel that life is strange without it. The second aspect is balance. If you don’t manage your responsibilities in a balanced way, then they are harder to carry and there’s is a risk of
everything falling. Don’t let that fear overwhelm you, just keep mindfully tweaking your balance.
Both strength and balance come with experience. A new promotion is something you really wanted. But when the rucksack of responsibility is placed on your shoulders you really feel it and your back and knees begin to buckle. Firstly, don’t panic! Look at the people who are ahead of you. What’s their secret? It’s time. It takes time to strengthen and stand tall with your new responsibility. It takes time to know how to balance it, so that you can nimbly skip over those steppingstones in life without fear of falling in.
Responsibility increases as you move on in life and in work. It is a reality you must live with. There are moments when there’s an abrupt change in responsibility. Take heart, stand strong, find a new balance, give it time and it will become easier to carry.
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Comments
Useful analogy nicely written.
Your blog radiates calmness and great picture to support it with all the mist ahead of you :)