Skip to main content

2016: The Year of Gratitude

Well, folks, we've made it another year, and what a year it has been. It simultaneously went by really quickly but also really "slow" in a way, too. Slow in the sense that this was a very big year for me. There is a lot to be grateful for, and given that I think gratitude is a key competency, I think it's only appropriate to spend this Thanksgiving expressing my gratitude for 2016.

THANKFUL FOR MY JOB (PRESENT AND FUTURE)

While it's certainly no secret, I have not shared via any social channel yet that I will be transitioning jobs shortly. I purposefully steer clear of talking about talking about my job on these blogs because I respect the sensitivity of the actual content of my work, but I still want to express my gratitude for my job as a whole.

I've been a contracted associate for four and a half years, and I have grown a ton. I started as a traditional business analyst and end this role as a scrum master. The folks within this area have been super great in my time here. We've shared a lot of headaches together as well as a lot of laughs. I could not have asked for a better environment to nurture my skills, and the experiences here have no doubt helped to shape me into the person I am today.

Beginning December 5, I'll be joining State Farm as a business architect and am absolutely thrilled for this amazing opportunity. It is extremely humbling to have been recognized as a good fit for this position given my relative brevity in the workforce. I am proud that my hard work has paid off, and that is largely the result of my experiences in my current position. For my coworkers reading this, thank you. I can never stop being grateful for you all.

THANKFUL FOR HAVING BEEN A CONTRACTED ASSOCIATE (AND THANKFUL FOR TEKSYSTEMS)

I'll be honest: contracted work is not for everybody, especially not recent college grads. Contract renewal is largely hinged on performance, and if any organization finds that a contracted associate isn't meeting their expectations, they are well within their rights to let that person go. For a college grad with very little "real world" experience, this meant I had to stay on top of my game at all times. This forced me to continually push myself to be better, which meant getting my Masters degree, getting all my certifications, and losing weight.

If you asked me two years ago if I was necessarily happy about this, the answer probably would have been no. Pushing myself to get the things like my certifications weren't easy. (For my fellow PMPs, you know what that test is like!) But in retrospect, I am extremely grateful. If I was in a position that wasn't hinged on contract renewal, I honestly don't know if I would have pushed myself the way I did. It's almost weird to say now that I am grateful that I began my career as a contracted associate.

Moreover, I am super grateful to TEKsystems. Having been a former COUNTRY Financial intern, I knew nothing of the contract world and pretty much stumbled backward into TEKsystems. They were (and have always been) wonderful to work with. The best demonstration of this is when I passed out at work earlier this year. Everybody was quick to reach out and accommodate me in that difficult time. If I were to do the contracting thing all over again, there is no doubt I would go back to TEKsystems. To my TEK folks reading this, thank you all for these years.

THANKFUL FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AS I BECOME A NEW DAD

It's a very exciting time as my wife and I will be welcoming a baby girl into our family next month, and I am so grateful for how awesome all our family and friends have been during this time. By the time the baby is born, my wife will have been thrown four different baby showers. Each baby shower has been very well done, and our baby girl has received an abundance of gifts. It is a great relief to know that our little one will be supported by a loving network of people. Thank you to all who have been so supportive.

 THANKFUL FOR MY WIFE

 My wife is a saint. She has helped carry me through the good times and really bad times. She is super kind even when I'm grumpy, and she's always willing to help in any way she can. I am grateful for how hard a worker she is. I like to joke that any time I post a picture of her and me on Instagram that it instantly gets 5x the likes. It's really no wonder why: people love her. She is so good to everybody, especially to me. I love her and am forever grateful to have her at my side.

THANKFUL FOR MY FATHER IN HEAVEN

My faith has undoubtedly been a rocky journey. I am a fickle individual that tends to wrongfully get mad at the Lord for seemingly not answering prayer, but I am humbled by the fact that I have been wrong. The Lord has heard, and the Lord has provided. My job is a reflection of that. My wife, family, and friends are reflections of that. Even this blog is a reflection of that. Undoubtedly, I would not be the person I am today without the wisdom of my Father, and to that, I am forever grateful.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Albums to Listen to This Autumn

There's no doubt in my mind that autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it. Of course, there are the things like cooler weather and pumpkin-flavored treats, but it goes beyond that for me. Falling at the end of the year (pun not intended), autumn signals an end of sorts in a number of ways. The year is coming to a close, so I find it as a time of reflection. Nostalgia is a very appropriate word here. Anyway, music is something very important to me, and I purposefully don't latch onto a single genre of music since I since there is a time and place for everything. The fall is no exception, so I wanted to share five albums you should give a listen to this autumn. I'll even take it a step further and recommend a specific song from each album, too. Without further ado, let's get into it.
Post a Comment
Read more

"Money Only Makes You More of Who You Are"

On Christmas Day of 2002, 55-year-old Jack Whittaker was lucky enough to pick the winning numbers of the Powerball, earning him a whopping $314.9 million, the largest ever lottery win at the time. Jack was already doing pretty well for himself as the president of a construction company, so this windfall had pretty much set Jack for life. Shortly after his win, Jack seemed to have his life on track. He donated a good chunk of money to philanthropic efforts. But this lifestyle wasn't to last. Things quickly took a turn for the worse. Foolish with his money, Jack carried around enormous sums of cash in briefcases just because. Because of his reputation of carrying around this cash, he was robbed multiple times. Jack also lost a ton of money literally gambling it away. And if that isn't bad, it gets worse. Jack's granddaughter, only 17 years old, was found dead (presumably murdered), wrapped in a tarp and dumped behind a van, reportedly with many drugs in her system....
Post a Comment
Read more

Thinking Big

Steve Jobs is often cited as one of the greatest influencers in modern business, and rightfully so. He not only helped to establish one of the largest companies in the world but helped to resurrect that same company from almost certain death in the late 1990s. Time and time again, Jobs helped usher in a new idea via a new product that would ultimately revolutionize the industry again and again. Those familiar with the popular biography by Walter Isaacson will know that Jobs's sustained success had a lot to do with what people called a "reality distortion field". Under this "reality distortion field," Jobs had an almost magical influence to make people truly believe in anything Jobs had to say, regardless of how wacky it seemed at the time . Where some people looked at Jobs as insane because of this, history has proved in favor of Jobs with the success things like the original Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and even the Pixar Animated Studios. So, what was it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who Do You Think You Are?

Worldview.  Religion.  Outlook.  Passion. Whatever word you choose, we all have some sort of identity. Some people are able to put a finger on that more easily, labeling themselves as Christian or Muslim. Some have a general sense of who they are, noting that they promote family values and being a good person. And then there's another category of people altogether. These people may not admit it to themselves, but there is a particular person, object, or idea that drives their entire lives.  This last group makes me nervous, especially when a person's identity becomes wrapped up in their job.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Problem with Hierarchical Hiring

I browse LinkedIn pretty often, and the category of things that appears most on that main feed are inspirational quotes by inspirational leaders. Folks like Richard Branson and Simon Sinek appear most often. More specifically, the quotes have a central theme to them: companies need to hire good people.  For example, one of the latest quotes I've seen on my feed include this one from Tina Fey: "In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and getting out of their way." That's a great sentiment, but is that really reinforced in reality?
Post a Comment
Read more