Our family likes The Voice; I admit it. We like to guess who will get a chair to turn and who will receive feedback and encouragement to come back another year to try again.
If you’re not familiar with The Voice, it’s a reality show where amazingly talented people sing for four judges. The catch is that the judges can’t see them, they can only hear them. If they want someone on their team, they press a button, their chair turns, and one of the judges who turned their chair becomes their mentor moving forward in the competition. No chair turned; you’re off the show.
This week’s episode had two people who had auditioned in the past:
A woman who auditioned seven times and never made it to the blind audition in front of the judges.
A man who made it through all the qualifying rounds and auditioned last year in front of the judges yet didn’t get a chair to turn.
I was mindlessly watching the episode when my daughter spoke up.
“That woman kept practicing and auditioning – seven times. The guy tried last year and didn’t get it. She kept trying, had a great attitude and got picked. Why was he complaining so much? Seven vs. two. What a terrible attitude. You can’t do something now while worrying about what happened in the past. This is a new time.”
It seems my daughter listens to me more than I realize. Besides, she has always intuitively had leadership wisdom worth sharing.
[Tweet “You can’t stand in the past and be in the present at the same time.”]
Every day, every time you try again, it’s new, fresh – expect the best.
His going in position was “I hope that this won’t be the same as last time.” Her going in position was “I get another chance to show them what I know I can do.”
This guy was freaking himself out that he didn’t make it before, instead of enjoying all that this time would bring. He’s talented and made it through, but I wonder if he’ll get far always lugging that heavy suitcase filled with his past failure along with him.
[Tweet “Just because you failed, you are not a failure.”]
I’m reminded of the movie Singles which I watched a lot when I graduated college. One of the women in the movie decides to find love through a dating service called “Expect the Best.”
When you expect the best, you give each opportunity a chance to unfold to its full potential.
What would change if you dropped your baggage and chose to expect the best? Not only would your energy transform, but I’m willing to bet your performance too. It sucks when you’re unable to believe that YOU CAN because you couldn’t in the past.
The key?… Remember that the past is your past – good or bad it doesn’t define you, it’s only a part of your story that’s still unfolding.
Bottom line: Now is a new time and it’s yours to rock n’ roll.
Are you willing to put down your crap, stop sabotaging yourself, and create your future by intentionally stepping into the gateway of this moment?
We’re big fans of The Voice & love the “Blinds.” What we found disconcerting last season is that all the people over 30 that made it in through the Blinds were eliminated in the Battle rounds (except for 1). We hadn’t seen that behavior before & were taken aback. We still watch.
Love the message you & your daughter are relating here. It’s really not about what happened in the past; but, what’s happening right now, what you bring to it. Thanks, Alli!
Another fan! We missed a lot of last season since I wasn’t around with the family for a few months. My kids didn’t realize that there was another winner between this season and Sawyer’s.
Interesting observation on last season’s eliminations. Going to keep a close eye on the Battle rounds now. Hope we don’t see history repeat itself.
I was so proud of my daughter when she made her comment. She is one of the most resilient people I know.
Thanks, Joy!
I do think we can sabotage ourselves without even realizing it. When we keep replaying negative mantras in our heads of all the reasons we can’t forge ahead, we are defeating our chances for success.
I love your line: Just because we have failed, doesn’t mean we are failures!
Love your lessons Alli and will share your powerful post!
That’s really what they are – negative mantras. Without realizing it, we’re creating the soundtrack to which we live and breathe. It’s time for some new music in our lives.
Truly do appreciate all of your comments and insights, Terri.
Thank you!
Great post…very motivational.
When I have low energy, I often try to, ‘delude’ myself into thinking that this time, something will be different… and it actually works.
My energy increases, and my focus improves, and that, ‘bad’ thing that I was worried might happen, doesn’t happen at all.
Thanks for posting
Love that, Julian! Amazing what happens when we tell ourselves good things are possible for us – and believe it.
Many thanks to you for reading, sharing and adding your experience to the discussion!
Grateful!
~ Alli
Love the reminder Alli, that each day is a new day and we can start off fresh. I watch “The Voice” and that was so inspiring!!!!!! As you know… I think you ROCK Alli!!!!
Thanks so much! New, fresh and filled with possibilities. 🙂
It really was inspiring. Just watched the latest and see that she didn’t make it through another round but I think she’s proud of how far she’s come too. Something to learn from everyone…
Appreciate you too!!
~ Alli
Your daughter is lucky to have such a coach. What a wonderful piece. Thank you Alli.
Thanks, Louei. I feel lucky every day that she’s my daughter – and that she puts up with me.
~ Alli
Alli,
It is interesting to see how our baggage shows up. Unfortunately, most times we don’t realize what we are carrying. We need that wake-up moment.
Jon
What a great story and valuable wisdom out of the mouth of a child!
Our competitive society tends to turn ‘everything’ into black and white, either/or, success or failure. If we aren’t one…that automatically makes us the other. This is so not true!
And now that we are ushering in another season, it is a great reminder that just because we may not have been ready to tackle something in the past, doesn’t mean we can’t in the present or future. We may just not have been in a season where we had adequate resources to do it!
Example: after husband died, just the thought of going back to school knowing I would have to retake my sciences before I could just jump right back into nursing studies while I raised my two daughters on my own was overwhelming to me. Just wasn’t ready!
Now? I have one daughter out of the nest and the other is a Junior in high school and also attending our local college via the Running Start program and I’ve spent the last year back in school!
It’s a new season for us all. Time to shake off the dust of the past and press forward!
Thanks for another great post and I’m happy that I have the time to read yet another by you today! (I simply can’t stuff much extra into my noggin in the middle of a quarter! grins)
~Samantha