With Every Goodbye You Learn | My Four Cents

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Jamie O’Neill’s “My Four Cents” articles offer a great change of pace from the typical literature you may find on a management consultant or leadership development web site. Most of the time, self-improvement is about assessing and amending your personal skills; however, every once in a while it is necessary to take a step back from it all and consider broader topics like your personal values and goals. “My Four Cents” forces you to do exactly that.

With her down-to-earth and practical perspectives, Jamie offers a view of the world that everyone can derive some value from. The articles in this section allow you to remove yourself from day to day trails and focus on what you consider to be truly important in your life. So take the time to read a few; we think they will really help… but hey, that’s just our four cents.

With Every Goodbye You Learn

To say this past month has been challenging would be the understatement of the year. Since my last article in July for three consecutive Wednesdays in a row, someone I knew suddenly passed away and sent my world, thoughts, and priorities into a massive state of confusion. In those 3 weeks, I lost a co-worker, a family member, and a friend.

Trust me, after the second week I was dreading the next Wednesday, and unfortunately the idea that “Everything Happens in 3’s” came true; the last of the three deaths occurred. In the midst of all of the sadness, I was reminded of a poem I came across around twenty years ago entitled “Comes the Dawn”. Essentially, the author of this poem reminds us that life is unpredictable and the future holds a lot of unknowns for us.

Life has an almost amusing way of teaching us lessons in the areas we are most in need of growth. When something bad happens, we can either say "Why me?" or "What's the lesson in this?” I choose to reflect on lessons that can be learned from these recent tragedies.

Lesson #1 – Since you are around with your co-workers more than your own family, start treating your co-workers as if they were your second family. My co-worker that passed away only worked with us for the past 6 months; she was the newbie on the team. We were both in the office pretty early each morning, but instead of taking a few minutes to chat, I chose to get a head start on my day. I missed out in the chance of getting to know her like I should have.

Lesson #2 – Family does come first. Work-life balance is one of those terms people throw around loosely, but it is so important. Maybe it is just my generation, but when the clock reads 4:30, the only thing you’ll see from me is my back as I head out the door. It does not mean that I hate my job; I love my job, but I love my family more.

Lesson #3 – Time is precious, so start treating it that way. I am 34 years old, and I’d like to think that I’ve only lived 1/3 of my life: but what if I’m wrong? I am not saying to treat everyday like it is your last, but on a daily basis, try to put your best self forward.

No matter how your book of life is written, the last chapter always ends the same. You owe yourself the best of what your best can be. As the saying goes, “"Work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching."

But that’s just My Four Cents.

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Comments (1)

2010-08-26 14:43:27 |142.166.127.xxx| Wendy Ogilvie

I so enjoy receiving your 4 cents worth.
It makes me feel like I am getting notes from someone I never knew personally but followed you growing up and now feel so proud of your achievements, having had the opportunity of sharing so many celebrations and pitfalls in your family , with your dad for the past, wow 20 years both on the board at the Jordan as well as working for him here at PPT.
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