Vaccines, Mentors & Not Going At It Alone

Last Monday, my husband and I managed to get the first of our two COVID vaccinations.

And my experience reminded me how important it is to have a mentor at work.

Let me explain...

Walking through the massive conference hall that was turned into a makeshift vaccination center was a journey in itself.

And once we came out the other side, I was both relieved and excited having finally gotten (partially) vaccinated.

We were one step closer to overcoming what has been a really stressful time for all of us.

But then reality hit.

At 2:38am to be precise.

The side-effects of the vaccination kicked in.

I had a full blown fever. Body chills. Muscle soreness. A throbbing headache. And my temperature shot through the roof. 

To say I was not having a good time would be an understatement.

Even wrapping myself up like a giant (unhappy) burrito didn’t help.

A few hours of tossing and turning, I just burst into tears.

And I wondered why I even got vaccinated in the first place. (What can I say… I was exhausted and irrational!)

But my partner was there to comfort me. To tell me that what I was experiencing was all expected. And that it will eventually pass.

The reassurance meant a lot. 

And I managed to finally roll back into my burrito form and get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

By the time I woke up, there was a messy pile of painkillers, vitamin C tablets, and an unusual Japanese anti-fever cooling pad ‘for kids’ that he managed to gather at the early hours of the next morning.

All the side effects eventually subsided and thankfully, I’m feeling completely normal now.

Now, if you’ve reached this far down the article, you may be wondering what on earth does this story have to do with HR and having a mentor?

Well, the emotional rollercoaster I went through was not too dissimilar to what I experience every time I try implementing a big initiative at work.

Whether it was OKRs, Feedback 360s or introducing a new HR software.

The emotional journey has been just about the same.

1. It starts with excitement and anticipation of a better outcome (being vaccinated and protected).
2. I get hit with resistance to the change and self-doubt starts to creep in (the vaccine side-effects).
3. My mentor reassures me I’m on the right path and offers guidance (my partner comforting me).
4. And with my mentors' help, I successfully produced the outcome I planned from the very beginning (being vaccinated).

Point is, if it wasn't for my mentors, I would have likely been stuck at step 2) a lot longer… Or even have given up altogether.

This is why I’m a strong believer in having a mentor you trust in your professional life.

Because when you hit those ‘walls’ (and we all do) having that support system to help pick us back up can be a life-saver. :-)

Love, 

Marta

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