I have always enjoyed a challenge. Challenges often mean learning new things. I love learning new things. Well, if I am the one choosing what to learn and when to learn it. Maybe that is a better way to put it. Over the past few months, I have been challenged by some things I didn't choose and the lessons haven't been totally enjoyable.
For the past two years, I have been studying, exploring, and practicing many new skills related to vintage furniture upcycling. It has been so much fun. I have met many interesting people, made new friends and traveled new roads. I get to create new things, give new life to things that have been collecting dust and recreate magazine worthy looks on a dime. Don't call me cheap. I totally love saving money and getting things for less. These were the challenges that I enjoyed. After all, I chose what to learn and pretty much the timeline in which I would learn it.
I started a business. I learned more new things, some of them not all that fun, but necessary. I taught classes on furniture painting. I worked at the shop. I kept books. I paid taxes. I ordered products. Just the normal everyday ins and outs of running a business. I wasn't knocking it out of the park, but, was happily holding my own in this new territory and becoming more confident.
The next chapter of the book was unexpected. I am now learning again and questioning some of my previous views. I am out on my own as an independent business, no longer a partner. I have had to take an honest look at myself and ask, "what could I have done differently". Am I negative? Cynical, yes. Self-deprecating, yes. Honest about what I see, yes. (Look back in the posts and you will find one where I declared to "Keep it Real".) In my experience, at the end of play practice, you receive a critique. The director doesn't critique you to belittle you, be mean to you, or shame you. The director's purpose is to improve the play as a whole. A physical trainer or a dance instructor will give correctives. Again, to help you perform better. These are my live experiences. So, when, I see an opportunity for improvement, I will often bring it up for discussion. That is what I expect from co-workers, friends, and my spouse, a discussion. If I bring it up, I like to come to a solution or a plan for an improvement through discussion. I will tell you what I think and listen to your ideas and eventually, we will agree on something and move forward. Reasonable? I thought so.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know I am not always easy. Ask those who knew me as a petite curly-haired girl. They will tell you the truth. My temper was so infamous that when my niece would pitch a fit, they would call her by my name. And, just maybe, I have a tendency to speak before I think. Yeah, maybe, but, I am working on it. I am learning. Just look, some of these events happened months ago and I am just writing about them now.
Beginning to come out the other side of this ordeal, I will just cherish the lessons it has brought me. I will be more careful before I speak. I will be more conservative about what I share and with whom I share it. I have a great support system of family and friends who are FOR ME. Rain or shine, good or bad, they are on my side. I will never, ever let my job be more important than my family and friends. In the end, I still am a lover of learning. I hope to always be a lifelong learner.
KTdidsTreasures
Visit my Facebook page if you would like to see more of my work:
For the past two years, I have been studying, exploring, and practicing many new skills related to vintage furniture upcycling. It has been so much fun. I have met many interesting people, made new friends and traveled new roads. I get to create new things, give new life to things that have been collecting dust and recreate magazine worthy looks on a dime. Don't call me cheap. I totally love saving money and getting things for less. These were the challenges that I enjoyed. After all, I chose what to learn and pretty much the timeline in which I would learn it.
I started a business. I learned more new things, some of them not all that fun, but necessary. I taught classes on furniture painting. I worked at the shop. I kept books. I paid taxes. I ordered products. Just the normal everyday ins and outs of running a business. I wasn't knocking it out of the park, but, was happily holding my own in this new territory and becoming more confident.
The next chapter of the book was unexpected. I am now learning again and questioning some of my previous views. I am out on my own as an independent business, no longer a partner. I have had to take an honest look at myself and ask, "what could I have done differently". Am I negative? Cynical, yes. Self-deprecating, yes. Honest about what I see, yes. (Look back in the posts and you will find one where I declared to "Keep it Real".) In my experience, at the end of play practice, you receive a critique. The director doesn't critique you to belittle you, be mean to you, or shame you. The director's purpose is to improve the play as a whole. A physical trainer or a dance instructor will give correctives. Again, to help you perform better. These are my live experiences. So, when, I see an opportunity for improvement, I will often bring it up for discussion. That is what I expect from co-workers, friends, and my spouse, a discussion. If I bring it up, I like to come to a solution or a plan for an improvement through discussion. I will tell you what I think and listen to your ideas and eventually, we will agree on something and move forward. Reasonable? I thought so.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know I am not always easy. Ask those who knew me as a petite curly-haired girl. They will tell you the truth. My temper was so infamous that when my niece would pitch a fit, they would call her by my name. And, just maybe, I have a tendency to speak before I think. Yeah, maybe, but, I am working on it. I am learning. Just look, some of these events happened months ago and I am just writing about them now.
Beginning to come out the other side of this ordeal, I will just cherish the lessons it has brought me. I will be more careful before I speak. I will be more conservative about what I share and with whom I share it. I have a great support system of family and friends who are FOR ME. Rain or shine, good or bad, they are on my side. I will never, ever let my job be more important than my family and friends. In the end, I still am a lover of learning. I hope to always be a lifelong learner.
KTdidsTreasures
Visit my Facebook page if you would like to see more of my work:
