In a conversation last week, with my recently appointed new boss, he told me that I was doing a fantastic job, and that I had qualities in my work ethic that he had rarely seen before.

I think there is a risk in all of us to experience a rush of adrenaline at the satisfaction that these words bring, but my response has been more grounded.

I was more interested, in the pockets of real facts around the qualities which he said he so admired, without which the sentiment would have been little more than opinion and conjecture.

This evidence-approached attitude to praise, is the same I would apply to criticism, because the risk would be, that I would accept the judgement of a person in authority without first understanding the basis upon which their observations were based.

A few years ago, I lost a job in which I had worked very hard.

The circumstances were very painful to me at the time, and they have caused a lasting damage to my sense of well-being, in the sense that despite overcoming the issues which caused my job loss, the memory of the time leading up my job loss has affected my confidence.

It is the recollection of these events, which keeps me grounded, in the  circumstances of the praise which I have received recently, and it protects me, as far as is reasonable, from ever having to suffer as I did all those years ago, at the hands of a someone whose view of me was narrow and lacking in basic compassion.

My own personal journey of development has lead me to a place where work is work and home is home.

The separation is clear, but so too are the co-dependencies of work and reward.

The praise was lovely, I loved hearing those words, but so too did I enjoy explaining to him the areas where I would like to experience further development.

It is this holistic and balanced approach which keeps me moving forward in a professional sense, and which keeps me grounded and content in the present moment.

My next blog will be: Welsh Song

William Defoe