#134 February 29th, 2024
Blake Carroll, CPA
PwC People Team - Manager | Helping Aspiring CPAs Navigate the CPA Exam with Confidence
How would you define being authentic? I think it is one of those things that we know what it is when we are experiencing it. I think a part of it is alignment between our actions, thoughts, and values. We also know the awful feeling when those areas are incongruent and we are compromising what we think is right, which can happen for any number of reasons. So the first step to becoming authentic would be figuring out who you want to be, what you want to value, and what actions you want to take daily to show that you value those things. Most of us have never taken the time to do this introspection, so we just take on whatever defaults society has taught us to do.
Figuring out to the answers to these questions will require some time being alone and really reflecting. What kind of life would you want to be leading if you didn’t have all of the outside influences telling you what to do? Being authentic will probably mean you have to change some thing, which means you will probably have temporary failures as you make those changes. Therefore, being authentic has to come hand-in-hand with embracing making mistakes.
Another aspect of authenticity is figuring out what things may bring out our not as good sides, what triggers us. We each can almost become a different person once we are in an emotionally compromised state, or if we are hungry or tired. If you are more aware about what triggers you and how you act when triggered, then you can take proactive steps to mitigate that and avoid those situations as much as possible. Being authentic is also spending time on what is truly a priority to you, rather than always saying yes to other’s priorities because you are afraid of disappointing them.
This video explains why you should try to be more like water: flexible and able to change. Life is change, right? Think about how many aspects of your life are different today than they were in the past. Water changes similarly: it takes the shape of whatever container it is in, and it can exist in all three states. Rivers flow along their path twisting and turning and then eventually they always flow into another body of water. We should be the same, whether it’s a small change like trying a new food or a large change like moving or changing jobs. We must adapt and keep moving. Water also has the power of erosion and can carve out some thing like the Grand Canyon. Water erodes things with softness and patience, not trying to do too much at once. Just look what all of that persistent effort overtime can create! Be more like water.
领英推荐
This article will help people who are feeling like they spend a ton of time trying to catch up on their to do list, yet there is always more to be done and then can never get ahead. It feels like a hamster wheel that you cannot get off of. There are other things besides work you might feel like you need to try to catch up on, things like sleep, social media, or the latest TV show. People with this problem will often cram more work into free pockets of time, weekends, and even vacations. Every five minute block of free time must be stuffed with something productive. It’s easy to think you just need one more day of work to catch up and then you’ll reach a place of enduring peace. But guess what happens the next day: new demands that you cannot all get done today. We need to recognize and appreciate that we’re striving to reach a place that cannot be reached.
When we are in a catching up headspace we are usually focused on what we need to do in the future or we’re thinking back to what we were not able to do in the past. In either case you are missing the present, so it can be helpful to try to come back to it by being more aware of your physical body. It’s easy to be afraid of what you are going to miss out on if you do not always have a fully completed to do list. But we need to accept that we simply cannot do it all. There is much more peace to be found in being content with doing less rather than always coming up short when striving to do more.
There are probably a lot of things you’re spending time on that really are not necessary and that you would not miss at all if you cut them from your life. You will probably love having the additional time from doing that cutting out. If you have set boundaries or bright line tests around how much you are willing to work then you must stick to those limits when you hit them. Do not compromise what you said you were going to do just because you are trying to fit a couple more tasks in. A lot of this drive to always be working also can stem from a misguided sense of how important we are. You have to be content with whatever you got done.
The world is not dependent on whether you catch up to your work or not.?
CPA tip of the week: The reality is for many accountants still working toward their CPA this time of year is a very difficult time to try to both work and study for the exams. There's only so much time in the day, and busy season can demand so much of that time. It is okay if you need to take a break from studying. Be honest about if you are overloading yourself and burning out. When you are burned out from trying to do too much it will negatively impact both your work and your studying; neither area will be giving you the best possible outcomes. You may be able to put some time into studying, but how effective is that time? Are you actually absorbing the material? It's okay to admit things are currently too much. You can always come back to it at a later date when work has lessened. Please don't make things worse by beating yourself up for not being able to do it all.