Last week, the much-anticipated National Administrative Excellence Awards took place at the Birchwood Hotel. Firstly, a big congratulations to every person who was nominated – the calibre of nominations this year really blew us away. With that said, after a very difficult adjudication process – the winners were chosen and announced:
- Ambassador of 2018 – Roweena Chetty
- Mentorship Award – Linsey Hulley
- Project Administration Award – Subashnie Chetty
- National Administrative Excellence (Public) – Elizabeth Hector
- National Administrative Excellence (Private) – Jacqui Azevedo
Our keynote speaker, Elsubie Verlinden from 33 and Me, spoke about something that we at OPSA are very passionate about – Your Journey in Life.
Even though I was the one taking pictures and uploading them to Social Media trying to keep those who couldn’t attend the event up-to-date, I was so inspired and motivated by what she had to say. that I just have to share with you what I took away from the event.
The life that we live sometimes feels like we are in a race, and every day we just keep running to get to the finish line. Hurdles and obstacles are going to come, by no matter what, you can’t let those obstacles get in the way – no matter what – you need to get to that finish line.
The moment we reach that finish line, the only thing we have the power to do next, is to evaluate that journey.
When you look back on what you just did, you need to know what you left behind you – because there are still people who are running the same race, even after you are finished. Which honestly, I never thought about in the day-to-day running of my life.
Elsubie then asked some very serious, thought-provoking questions – which really got the cogs in my head turning.
- Are you just existing?
- Do you run an empty race?
- Do you wake up every day and just go through the motions just to get to the end of the day, only to wake up the next morning and repeat the same process?
- Are you waking up every morning with a purpose?
- Do you know what your “I AM” is?
As I looked around the room, I saw everyone started asking themselves the exact same thing: What is my legacy? How are people going to remember me when everything is done?
Well, this hit me harder than I thought it would, and on the way home from the venue, I already started to change my mind-set, making small changes to help me in my journey in life, and I am already noticing the benefits of taking out negativity, discovering my purpose and working towards what kind of legacy I am going to leave behind.
As we have a mid-week break this week, I challenge you to discover what your “I AM” is, and to start working on that legacy you are going to leave behind.
Remember it is your race, it is your journey – what you get out of it is up to you!