I want people to do better. Be better.
I vividly remember being in music class in fourth grade. One of the known class clowns was goofing around. Our teacher said nothing to him, but then called me out for something very small. When I said, well what about him? He's been misbehaving all day. The teacher said, "I expect more from you."
What? That's not okay. I went home and retold this story to my dad - fully expecting it would end with some discussion about how my parents would be meeting with the teacher to make sure she knew how unacceptable her actions were. Boy, was I wrong. When my dad nodded in agreement with the teacher, I said, "but that's not fair!" His response, "Jenny, life isn't fair." He then went on to explain how it's a good thing that people expect more from me. I chewed on that for a bit. I think I'm still chewing on it. But he was right.
We aren't all exactly even. To set everyone's bar at the same level would leave some people feeling inadequate and others complacent.
I now work in a newsroom where I have more experience than a lot of my co-workers (certainly not all). This is a drastic change from my last job where I was the baby of the group. I learned from them. Now people sometimes want me to be their teacher. Wow. That'll test a person. Being a leader is hard. Being a leader takes a lot of responsibility. And I don't take either of those truths lightly.
Sometimes I worry if I'm being too harsh with people. I definitely worry that one day I may be too demanding when it comes to my son.
But then I remember this: I'm thankful every single day that people have expected more from me.
What? That's not okay. I went home and retold this story to my dad - fully expecting it would end with some discussion about how my parents would be meeting with the teacher to make sure she knew how unacceptable her actions were. Boy, was I wrong. When my dad nodded in agreement with the teacher, I said, "but that's not fair!" His response, "Jenny, life isn't fair." He then went on to explain how it's a good thing that people expect more from me. I chewed on that for a bit. I think I'm still chewing on it. But he was right.
We aren't all exactly even. To set everyone's bar at the same level would leave some people feeling inadequate and others complacent.
I now work in a newsroom where I have more experience than a lot of my co-workers (certainly not all). This is a drastic change from my last job where I was the baby of the group. I learned from them. Now people sometimes want me to be their teacher. Wow. That'll test a person. Being a leader is hard. Being a leader takes a lot of responsibility. And I don't take either of those truths lightly.
Sometimes I worry if I'm being too harsh with people. I definitely worry that one day I may be too demanding when it comes to my son.
But then I remember this: I'm thankful every single day that people have expected more from me.
