“You go this way but once.” And just like that, Julie Bishop, one of the most influential and powerful women to ever sit in the Australian Parliament, had my undivided attention. I was lucky enough to meet Julie after listening to her speak and after our meeting, I felt incredibly inspired by her. She is a wonderful advocate for women in business and everyday life and has had an outstanding career in a majorly male-dominated workplace.
Ms Bishop spoke about having a ‘sliding doors’ moment, in which one particular decision can have a huge impact on the entirety of your life. She reflected on moments of her own life and especially her career that had left her wondering “what if?”. What if just one decision had been different? Would Ms Bishop have had such a stellar career or become the incredible trailblazer she is if she had done things just a little differently? “You go this way but once.”
If you’re not familiar with Sliding Doors, it is the 1998 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow in which two parallel universes exist. One where she boards a train as planned and one where she does not. The concept is that each thing that happens will affect us in some way. “You go this way but once.” What if I hadn’t met Ms Bishop? Would you be reading this blog? No. Would the idea of a ‘sliding doors’ moment enter your thought process at all this week? Probably not.
She spoke about the choices she had made that had lead to her illustrious career and it really drove home to me how important each choice we make really is. Finding that work-life balance is hard and involves making conscious choices each and every day. It is these choices that can lead to success or failure, happiness or disappointment, a promotion or staying where you are. These choices can completely change the way we live, work, interact, are made constantly and often without much of a thought. This resonated with me because I make thousands of decisions a day without so much as a second thought. Have I missed my sliding doors moment? Was the decision to come and watch Julie Bishop speak one of the best decisions I have ever made? It certainly inspired me to be more thoughtful in my decision-making process and to be aware of what these decisions could mean for me in the future.
Since meeting Ms Bishop and hearing her speak I have been aware of doing things with purpose, making well thought out decisions and how my actions can affect both myself and others. She has inspired me to treat each decision as my ‘sliding doors’ moment, after all, you go this way but once.
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