Shhh! It's a Secret!

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Posted on: 6th Jul 2014

When you are looking for something, a secret is just something you don't know. When you know something you don't want others to know, a secret is something you don't share.

There is another kind of secret that hurts our integrity, our self esteem, and cheats us of the truth we need to know. It's the secret only we know, and we keep it from ourselves by not acknowledging it, by pretending it doesn't matter.

That's the secret I ran headlong into yesterday. I looked for and found my opportunities. I had in my purse, at the end of the day, more cash than my daily goal. I was excited; I had made my goal twice this week, and had set it only 3 days before. I was on a roll. I drew my heart on my calendar (my symbol of earnings success for the day).

Then came the crash. I took my sales, subtracted my cost of goods sold, subtracted the sales tax, (this was the agreement I made with myself) and I was 56 cents over my goal. Great!

Then I remembered: I chose not to include the cost of good sold on 2 small items. (Not a conscience decision.) They were long ago paid for. I really wanted to reach my goal. I really wanted to succeed. Furthermore, I was selling them for less than I paid for them. Including their cost would make my figures look bad. So, I refigured it and missed my goal by $4.24. I scratched out my heart on the calendar. And sighed. At least I was being honest with me--I thought.

While I was writing this, it occurred to me that I had used the wrong COGS (cost of goods sold) percentage. I had used my profit percentage, instead of my cost percentage. My cost percentage was higher. Oh. Ouch.

I figured it for a third time, with all the correct numbers and percentages. Now I am $6.60 below my goal.

Had I really been committed to achieving this goal, I could have worked longer. I chose to quit working and go home to prepare dinner for my family.

As I considered other options available to assure the completion of the goal, I found these ideas:

I could have started work earlier.
I could have called home and asked my husband or my son to prepare dinner.
I could have gone back out after dinner to find more people to serve.
I could have stayed out until I reach my goal.

I guess I did have options. I guess I really did chose not to reach my goal yesterday. I remember now that when I say "yes" to one option, I'm saying "no" to all the other options. The only option I saw when I quit work for the day was to go home and fix dinner for my family. I didn't even think about alternatives.

Today I chose not to beat myself up about it. I chose to celebrate that I made some sales, earned some money, and dated two events scheduled within the next two weeks. Really, that's not a bad day.

And I learned about some options I hadn't considered.

Today I learned to build my self esteem, my confidence, and my personal integrity by NOT keeping secrets from myself.

That feels really good!

Homework: Today's homework has 2 parts.

Part 1: Think back through the week. Was there a time you kept a secret from you? If so, acknowledge it. Acknowledge the pain that you feel; then let it go. Go back and correct it--whatever form that correction takes. Remember that nobody knows this but you. It is between you and you. Now take a deep breath, let it out and smile. Enjoy that good feeling.

If you don't remember such a time, that's great. Hold the lesson in the back of your mind. It just may rise when you are tempted to keep a secret from you.

Part 2: Think about a choice you recently made. Perhaps you felt it was a trade-off at the time. Brainstorm for a few minutes for other options you could have taken. You may want to write these down in your journal. No journal? Perhaps this is the day to create an "Ideas Journal". You never know when one of those ideas will come in handy.

To your success--everyday!

Jewell Pountney

PS: When you have an idea or a success you want to share, please come back here and leave a comment. You never know how much it may encourage and inspire someone else.

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