I advise my fellow sign language interpreters to only accept jobs that they will love.

We only get paid 30 minutes each way to travel, but in Houston, sometimes it takes you an hour and a half to get to a job that's on the other side of town.

So, we go into scarcity mode.

We think we have to take every job because there's not going to be enough work.

But then you're driving across town (with a long drive time) . By the time you arrive to the job, you're angry and resentful, and you may not do as good of a job.

Don't compromise on what you would love.

Especially if it's going to make you angry and resentful. That's not good for you and it's not good for others.

Where in your life are you becoming angry because you're doing something that is detrimental to your happiness?

Let's cut that out and focus on things that create more happiness in our life.

I hope you have an amazing day!

Are you stuck and feel like you've hit a growth plateau?

It happens—either we continue to find ways to grow and evolve, or we don't...and we find ourselves stuck in a rut.

As a sign language interpreter, there are five certification levels.

I got my first.

I got my third, which is advanced.

Then I hit a plateau and I felt like I wasn't growing anymore.

So I started doing video relay, which is interpreting phone calls. It's very difficult, but believe me, you bump up your skills.

When I plateaued on that, I became a court interpreter.

Every time in my life when I feel like I've hit a plateau, I've looked for ways to grow and learn.

This keeps my mind stimulated, and keeps me from feeling stuck.

Think about in your life where you've felt stuck, where you've become complacent.

Where is an opportunity for you to grow?

It could be by reading a book or taking a class. 

Let's continue to expand our minds and lives so we don't get stuck.

Have you ever been in a situation (or conversation) where you didn't feel heard? Or maybe you noticed that the person you were talking to didn't seem to feel heard?

This happened to me in front of a judge and I was almost held in contempt.

I was interpreting in court, and the judge didn't understand the process of court interpreting, and that it is required to have at least two interpreters in the room when a hard of hearing person is in court because it's so technical.

Well, this judge didn't understand and was insisting that one of us leave. And if we didn't, he was going to hold us in contempt of court.

Well, my interpreting team member wasn't very good at holding back, and got a little confrontational, which really upset the judge.

So I stepped in and very carefully (and respectfully) repeated back what the judge was saying to make sure he felt like he was being heard and to decompress the situation.

It worked.

None of us went to jail.

We both got to stay and all of us felt heard.

Think about a time when someone was resistant to you, but maybe it's because you weren't letting them know that you actually heard what they were saying.

This week we're continuing my Lessons from Sign Language Interpreter, a series about things I've learned as an interpreter and entrepreneur that will help you communicate and connect.

This one I call "reading the room" – it works especially well during conflict resolution.

First, at the beginning of a conversation, bring awareness to your own energy and notice the other person's energy.

When you walk in the room, what energy are you feeling? Sad? Angry? Happy?

Next, what non-manual markers are they giving you?

What's their body language?

Are their arms crossed in front of them in a defensive position?

Or are they open and leaning forward, which means they're more understanding and engaged?

Pay attention to your own body language so you can recognize it in others.

So my question to you this week is...

What kind of body language does somebody exude that's either happy, sad, or angry?

Recognizing body language will help you navigate any conversation, especially those that might be difficult.

After my blog post last week about how I broke my pinky and the heartbreaking consequences, I received some awesome feedback. Many of you wanted to hear more about my sign language interpreter experience.

So here I go.

I'm going to do an "extended broadcast" through the summer about lessons from a sign language interpreter.

I want to present about the things I've learned as an interpreter and entrepreneur, so this is excellent practice.

As I share these stories and insights in coming weeks, will you give me feedback on the lessons that you love?

I greatly appreciate it!

Sign language interpreting is a profession that I absolutely love.

You deserve to have a profession you love as well. 

If you're in a job that you really don't enjoy, please reach out to me. Let's do a strategy session.

Let's start creating a vision of what you would love to manifest in your life.

It can be hard to let go of things that happen in your life and to accept change.

Not too long ago, I had a really hard time dealing with something that happened that affected my life as a sign language interpreter.

I'd been interpreting for 20 years, when I fell and broke my finger.

It was so bad that I had to have surgery and the surgeon messed up. My finger (right pinky) is permanently damaged.

Along with a broken finger, it also broke my heart because it made it very difficult to interpret.

I realized when I went to my first DeafBlind assignment after some time healing.

Now, when you do deaf-blind interpreting, it's tactile. You use touch to communicate.

Because I wasn't able to move my fingers very well due to the surgery debacle, the DeafBlind person wasn't able to understand me. It was awful.

I went to my car and cried and cried. Then I called the agency to let them know I wouldn't be able to do deaf-blind interpreting anymore. It was heartbreaking.

It took some time, but I finally learned to accept where I was and what I could do.

This happened for a reason, and it's in the past.

I can't change it, so I have to only look to my future.

For me, I looked to the future and found different kind of interpreting jobs that I could do.

Is there a change in your own life that you have been struggling with?

Take time today to reflect on how you can accept it as something in the past.

Let it go.

The past can't be changed, but we can shape our future into a life we love.