Unconscious bias: Acknowledging, owning, and overcoming our biases
Learning about our biases is the first step toward overcoming them.
Preface:
As a wellness consultant in the financial industry, I’ve seen my fair share of worn-out financial professionals. At the end of a turbulent tax season or the start of a volatile market cycle, burnout can be brutal and show up seemingly without warning. As you pause for a moment over this holiday season with your families and friends, I hope you’ll take a lesson I shared with my son, Zeke, to heart.
Dear Zeke,
I am not a fan of the word resilient. For one, I have a hard time spelling it and, secondly, it’s been THE buzz word in the coaching/self-help/personal development world for the past 3 years—especially in 2020. Don’t get me wrong, I love the definition of being resilient. I’ve often thought it’s not survival of the fittest, but survival of who can bounce back when your world gets turned upside down—and let me tell you, it will.
When life does throw you a curve ball and knocks the breath out of you, do not go back to sleep. In one of my favorite books on being resilient, Broken Open, author and spiritual teacher Elizabeth Lesser shares:
“In the most broken moments you will be brought to your knees, humbled, and begin to open. And later, pull the pieces back together, discover a clearer sense of purpose and a new passion for life. But also, there will be people who did not turn their misfortune into insight, or their grief into joy. Instead, they became more bitter, more reactive, more cynical. They shut down. They went back to sleep.”
So, how does one go to their knees, get humbled and open and surrender to the adversity that ebbs and flows in our life? Zeke, I will share with you three NON-NEGOTIABLES to practice on the regular to survive this more-than-messy life.
There you have it, Zeke: 3 strategies that I promise if you practice daily, you will bounce back stronger and even more ready to care for your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing!
I want to leave you with this…
The snake is an ancient, sacred symbol for transformation. To grow, it must shed its skin. This process is very painful and can even be dangerous, but it’s necessary for growth. As the snakes’ insides are outgrowing its outsides, it must remove the restrictive, outermost layer.
The snake scratches and rubs with pain in the shedding process. If, for whatever reason, the snake resists the shedding, over time it will become malnourished, could go blind, and may even die from suffocation. But—if the snake surrenders to the process, it transforms and emerges stronger and healthier. It’s a cycle of rebirth and renewal. This is an excellent metaphor for the beauty of your transformation, Zeke. You are so capable of resilience and growth!
I love you and yes, you got it from your Mama!
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