"Whenever you see me being exceptional in one part of my life, I'm invariably failing in other parts. In order to sew my daughter's Halloween costume, I'm missing a table reading. Or going to my daughter's first recital means that I have to miss Sandra Oh's last day at Grey's..." -Shonda Rhimes, Women on Wall Street Conference 2014
Last year I had a phenomenal year in one aspect of my life. But there were other parts of my life that weren't going so well, so even though I'd had this major accomplishment, I couldn't really enjoy it because I felt like such a failure for not having complete success in everything.
Hearing Shonda speak this week was the first time I've heard someone at the top of their field discuss this reality openly and honestly.
This week's action: What are your tradeoffs? What are you willing to give up/not do so well, in order to be exceptional at other things? Be honest!
Why we're doing it: I think sometimes we want it all - to be amazing in all aspects of our lives. For a tiny fraction of the population, it may be possible. But the majority of us have to make sacrifices and tradeoffs. Celebrate your accomplishments, and recognize that all the successful people you admire have likely made tradeoffs in their lives as well.
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