Don’t be a guru, be a contributor instead

Last year an ‘expert’ asked me: “What makes you think you can do what you do?”.

She probably didn’t mean no harm, but … the effect on me was bigger than I would have thought.
Bigger than I would have liked, to be honest… I started to doubt myself. Of course, I know what I’m worth, I am also told that I’m good but still… She had pushed a button…

After a period of soul searching and talking to some good friends, I came to a conclusion that was beautifully formulated by Denise Duffield-Thomas. She says: ‘Don’t be a guru, be a contributor instead’. And I couldn’t have said it any better.
I don’t have to be a guru, that is not my goal.

The perfectionist in me, wants to do things well, wants to keep on learning, get better. Yes.

But, that doesn’t mean that I have to be THE expert. I don’t need that kind of pressure.

Besides: I’ve been giving training long enough (almost 20 years!) to realise that there are a lot of theories … And often they contradict each other…

What do I want to do instead? I want to contribute: I learn, I try things out, I assess them and, if I think they work, I pass the info on to everybody who is willing to hear it.

Oh, yes, sometimes I also do a little ‘translation’ to make it more practical.

It is possible that while my message might be helpful for you, somebody else’s message can be helpful for somebody else.
And who knows: maybe both of our messages could help, they might be complimentary or, they each could be helpful at different moments of your life.

There is room for all of us! We don’t need to compete! We can all contribute in our own way!

So, I will keep on doing my thing: learn, try out and share what worked for me when I believe it could also work for you.

Tell me in the comments what you would like me to contribute ;-D

 

And what can I suggest as a contribution at the moment? On the one hand there is my FREE mini-course ‘Don’t believe everything you think!’ and…  my online assertiveness course: ‘Say the right thing, at the right time, in the right way’ – special conditions this summer! (Special price AND weekly support in closed FB group instead of monthly!) Why not use the summer to get started?! #YAHAC

Don’t be a guru. Be a contributor instead

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