My “Lollipop Moment”
Taking to heart Drew Dudley’s message in his TED talk on “lollipop leadership,” I recently set out looking for a chance to recognize when someone made my life better in a simple way, or where I could do the same for them. Unfortunately, a week into this quest exam season hit, and my thoughts were rapidly consumed by studying for finals. All thoughts on “lollipop leadership” soon ceded way to preoccupations on statistical hypothesis testing and analysis of cash flow statements. Fun. But as life does, it kept throwing lollipop moments my way while I failed to see them.
It happened then that I was sitting at a coffee shop studying for my dreaded accounting final, when I stumbled onto a great example of a “lollipop moment.” Wrestling with a subject that my brain seems unable to grasp, I was pretty unoptimistic about my chances on the final the next week. My appearance must have mirrored that mental frustration, because an elderly man sitting across the table from me said something about it. Gazing up from my computer for a second, I looked over and he caught my eye. He winked and said, “You look pretty focused over there, son. Don’t worry about it too much. One day, you’ll get old like me and look back on this stuff wondering why you ever cared so much.”
I paused for a second, and responded by admitting that I likely wouldn’t even remember the final a year from now and that I was probably letting the stress get to me a bit. He left shortly after our interaction, but I kept thinking about him all day. This was a perfect example of a lollipop moment when he said something I needed to hear (don’t stress so much) exactly when I needed to hear it (exam time). Though still focused on exams and other demands, I definitely loosened up a bit and relaxed about my fears of finishing the work. I continued to think about our brief interaction, and following his advice, I made a point to consistently get good sleep and to not let myself get overly anxious about the exams. The exams are through now and I felt pretty good about how I fared. It’d sure be great if my grades end up matching my post-exam optimism, but either way, I better learned the subjects by relaxing like the old man said.
Was this a profound moment or change? No. But he definitely made my life better in a small, relevant way. Next time I see him, I’ll be ready with a figurative lollipop to acknowledge the positive impact he made on my life.
