Monday Morning Quote

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For years I have been trying to put my finger on why I'm so hard on myself and why others never seem to view me as I view myself. This quote is the perfect explanation, I wish it would have occurred to me sooner. I very much judge myself not based on how well I've accomplished a task, but by how much better I think I could have done it. What a shame that is! It keeps me from ever truly being proud of my accomplishments and to be honest it does make it impossible for me to ever see myself as others see me. Sometimes I wonder how I've gotten to where I am in my career, which I really shouldn't wonder about. I have worked hard and put a lot of time and energy into my job. My problem is that I spend a lot of time thinking that I'm capable of doing so much more new business, so much better at negotiating, so much better at this or that and I completely let those thoughts overshadow the bigger picture of what I have already accomplished. On one hand being hard on myself is what has pushed me to this level, but on the other hand it's sad that it stops me from really enjoying what I do. This quote and thought process doesn't apply only to my work, it applies to my personal life as well. Towards the end of my marriage, I had no idea why anyone would want to be married to me. I'm being serious. I could not see myself as other people saw me and my self esteem had plummeted. It was tough enough to get through some of the challenges Joe and I had to deal with, but putting on top of that a whole pile of "I had no idea who I was", did not help at all. I've come A LONG way in that aspect since my divorce, but it still pops up every once awhile. I'm sure everyone struggles with it a little from time to time, so I'm probably not that strange. (Try to hold your laughter.) So now that I've found this quote and the truth of it seems so obvious, I'm going to post it in my office and do my best to do my best and be happy with what I accomplish everyday... not judge myself so much on what I might have left on the table. Wow... that's deep for a Monday (oh wait, it's Tuesday) morning.