The parking lot

One day I was one of the top performers at a multinational company. The next one, I got the worst performance score in my whole team.

I wasn’t prepared for that downfall.

I was living ‘’my best corporate dream’’ that then became my worst nightmare.

I was that passionate and motivated employee who used to jump out of her bed, and go the extra mile that any boss dreams about.

Because of my energy, some colleagues used to ask me: ‘‘how many coffees a day do you have?’’or ‘’Are you on drugs?’’?

But then I became that employee who was ashamed, unmotivated, and terrified about being fired.

I was sucking at things that I used to do with my eyes closed.

I had completely forgotten about what being a top performer looked like.

Rather than a performance score, it felt like a life tattoo that said ‘’I’M A FAILURE’’.

I had a meeting outside the office with one of my clients and we were walking back to the parking lot.

He asked me, “How’re you doing?” There was something different in his tone. It sounded like a mentor’s voice, sort of a friend’s voice.

I was speechless for a few seconds trying not to break down.

I had no doubt that my client knew about my performance evaluation.

We looked at each other for a second.

Then he told me, “It's too early to draw conclusions about Marly.

She’s in development.”

Those words waked me up.

I thought, “I cannot change what happened. But I can work on improving".

The following day I reached out to some colleagues.? They were very supportive and I went up the hill.

A performance review is only a photograph taken at a particular place and time. ?

We all make conclusions about others and ourselves. ?We never get back to review our decisions.??

We forget that we’re learning, changing, and evolving continuously.

Even when we’re going backwards in life, we’re learning something from it.

We’re valuable for being. That doesn’t change for external reasons.

I still wonder where I would be if that manager hadn't asked me and then listened to my "answer."

Those who have had near-death experiences say that in those moments the only thing we remember is how we felt with other people.

Let's not let the days go by without getting out of the race and taking a real interest in each other.

Just a friendly reminder for myself ?? - No judgements.?

With love, Marly?