Where Are You Coming From?

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “I have no clue what this person is talking about.” Maybe you even have specifically thought, “Where is this person coming from?” You were not questioning their place of origin. What you were questioning was their perspective.

If you occasionally question the perspective of others, doesn’t it make sense that people occasionally wonder where you are coming from? As you go about your day and you complete your work, it never hurts for you to check in with yourself regarding the motivation behind some of your actions. You may or may not wish to share your motivation with others, but it is important to be honest with yourself about what is driving your behavior.

Let’s say you are preparing a presentation. You will be speaking in front of a large audience and you are a bit nervous. As you work on your presentation are you coming from a place of wanting to be really successful and perhaps garner a bit of fame; or are you simply hoping that people listen to you and you do not embarrass yourself? Perhaps others are speaking too, does that make you afraid that your presentation will be considered less important? You feel what you feel. But those feelings could be driving you.

Of course you want your presentation to go well, you want to walk away feeling successful, listened to and that your message is important. If you hope to gain something from being in the spotlight, that is good too. Being honest about your motivation does not mean being judgmental about your motivation. Once you know what is driving you, your next thought should be and how is that impacting my work and my behavior? You can follow that question with and is this leading me in the right direction?

You probably already know if using the presentation to gain attention for yourself is appropriate. You probably already know that if you are approaching the presentation simply trying not to mess it up that you are not doing yourself (or your audience) justice. But you might not acknowledge any of this until you ask yourself, “Where am I coming from?”

As you go about your day today and tomorrow and the next day, remember to ask yourself this question, “Where am I coming from?”