Stick To Your Guns And...

PROVE THEM WRONG.

Ok. This is gonna be shortish. I’ve worked 33 hours in the last 2 days. I haven’t slept much which means I’m exhausted. Also, I just don’t have much to say about the topic (shocker, right?!? Since when don’t I have much to say? I know it’s throwing me for a loop, too haha) I’ve been searching for inspiration, but nothing is coming.

Act 53:

“It’s never too late… To Prove Them Wrong

Never give up on what you believe or know is right. If others doubt you, desert you, or oppose you, use that as motivation. But keep it positive. Earn their respect. And keep yourself respect. By holding your nerve. And fighting to the end.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbours.” ~ Confucious

Definitely. Stick to your guns and go after what you believe in. Fight for what’s right. I always try to do this. In fact, I always do this at work and most of the people I work with on a daily basis hate me because I never back down. When I’m sure I’m right, I fight hard to PROVE I’m right. I fight so hard, because I KNOW 95% of the time, I’m right and their wrong. I’m not being arrogant or stupid. It’s just a fact. (trust me if you knew who I was talking about, you’d agree w/ me… walk a couple of block in my shoes and the proof is in the pudding… haha). However, I don’t usually fight so hard, when there’s doubt or if I’m unsure if I’m right. So there’s a caveat to mention… Don’t press an issue or fight to the death for something if you aren’t really really sure that you are right.

My second caveat is… be realistic. It makes no sense to fight for something that may never happen and/or when the writing is on the wall. Working in the field I work in, most of the time when decision is made, you can’t over rule it or you can’t change the decision. There’s a chain of command and once the leadership has made the decision, it’s done with. Right or wrong. The decision has been made and you have to go with it. Most of the time the decisions are based one what’s “technically” correct (my area of expertise), but sometimes a decision is made based on politics (cost, risk, schedule) of the issue. I work with a bunch of people that do not understand this concept. This is where I say “be realistic” When the decision has been named by the decision makes (even if you don’t like the answer), stop fighting it. In this case, you shouldn’t stick to your guns and prove them wrong, because it doesn’t matter what you think. It doesn’t matter if you’re technically correct. It doesn’t matter because there were other factors that contributed to the decision, not just the technical one you’re fighting for. If you keep fight, you’re likely to get yourself replaced or fired!

It’s funny, I just realized that this topic is the EXACT reason that I’ve had to work 43 hours in 3 days. It’s because some people just don’t get it. They have been fighting the “technical” points, but do not understand that the decision was made because of political reasons and other factors. I’ve had to stay late, because they’ve been dragging their feet to get the job done. Because they don’t agree with the decision that was made. A colleague and I have had to stay late to fix the mess they’ve made. So in this case, they were trying to prove the decision makers wrong, by saying it can’t be done. But in the end it’ll be my colleague and I proving them wrong by getting that shit done in 3 days, when they had 6 months to do it and couldn’t get it right. Thanks to the tiger team member who worked his ass off to accomplish our goal. You deserve your guys golf weekend! You are amazing and what you accomplished in the last 3 days is nothing short of astonishing… you ROCK!

For me this proving them wrong/them trying to prove me wrong is a daily battle. I’ve had to prove myself to them, because I’m younger and because I’m a woman. Apparently, with some of the people I work with… you get less respect when you are both of these things. WTF? This is 2011 people!! I’ve had to earn their respect every step of the way. However, with a couple people, I’ve earned their respect by sticking to my guns and proving them wrong. It helps when you are smart and have thick skin. So, now some of them come to me all the time and don’t really make a move w/out clearing it w/ me first. (how sweet is that? My boss says that I castrated them haha). I’ve proven myself to be a contributing member of the team and my voice is heard. This is all I’ve ever wanted. To be respected. To be thought well of. To be an equal.

Moral of the story? Stick to your guns. Persevere. Just do it. I just caution you to fight battles you can win. If there’s no hop, then you’re just chewing your own rope and wasting your time. In terms of dreams, definitely fight to make your dreams come true. If you want to become a singer, do it… but be realistic… if you can’t carry a tune… please save everyone’s ears and find a new dream. Maybe be a song writer or producer… something still in music?? But if you can sing, GO FOR IT. Don’t let anybody stop you. Prove all the nay-sayers wrong. You can do it. I believe in you.