The Lesson I Learned in Farewell

Good Day LinkedIN,?????????????????????????????????????????????

It’s time for another THURSDAY HEAT!

“It’s been a long time. I shouldn’t have left you! (Left you!) Without a Dope read to vibe to, vibe to, vibe to, vibe to….”

Oh, sorry I thought I was Timbaland again! Can you believe that it’s THURSDAY OCTOBER 5TH, 2023 already?! Where did the time go?! We're almost into 2024!?

We’ve been through a lot together since this journey started! And in the ILLUSTRIOUS words of a former manager, “CHANGE has been the only constant!" And we are once again traveling one of the many crossroads of change! Since you last heard from me, I've experienced a number of changes. The most recent change being a change in position at work. As a result, I write to you today from a DIFFERENT branch, in a DIFFERENT role and on a DIFFERENT journey, but the common denominator remains the same, CHANGE!

As my former team and I said our farewells on that fateful Friday September 1st, 2023 I promised to hit everyone with an ENGAGEMENT email in which I would outline the individual lessons I had learned from each of them! But you all are my Friends, so even though my name is Rowshan, I believe I can be “Frank” with you…. “AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!” Not in one email anyway, but what I did have time for in that one email was to share with them, what I think has been the biggest lesson that I have learned from all of them collectively and that has presented itself as a recurring theme through my experiences over the past few weeks. And I'd like to share that lesson with you, my LinkedIN friends as well! And what is that lesson you ask?

"Be Present and Make the Most of Every Interaction!"

I know! I know! You expected something a bit more monumental and perhaps a bit less cliché, but it’s sometimes in the cliché, underwhelming and taken for granted that the biggest lessons can be found. I learned from their gifts and through the messages on my farewell card the Impact that our interactions had on each of them and I realized in the absence of those interactions the Impact that those interactions had on me. I learned that even when we think that something we say or do doesn’t leave an IMPRESSION, that it leaves a more lasting Impact than we imagine! I learned the importance of INTENTION in every ACTION. And I learned the importance of PRESENCE and the CERTAINTY in CHANGE!

You: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CERTAINTY IN CHANGE ROWSHAN? HOW CAN CHANGE BE CERTAIN?”

Me: “I know, I had to think about that one too, but even in UNCERTAINTY, there is some level of CERTAINTY that exist. In a way that is what makes UNCERTAINTY so CERTAIN.”

You: “OK ROWSHAN, JUST FINISH THE ARTICLE. IF WE’RE LUCKY WE’LL GET IT BY THE END.”

Well my manager already told us that “CHANGE is the only Constant”. And in Consistency there is CERTAINTY. In the Consistency of CHANGE is the CERTAINTY to face something New. And in that Newness, there is the CERTAINTY to be Challenged. And in that Challenge, there is the CERTAINTY to have Questions. And in those Questions, there is the CERTAINTY to seek Answers. And in those Answers, there is the CERTAINTY to find Growth! And in that Growth there is the CERTAINTY to gain Perspective. And through that Perspective, there is the CERTAINTY that CHANGE will Come!

I’m not gonna lie, I was trying to figure out how I was going to tie that all together, but I think it came together pretty well!

So why be PRESENT you ask? Remember that time I told you that the Past and the Future do not exist? Well, for those of you that don’t, here’s a little reminder:

?“What I said was, if you think about it, the Past and the Future do not actually exist. They are both constructs of our imagination. The Past is the part of our imagination that it is too late to change, so we call it a Memory. The FUTURE is the part of our imagination that we’ve not yet CREATED, so we call it the Unknown.”

In reality the present is the only place in TIME we can hold claim to, which makes it the most important TIME in our Life. It also makes every PRESENT Interaction an opportunity for CHANGE. Every Interaction is an exchange of VALUE, an opportunity to Impact, and a chance to CREATE a better FUTURE!

So my question to you is, "How PRESENT are you in every Interaction? Are you making the most of each experience or are you just going through the Motions?"

What does it mean to go through the Motions you ask? Good question! Going through the Motion is mentally operating in a period outside of the PRESENT. Its operating without Intention. Its like walking in the PRESENT with no foundation such that the value you receive from every step has no Impact.

The PRESENT is like a foundation that falls away from us with each step we take FORWARD. Never waiting and ever pushing us toward a FUTURE. And the FUTURE is like a foundation that rises to meet us as the PRESENT falls away. Every step we take becomes that much more important when we realize that the quality of our FUTURE foundation depends on the Impact of our PRESENT.?

Thank you for your Impact!?

Until Next Time…. Let's STAY ENGAGED!