suthernsrebecca – Reimagine. Strategy.

January 13, 2020January 16, 2020

Looking Harder

What we do see depends mainly on what we look for.
… In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.

~Sir John Lubbock, The Beauties of Nature and the Wonders of the World We Live In (1892)

It’s well known that we see what we’re looking for. (This idea always makes me think of the “selective attention test” and the invisible gorilla.

But it is also true that when we believe something is there to be found, we look harder. Continue reading “Looking Harder”

December 30, 2019May 3, 2022

Working the Way You Want

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote about choosing a Big Word for your year. Mine for 2019 was brave.

Looking back, I can cite examples of brave work choices (such as launching my leadership book club Wiser by Choice and releasing my first book, Nimble). Some events this year called for me to be braver than I wanted to have to be. At other times I wish my braver self had shown up. As with my word of 2018 (strong), I’ll keep working on it.

Heading into a new year and decade, my word is elevate.

December 16, 2019May 3, 2022

Alone Together

I was preparing for a couple of sessions this past week, designed to share my story in a program called Thought Leaders Business School (TLBS). I was therefore thinking about why it’s worked so well for me. Continue reading “Alone Together”

December 2, 2019May 3, 2022

Welcome and Unwelcome Disruption

My 17-year-old daughter Genevieve arrives home from two months in India today. While there, she has become a wedding crasher. Apparently, it’s an honour for [blonde, foreign] visitors to attend weddings, even [or especially?] uninvited, and she and her travel companions have been happy to oblige. I look forward to hearing their stories. Continue reading “Welcome and Unwelcome Disruption”

November 18, 2019May 3, 2022

Celebrate Every Win — or Every Absent Loss

My back was sore yesterday. No big deal, except that I have a history of back trouble. It’s been feeling very good for a very long time. Until yesterday. Leading me to wonder if I was heading back down a familiar, unwelcome road. No thanks.

Then today, I woke up feeling normal. My disk had slipped back into place and I had slipped back into my regular routine. Yesterday, I could barely imagine ever lifting a basket of laundry again. Today, no problem. (I still didn’t. But I could have!)

It’s amazing how a day of discomfort floods a day of normalcy with gratitude. I have been very thankful all day. Continue reading “Celebrate Every Win — or Every Absent Loss”