Sue was contemplating the phrase ‘carpe diem’ and how it’s her little reminder to herself to take her head out of the detail and just ‘go for it’.
Carpe diem, meaning ‘seize the day’, is often quoted as a soundbite but how many of us actually follow through on seizing the day?
Ever since I studied Latin at school (not my favourite subject by a Roman mile!) and first came across the phrase, I’ve loved it. This was reinforced a few years later when the phrase became part of the cult culture in the ‘Dead Poets Society’ film. This actually is one of my favourite films, even if it does show up my age!
Occasionally I can become a tad shy, anxious about the unknown and a ‘what if…’ girl when it comes to new challenges. However, anytime I feel myself going down this road and getting bogged down in the detail and the planning, I have a little self-talk and push myself to take the plunge with whatever new initiative/project/idea I’m contemplating. I stop trying to plan each scenario on what could go wrong (especially when 99% of my concerns will never occur). Sometimes this is easy but other times it really is hard work (and I do mean ‘hard’ mentally, i.e. challenging and a little scary).
I’m not saying that every time I persuade myself to ‘go for it’ there are positive outcomes. In fact, I can recall many failures over the years, (even a few spectacular ones which need retelling over a glass or two!) from failed job interviews to mistakes and mishaps in my marketing activities. However, I try my hardest to learn from these failures and not to make the same mistakes again; reminding myself I’m not a robot, I’m human. I focus on still wanting to ‘seize the day’ again in the near future, once I’ve recovered my equilibrium from my latest slip-up, however long that takes, and it can be a while. I don’t berate myself for how long it takes me to recover, I just know I’ll get there in the end and it’s no use trying to rush it.
Along with the failures, there have been numerous successes as well; such as being offered great new jobs, receiving praise for marketing initiatives that have worked and just feeling wanted and needed. It’s a great self-reminder that seizing the day isn’t always successful or that it can take you in a completely different direction to that which you’ve planned. It’s just that not seizing the day may be safe and comforting but it’s not necessarily challenging or rewarding. I adore the slight buzz; the adrenaline rush I feel when I’ve actually dived into the unknown having no idea what the outcome will be but knowing I’m trying to make a change.
Now, deep breath Sue; focus on being resilient and tenacious and go and practise today’s carpe diem task!
How do you push yourself to go further, try harder and not give in?
