Episode Transcript
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Adam Johns (00:03):
Welcome to Beyond the Minimum, where we'll be exploring the world of work. We'll be chatting about concepts,
ideas and phrases, explore practices and delve into what good looks like. Work can be purposeful value lead, and more
meaningful to all who interact with the workplace. This podcast is brought to you by Tanya Hewitt who lives in unceded
Algonquin, Anishinaabeg territory, otherwise known as Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Tanya Hewitt (00:33):
Hello, everybody. I recently bought some tickets from Ticketmaster, which I'm sure you've heard has gone
through a whole lot of bad press because of well, it was a Taylor Swift concert that actually broke Ticketmaster. But
nonetheless, recently, I was buying some tickets for a play that was taking place at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The
picture that was shown of the theater, when I bought the tickets was spectacular. The National Arts Centre in Ottawa had
undergone a renovation, it has been a few years now. And I thought I had seen most of the new spaces that have been created,
but maybe not. When I saw this picture. I was mesmerized, and thought, this is amazing. Look at this theater. This is
gorgeous. I, oh, my goodness, I am so excited to go to this play. My husband had reminded me though that that's not at the
National Arts Centre, that's probably not even in Canada. That's a picture that was taken off of the web somewhere. That's
not that theater. And sure enough, he was right when we went to the play, the theater that we went to looked nothing like the
picture that Ticketmaster had shown us. And it just really hit home, how much a lot of these companies are using stock photos
(02:12):
in order to be able to make their product more alluring than it actually is. We have to become very aware of this because wecan be very misled, if all we're doing is judging books by their cover, so to speak, and being attracted by pictures, which
might only be stock photos, even for places such as theatres, in your own cities.
Adam Johns (02:42):
Today's episode is sayings that should cease.
Tanya Hewitt (02:49):
Hello, everyone. Today's saying that should cease is grass is greener on the other side. This is all about
comparison, and how we think others' lives are so much better than our own lives.
So I'm going to start with a trip that I took recently, I talked about it a little bit in my last episode, it was to Israel.And Israel was a place that I did not have on a bucket list. It was a place I didn't really imagine visiting. An opportunity
had come up through a connection I had made with women on Zoom. And I found myself with another participant on the very first
day that we got to Israel at a shore of the Sea of Galilee. And I looked right, I looked left and I looked straight ahead.
And I could see shore everywhere. The Sea of Galilee is not a sea in the sense that I have understood, it is a lake. And I
actually took a picture of a plaque that acknowledges as much saying that only the Gospel of Luke refers to it correctly as a
lake. So back to getting to the shore on the very first day. It was dusk, and the other participant wanted to get the sun
shining on the reeds in the Sea of Galilee. And I had a strange thought that thought was,"I hope there is more than this". I
remember sharing this in a circle we held later that same evening, stating that there is immense beauty in Ontario. Much of
it might be on fire at the moment that I'm recording this podcast. But nonetheless, there are vistas that are breathtaking in
(04:33):
my own province at home. I know and I had did admit that there is natural beauty in Israel. But there was also amazingnatural beauty in North America. At home. I acknowledge that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that people can see and
experience differently in similar environments. But the ability to see beauty in our own environment is what I am talking
about here. This does not mean that we should not see other environments. Because this can help us grow and learn. The idea
is not to idolize and live exclusively for the other side, as grass is not always greener.
(05:17):
Simon Sinek has a prolific YouTube presence. And I really like his series on an infinite mindset. I will put a link in theshow notes regarding the pertinent episode he talks about on the life of a CEO. The life of a CEO is often glamorized in
Hollywood movies or TV shows. But in reality, when you really look behind the scenes of a cutthroat executive, who seems to
have taken life by the horns, as in total command and control, the picture may not be as pretty behind the scenes, family
relationships and health may not reflect what their outer persona might suggest. This means that when we put people on
pedestals and wish we had their lives, we might not be aware of the difficulties and struggles that these public
personalities are not openly sharing their lives may not be as wonderful as you may think it is. This is related to a
previous podcast I had recorded on go along to get along. And I'll put that into the show notes as well. In that you have
intrinsic value yourself that you don't need to get to that greener looking grass on the other side, you have greener grass
yourself, and have the potential to make it greener, if you so choose.
(06:42):
It is so easy, and so alluring, to live our lives by comparing ourselves to others. The reality is that this can drive us tobecome dependent on external gratification, constantly needing others approval, instead of internal gratification. Where you
know yourself that you have done a good job, we can be our own judge, not craving approval constantly from others in order to
feel happy and fulfilled. Once again, this doesn't mean that you don't ever look for external advice. At times this is
necessary, but having your life dependent on that, for everything, is not a healthy way to be. So the next time that you are
tempted to say that grass is greener on the other side, as a way to evaluate your own circumstances, see if first, you can
appreciate a few aspects of your environment. And secondly, see if you can focus your attention on your own locus of control.
Instead of bathing in jealousy of others.
(08:04):
I thank you for listening. I don't know if this is your first episode, or if you are a regular listener, having reallyappreciated some of this content. I just wanted to tell you that I really do appreciate you for listening. If you would like
to express your gratitude for this podcast, I would encourage you to buy me a coffee, head on over to buy me a
coffee.com/tanyah that's buy b-u-y me m-e a coffee c-o-f-f-e-e all one word.com/t-a-n-y-a-h tanyah. I will put this in the
show notes. And I would really sincerely appreciate your support. In addition to that, you can rate and review this podcast
and I really, really appreciate that you are here listening to what I am sending out to you guys. Thanks so much.
Adam Johns (09:16):
Thank you so much for listening to Beyond the Minimum with Tanya Hewitt. We hope this episode aligned with you.
Maybe it was diametrically opposed to us, at any rate, we trust it made you think. The more we can think about our workplaces
and start talking about them, the more we can collectively make a real difference. If you're living in Canada, please find
out the Indigenous territory in which you reside. Begin using it to introduce yourself. Please reach out to Tanya through her
email Tanya@beyondsafetycompliance.ca. Connect and chat with her on LinkedIn. Follow her company Beyond Safety Compliance.
And remember to ask yourself the question, How does your work look? Because we can always go Beyond the Minimum.