In a previous post I explained how the process of cleaning out all the useless clutter from our homes and storage not only saves loved ones from the painful task of going through your junk, but also has an immediate benefit for those of us giving away our stuff. It is amazingly liberating and allows one room to breathe and plan new projects and goals.
I did face a conundrum: what to do with my 2005 Manager of the Year Award from Coastal Training and my 2014 Six Sigma Greenbelt Certification from DuPont. The manager award was for my first full year of leading the office I Opened in Manila. The best part of this award was most of the managers opposed the opening so only 2 people said congrats. I enjoyed my “pariah” status for the first year.
I earned the Green Belt with my project “Method of Determining the Best Distributors in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Riveting stuff! But I did invest a great deal of time and effort on both so “parting is such sweet sorrow…” Am I really so insecure that I need to display cheesy reminders of some minor achievements in my past life as a worker bee? Probably.
Final decision: These are meaningless symbols and have no current value. Even our usual repository for discarded items, the Vietnam Veterans Thrift Store, would have no interest in them. The time has come to toss the awards in the trash.
(Deep Breath)…I feel lighter already!