Business Fit Magazine October 2019 Issue 2 | Page 8

Spirituality
What’s Holding
You Back
And Ideas That
Can Propel You
Forward
Gabriela Rodil
Now is all we have. You can’t do something
yesterday because it already happened. You
can’t do something tomorrow. You can only think
about it and—worse—worry about it. Worrying
is having a physical reaction to something that
is not happening. Worrying doesn’t change the
future, but it can certainly ruin your now.
How you feel right now is important. It defines
how you show up at home, in the office, to
your manager and employees. Again, you have
a choice here. What do you want to focus on
NOW? I say find things right now in your life that
you love and that you are thankful for. You will
develop much better relationships at work and
in life.
Forrest Gump has been right all
along.
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know
what you’re gonna get." I like to say: life comes
in assorted packs. “The only certainty is that
nothing is certain,” said the ancient author and
natural philosopher, Pliny the Elder. There are no
guarantees, let alone extended warranties. So,
what do you do? The best you can. Always. You
try, and if it doesn’t work, you try something else.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Put Fear in Your Pocket
Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is
acting despite fear.
Worrying
doesn’t
change the
future, but it
can certainly
ruin your now
The bad news is that fear is not going anywhere.
The more you try to ignore it or pretend you
are not afraid (which sometimes happens via
rationalising things), the more power it will have
over you.
The good news is that you can embrace your
fear. I say take your fear with you. Acknowledge
the feeling, say ‘thanks for the warning’ and then
put fear in your pocket and go do it. Ask for the
raise, promotion, opportunity or meeting. Get
clarification in your performance review to make
sure you have a roadmap on how to succeed.
When? Now.
Because there is no tomorrow—I mean that in
the most positive sense—you get to choose how
you take it today. Instead of thinking that I am
announcing the end of the world, think that I
am telling you to seize the day and not leave for
tomorrow what you can do and say today.
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We are beyond creative and are experts in film
editing. We edit out parts of what happened. We
have certain memories on a constant replay in
our heads. We can forget events completely, and
we can be triggered to remember things that
never happened.
And we are well-oiled and well-meaning
machines! Something happens, and we associate
a story with it without even realising it. Here is a
simple example: You don’t receive the call you are
expecting. You assume the person doesn’t value
you or your time. That is the tip of the iceberg!
Who hasn’t been caught thinking, “He doesn’t
care,” “She knew this would upset me and she
did it anyway,” “They are doing this to test me,”
or “My opinion is not important because no one
bothered to ask,”? We also do it with ourselves: “I
am not good with math,” or “I don’t like rejection,
so I don’t ask for what I want.” And the list goes
on. It creates self-imposed ‘limiting beliefs.’
we need to really mean it. We need to consciously
‘re-think’ the stories—change the narrative that
often holds us back. Instead, think and say things
like, “I am proud of myself for even daring to try,”
or “I know that I can master anything.”
I think Henry Ford was dead-on when he said,
“Whether you think you can, or you think you
can't; you're right.”
Make Yourself Useful
Luck is not a strategy. Luck is icing on the cake.
Take steps every day to be useful to others and
to the world. Have the mindset to be of service,
and you will be. Here are ways to do that: Offer to
help. Wash the few dishes in the sink (yes, even
if you didn’t leave them there). Call people you
love and say hello. Send the ‘thank you’ notes.
Donate items you don’t need anymore. Mow the
neighbour’s lawn. Give a heartfelt compliment or
offer your seat on the bus. At work: Say “hi” to
people. Smile. Bring pastries every now and then.
Volunteer to help with new initiatives or make the
next pot of coffee.
Be Your Own “Sponsor”
Let people know what you do—what is
accomplished and the difference it makes. No,
I am not suggesting you brag. I am suggesting
you give “status reports.” This will come easier
to the extroverts, I understand. If you are on the
shy side and don’t feel comfortable announcing
to everyone what you did, then have one-on-one
with the people that need to know. Lean into the
discomfort, “Fake it until you make it.” At first it is
a huge effort, and eventually it becomes natural.
Pick any of these to get started and see how it
snowballs. You will start increasing your impact
anywhere you go.
Whether you
think you can,
or you think
you can’t;
you’re right.
If only we used our powers for good and assigned
positive meanings to what happens. To do that,
Gabriela Rodil is an award-winning entrepreneur and a gifted CFO with
deep expertise in the critical areas of financial strategy, systems management
and execution. Gabby Rodil is an international business woman, who speaks
six languages and has clients throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. She
is originally from Brazil and has lived or had extended assignments in over 20
countries.
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