Who Are You, Kristen?
What do you do? Where do you live? What do you like? Where have you been? How many siblings, kids, pets, homes, abnormal moles…….. wait, what?
Don’t you love it? All the questions we ask to get to know someone? I know I can never keep all that stuff straight, especially as I get older and I have all the other important items of information that I need in my brain, competing for real estate.
So what if we just asked:
“Who is the real you?”
“What brings you joy?”
“What motivates you?”
What would you say to those questions? The truth is, I believe that most of us would have a different answer for them on any given day or phase of life. Clearly the mother in me has different motivations than the aspiring career-woman, getting ready to graduate college did.
In this current phase of my life, my semi-short response to that series of questions is:
“I’m a mother and wife who thrives on the joy of her children and the thought that my parenting of these humans may somehow provide greatness, compassion and humanity to the world we live in. I realize that my example is more than my words and by working hard and being a positive role model to them and all humans I interact with, my very existence could just possibly have an impact on the greater good of humanity.”
Wow. That’s a little overwhelming, Kristen. Can’t you just say you’re a mom that loves her kids and trying to do some good? Well, sure, I can say that. I can say I’m a stay at home mom and military spouse, and I work part time to help pay the bills. I can say I like to help people. But in reality it’s so much deeper for most of us, than just those titles. What I really can say, is that my kids bring me such joy, and that the same time, heartache; energy and at the same time, exhaustion; love, and at the same time anxiety and frustration, that my very existence hinges on theirs. Pride overflows from me on most days. And then, I’ll ask myself what am I doing? I can’t seem to do anything right!
But, in that lies the motivation. We can’t undo our past, but we can grow from it, and my efforts to do the BEST that I can gives me enough determination to dust myself off and get back at it on those tricky days.
In a professional field, I realized that I lost part of who I was becoming when I ultimately decided to stay home to raise my family nearly 15 years ago. I’m not sure exactly where that part of Kristen went, but I’m slowly discovering her, and in the process, showing my kids that it’s never too late to find out something new about yourself.
On top of that, as I’ve “grown up” and lived more life, I have learned that I find fulfillment in lifting others up, personally and professionally. I realized that by helping others succeed and pushing them to be their best business-person or personal-self, it brought me immense joy.
For instance, when others approached me with their faith in my abilities and the trust that those abilities could be used to help them, was intimidating, and exhilerating. How cool is that, for someone to look at me and say, “Hey, I think you’d be good at this!”? And in the same breath, “I actually need someone to help me do just that. What do you say?”? That is amazing, and we need more of that in the world.
So, through all these tangents, Who am I? Like most people, I am a variety of “things.” But a part of that entirety is someone who is still evolving and discovering new aspects about herself; Someone who enjoys growing and learning, and applying that knowledge to help others better themselves and their businesses.