by Patrick Weill, CT
Would you like to improve your level of success in translation or interpreting? Me too. I have a four-part philosophy about how we can achieve this that I would like to share with you.
The four S’s refer to skill, sales, self, and service. Developing these four areas allows us to unlock our potential and to move more freely both professionally and personally. I’ve grouped them into two pairs: the more technical “skill and sales” pair, and the more personal “self and service” pair. The elements of each pair, and the two pairs themselves, are mutually complementary.
The most recent installment, Part 2, Sales, discussed different strategies useful for letting potential clients know about our services. Today I would like to write about the heart of our businesses. Ourselves.
Some people, when they consider the concept of self, are a bit reluctant to delve in. Immediately “selfish” might come to mind, for good reason: selfish people put themselves first, do not love others as themselves, and will take without giving. This kind of person will not do well in a community of people who understand why it is good to give and take and who also find joy in it. We don’t like selfish people and don’t want to be like that.
In fact, when I originally thought of my 4 S philosophy I put “self” last, after skill, sales, and service. I didn’t want to be a selfish person so I would show this by placing it last on the list. But today we are going to put self first. The idea is to discuss why placing a priority on ourselves is good for us and others.
Placing a Priority on Our Self is Not Being a Selfish Person
Even your best friend, your partner, your wife or husband, boyfriend or girlfriend, your dog, or any other person or thing upon which you may rely in order to be or feel successful and happy will eventually let you down in some way. And vice versa. No one, including ourselves, is perfect. We cannot completely rely on others to take care of us. And if you have ever found yourself in a dark place, in a hole that just dug itself, you are not alone. Sometimes the only way for us to move forward is to realize that WE and we alone are able to improve our situation.
Maybe you’re not in a dark place. I certainly hope not. But without judging anyone or saying who needs to share more or who needs to focus on self more, I’m not writing to people who feel satisfied and happy with themselves and their lives. I am exclusively writing to people who are not doing marvelously, or who want to grow and be better but are struggling to break the barrier. I want to reach the person in you and in me who does not know what to do, who is lost, or who just needs a little support.
What to Do
There are emergency issues, medium-term issues, and long-term issues. Of course we must focus on the emergency problems (money or health for example), but we can’t forget that there are other issues that are equally important for sustained happiness but that don’t represent an immediate threat (regular depressed or furious emotional states, for example, or the downward trend in translation agency pay which tend to cause the former); we all have long-term issues too (future living situation, saving for kids’ college, etc.). We need to balance our long-term and short-term goals and problem-solving. In fact, as I have been told countless times, balance is the key. Eliminating to the best of our ability those alluring but nasty extremes that put our success at risk.
Deep down we already know the answers to our problems, or at least we can see the general direction in which we need to go; however, many times we are unable or unwilling to go down that path. The trick is to love ourselves enough and give ourselves permission to take self-edifying steps towards self-worth, self-esteem, self-respect, and self-love. That’s tough to do for some of us. Admitting to ourselves that we need to change something doesn’t make us weak; it means we are ready for the next step.
Dressing up, traveling (according to our budgets), exercising, eating nutritious food and drinking lots of water. Doing things we are afraid to do, taking calculated risks. Doing things that we like, that make us feel sustainably good. Going to the doctor. Talking to any kind of mental or physical health specialist. Getting a massage. Forgiving (while not forgetting) our grudges with people. We should not waste our time with people who make us feel bad either short term or long term. For everyone the specific next step will be different, but the general idea is, before thinking of others, to build a solid foundation. Our selves are that foundation, the center of our own communities. Once we are strong, short and long term, then we can help others, share with others, love others, helping to build the community that I will discuss in the next and final installment of the 4 S’s. But first we must take care of US.
Patrick Weill has been living in central Mexico for 12 years and has been translating for 11 years. He is originally from northern California, and when not staring at a shiny screen, he enjoys spending time with family, including his dog Lulú, reading, and swimming.
