Same as it Ever Was with Michael Riegel

Same As It Ever Was

The Talking Heads released Once in a Lifetime way back in 1981. I remember it being played on the radio – no Spotify, no Pandora, no Apple Music. If you wanted to hear a song, you had to buy the LP or wait for the DJ to bring it back into the rotation. This is an admission to being old or at least being stuck between the end of the Baby Boom generation and the beginning of the Gen X.

There were many who ascribed meaning to the song that fit their own narrative – a cautionary tale of Yuppie greed, consumerism, and chasing common societal trophies. David Byrne talks about his lyrics in the context of unconsciousness or lacking intention. He offered that we are often half asleep and half on autopilot leading us to places we perhaps never expected or intended. I think his message, nearly 45 years later, is still relevant.

How Did I Get Here?

Left to others’ whims – employers, families, friends, and clients – we can find ourselves in some strange and uncomfortable positions. I think about some of my coaching clients who just keep their heads down and do the work only to wake up years later feeling regretful or, worse, in roles they don’t want, like, or feel prepared to fulfill. Coaching is a process that requires goal setting. Identifying what you want and identifying the steps you are willing to take to achieve it. There is a sense of resignation in asking the question and the realization that the outcome could have been different.

Let the Water Hold Me Down

We can feel as though circumstances beyond our control have held us back from achieving our greater purpose. It can be exhausting to continue fighting the good fight. Had previous generations let organizations or attitudes hold them back, we would not have the opportunities available to us today. Sometimes, the fight is not for us but for future generations. As women in construction, how much of what you advocate for today will not come to fruition for you but might for your daughters and granddaughters?

Same As It Ever Was

I had a bad habit of using the phrase “it is what it is.” There is a bit of cynicism that goes with that. It’s the acceptance of a fixed mindset and abdication of responsibility to try to make positive changes. In the Jewish tradition, a person is not required to finish the “work” and is not permitted to abandon it either. The “same” may work for some but, in reality, we must address and accommodate change.

What is the overarching message as it comes to our personal and professional lives? We must keep our heads up with our eyes to the future. Figure out what is important (and why) and go after it with intention. Fight the constraints that are preventing our success. Push back against the status quo and the way it “should” be.

MRiegel@AECBusinessStrategies.com https://michaelriegel.substack.com/

516-238-0859