Experience

This year I have really gotten into reading self-help books and blogs and I admit it's been great to hear how others journey in their lives to give myself a sense of 'normality'.  There were three particular quotes I heard over the last two weeks which have really stuck with me.  My apologies for no names, but I really can't remember off the top of my head:

1. "If you're not prepared to be wrong, then you're not prepared to be innovative."

2. "You are either going INTO a season, THROUGH a season, or COMING OUT of a season."

3. "Experience comes from HOW you handled the situation, rather than simply 'experiencing' it."

These quotes actually got me thinking about how I perceive the concept of 'experience'.  What value does it hold to me and what do I expect when I look for it in others? So through my reading and reflecting, this is what I came up with based on my own values of it.  Please note that everyone values experience on a different level. This is just a 'short and sweet' outline of my personal thoughts:

1. In experience, the JOURNEY weighs higher than the destination.

Consider a degree for example.  The qualification you receive is highly valued and important when looking for employment, but when it comes to the crunch of shortlisting potential employees, they journey untaken to get the qualification becomes a major talking point.  Those years of study is the time where resilience, wisdom, and tenacity are gained as well as learning/ practicing a skill.    

2. The purpose of experience is to grow emotionally and educate others. A fulfilled experience is gained from learning a lesson then practicing it better next time:

An experience in your life doesn't just randomly roll in for you to just work through it and be done…..  You need to grow and teach in some way from it! It goes back to the theory that life is a series of lessons - experiences are just that. Sometimes working through an experience is a matter of trying different ideas until one sticks.  Maybe one of those ideas didn't quite work for you but could work for someone else…. you never know!

3. Experience isn't about showing how great you are - it's about showing how gracious you are.

I have made so many emotional connections with people who have been through the motions and already experienced events that I am going into during my current season.  I find that I have a stronger connection to someone who will openly talk about their journey than simply saying they "did it".  I also love nothing more than hearing someone say they are grateful for where they are now rather than just showing off their arsenal of titles and awards.  

4. No one should need to 'feel alone' during an experience.

I have gone through so many experiences in my life where I have been petrified of talking about them because I would feel a little 'weird' or 'different'.  But then I will hear someone else's story, and feel this overwhelming sense of relief!  Be prepared to share your journey with others.  It not only makes the experience more empowering, but you're empowering others to see theirs through!

I hope you've gained something from this blog today.  There are 20 more days of this blog resolution left, so who knows if i will keep writing them or how many more I will write this year.... we'll have to wait and see. ;-)

Enjoy your day!