Rah-Rah Me!

The baby steps along the way to achieving your goal can prove just as satisfying as reaching the goal itself. I experienced this yesterday in my Photoshop Boot Camp Class.

When the teacher starts the demos approximately thirty of us try to follow along on our own computers. Very quickly things get confusing. People react by asking each other questions, and that ends up making it hard to hear the teacher.

This was frustrating the woman next to me. I tried to help her, but she seemed determined to remain frustrated, so I left her alone and continued my work. The woman on the other side of me and I exchanged questions, it seemed what she didn’t understand, I did and vice versa. Good for us.

I suggested to the frustrated woman that she sit a little closer to the teacher so the noise wouldn’t be so distracting. Still angry she quipped “I will next week” and slammed her notebook closed.

Remembering a lesson my life coach had taught me I asked myself “in this moment right now, am I accountable for this?” The answer was “no.” So I let it go.

There was a time when letting it go would have been impossible for me. I used to be a “fixer.” I would have tried everything to make this woman feel more comfortable. But I am more self-aware now.

My response wasn’t heartless, it actually turned out to be helpful (go figure), because I allowed her the space to experience her own strong emotions that weren’t going away instead of trying to solve her problems.

Once I was up to speed on the lesson, I checked back in with her to see if she was willing to accept help. She was, so I helped her nagivate her computer showing her how to arrive at the screen that the teacher was on (ironically by doing this we were engaging in the very activity that she attributed her frustration to).

Later on, when I was thinking about the experience, I felt pride and affection for myself. I had handled the situation in a positve, healthy way. What a great reminder for me of such a great lesson.

Go Caren, Go Caren, Go Caren! That’s the sound of me celebrating myself for one of my baby steps.