Be your scrappy self

You’ve been here before. You’ve dealt with the wracked nerves that bubble up when you realize you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing, where you’re going, or how you’ll get there. You are filled with angst and doubt. You’ve been around the block a few times and you know for a lot of folks, this is the end of the line.

This is where they get off the train before ever getting on. They are paralyzed by fear, and rather than venture any further, they hedge their bets. They decide to stay put, safe and sound in their comfort zone, strangely content with easy pickings because easy pickings are safe and, well, easy.

But that’s not you. You are scrappy. Safe and easy aren’t how you do things. You’re not scared off by some momentary discomfort. In fact, you’re at your best when faced with a challenge. You know your aggravation is the mother of innovation. You steel yourself and push on.

You push past the initial dread and engage in some good, old fashioned soul searching. You seriously question if you’re clever or quick enough on our toes to do what needs to be done better, faster, or smarter than the next guy or gal. Truth is, you might not be. But you’ve been down this road before and you know that’s not the point.

You take this for what it is, an opportunity to step back for a bit of a breather and take a gander at the stuff you’re made up of. No need to put on airs, pose, or posture. There’s no one around to impress, not that it would matter all that much if there was. Showboating isn’t like you, because you’re smart and scrappy.

You dig down deep to take an honest stock of your strengths and you’re absolutely relentless when smoking out your weaknesses. You’re no fool and you know better than to fool yourself. Better you know where you’re left wanting than for someone without your scruples to stumble upon a crack in your armor and use it against you. You’ve got mettle.

Besides, you have big plans for those flaws. They’re no use to you swept under some rug. No, you’re going to do your very best to work out those kinks. You’re not going to get too hung up on having them. You’re going to work on them and improve where you can until they’re at least good enough for government work. Alright, well probably a tad bit better than government work. Because you’re sort of a perfectionist.

But, you’re realistic. You know your limits. You know you can’t be boss at everything. And that’s OK. You do you like a champ though and you associate yourself with other scrappy types that are champs in their own right. They’ve mastered a lot of the stuff you haven’t. You have their six and they have yours. Scrappy or not, we all have our blind spots. Together though, you get it done like a Spartan phalanx.

Just relax. You’ve got this. You’ve been here before. You have a good idea of what to do, where to go, and how to get there. You’ve done your homework and you’re prepared for the risks of going out on a limb. It’s who you are. It’s what you do. This isn’t your first go and you know what comes next is the fun part. It’s fun because even if you lose, you win. You don’t lose momentum. You learn from your losses. You’re scrappy and you know how to pivot.

But wait. What now? Well, now you get moving. You get action. You’ve got the tough stuff covered. You’ve defeated your doubt, taken sincere stock of your strengths, rooted out your weaknesses, and developed a game plan to continue to expand on your strengths and improve your weaknesses. You’ve earned the trust, love, and respect of other smart, scrappy, types like yourself. That’s still not enough for you. So, what is?

Well, you always have an eye out for opportunities to help others succeed. You’re generous with what you’ve learned and how you’ve learned it. You revel in being an ally, available to aide and assist others to solve problems they can’t solve alone. You’re a leader and you know the best leaders are glad for the honor to serve. So that’s what you do. You’re a scrappy servant-leader and you get going.