Skip to main content

Glass Ceilings


According to the dictionary, a “glass ceiling” is defined as “an unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.” I think we can extend this definition far beyond professions as many people are enclosed by artificial barriers affecting not just career, but personal development, social engagement and even family dynamics. And this expanded definition applies to far more than just women and minorities. We all come across unspoken boundaries in our lives and willingly let them hold us back, sometimes without even the consideration of breaching them, simply because we’ve allowed ourselves to succumb to their power in acknowledging their existence.

Strikingly, many of these glass ceilings are self-imposed. We create a narrative in our minds that sets an arbitrary limit where no true bounds exist. Whether it’s resigning ourselves to a position or circumstance because of family history, perceived educational limit, lack of experience, racial or ethnic stereotype, social norm or any other false limit, we cheat ourselves by recognizing a current barrier as a permanent blockade.

Those barriers then become self-fulfilling. “I am not a good writer” you might say, so you neglect to write. “I am not a good speaker,” so you shy away from any public address. “I am not smart enough,” so expecting a poor grade anyway, you don’t study as hard. “I could never …” so you never give it your best effort. While that statement may be true today, you are sentenced to remain in that judgment.

What glass ceilings have you constructed for yourself? What can you do today to start removing those tiles?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art of Intentionality

  “Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make you.” – Richie Norton   I am not even sure who Richie Norton is, but I love that quote! I imagine a ship drifting out to sea, pushed around by the wind and the waves. No course of direction, yet the captain is frustrated when the ship ends up dashed against the rocks, trapped on a sandbar or marooned on an inhospitable island. It is easy to complain when life takes us where we do not want to go. But who is really to blame if we have never set our sails to align us along an appropriate course? Do we blame the waves, wind and the weather? Or should we blame the captain of the ship? It is our life and our ship. We must set our sails with intentionality and determined choices. Otherwise, we are doomed to aimlessly drift along according to the choices and decisions of others. 
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hungry Lion

  Early in my career, as I was struggling to both build up my clientele and provide food for my family, someone tried to encourage me by saying, “remember, the hungry lion hunts best.” At the time, that made sense to me. And it probably even provided some much-needed reassurance. But I have since come to think differently. I was a starving lion, and I learned a few things from the experience. Hungry lions get fatigued. They become desperate. They cut corners. They make unforced errors. But fed lions have their own issues. Their satiety can turn into selfishness. They get comfortable and then complacent. These lions do not hunt well either. I believe the lion who hunts best is not the hungry lion nor the satisfied lion, but rather the lion who hunts not for himself and his own hunger, but for the pride of lions around him. His drive is not his own need for nourishment; it is the hunger of those around him that motivates him. Our world is a hurting and hungry place. Not just ...
Post a Comment
Read more