Yesterday, we talked about finding joy in our life. Today is a new day.
When you like something, you'll want to become better at it so you can enjoy it even more. Enjoying something is necessary to create the drive to become the best. It's also when we hit a wall doing something we really love that we feel the most frustrated when we can't seem to overcome it. When things don't go your way it sucks, especially when it's something you really want. This frustration often drives some people to call it quits.
I think it's during these times that we need to hold on the most. It's always the darkest right before dawn. In the same way I think life is telling us that not matter how hard it may seem, it's more reason to not give up.
When I think about my own experiences, I think about college and how I was stuck for the longest time not knowing what to do. Once I got my associate's degree, I wasn't sure what I should do and decided to apply for the U.S. Navy. I passed the ASVAB test qualified for any of their positions and m physical health was great...except for my eyes. My eyes are terrible. As a result, despite my qualifications, I wasn't able to pass get in and it was the same for the Air Force and Army (the eyes are very important). I felt devastated and with nothing left to lose, I decided I might as well keep pursuing my education.
As I approached graduatiion I found myself stuck again. I had a better idea on what I wanted to do but I didn't know exactly what or how I'd get there. I applied to at least 10 different jobs that I wanted and only heard back from maybe 2 or 3. Of them, one of them was a company that would let me teach in Japan. I ended up passing the initial process and was invited to a group interview. There, I felt pretty confident and thought I had a good chance. Ultimately, I didn't get the job. I was so close yet again I couldn't get it. I felt terrible and eventually took a job doing office work for a hospital. It was alright and I was happy to get another job, but I felt empty because it wasn't what I wanted to do.
During my time working at the hospital I thought about what I wanted to do and what sounded interesting to me. I thought about teaching in Japan again and decided I'd give it another shot. I did more research and it turns out I kind of dodged a bullet with the previous company. I found the company I'm currently working for and it turned out to be a much better deal (on paper). I applied, heard back, and was invited back to do a group interview. I had experienced failure before so I didn't expect to get the job, rather, I wanted to learn from my failure if I didn't get it. I was determined to succeed despite my previous losses. I got the job and here I am living in Japan almost a year later.
Had I given up on this pursuit after the first time I may have never found a way to live in Japan. Had I ran away after defeat I never would have come this far. This experience taught me that it's okay to fail. It's what we do with our failures that will determine whether we can get back up and overcome them. It's the truly important things in life that will make you fight hard for them and sometimes failure is necessary for our growth. My failure showed me how much I really wanted to live in Japan.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Never give up, never surrender.
Peace
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas EdisonThe slogan at my high school was "Never give up, never surrender!" The best and most common advice I'd get from people adept at their trade was to "just keep doing it" and I would eventually become good. It wasn't that I had any latent talent for everything - not at all. It's that they knew that if you like something enough, you'll keep doing it. It's the same for anyone.
When you like something, you'll want to become better at it so you can enjoy it even more. Enjoying something is necessary to create the drive to become the best. It's also when we hit a wall doing something we really love that we feel the most frustrated when we can't seem to overcome it. When things don't go your way it sucks, especially when it's something you really want. This frustration often drives some people to call it quits.
I think it's during these times that we need to hold on the most. It's always the darkest right before dawn. In the same way I think life is telling us that not matter how hard it may seem, it's more reason to not give up.
When I think about my own experiences, I think about college and how I was stuck for the longest time not knowing what to do. Once I got my associate's degree, I wasn't sure what I should do and decided to apply for the U.S. Navy. I passed the ASVAB test qualified for any of their positions and m physical health was great...except for my eyes. My eyes are terrible. As a result, despite my qualifications, I wasn't able to pass get in and it was the same for the Air Force and Army (the eyes are very important). I felt devastated and with nothing left to lose, I decided I might as well keep pursuing my education.
As I approached graduatiion I found myself stuck again. I had a better idea on what I wanted to do but I didn't know exactly what or how I'd get there. I applied to at least 10 different jobs that I wanted and only heard back from maybe 2 or 3. Of them, one of them was a company that would let me teach in Japan. I ended up passing the initial process and was invited to a group interview. There, I felt pretty confident and thought I had a good chance. Ultimately, I didn't get the job. I was so close yet again I couldn't get it. I felt terrible and eventually took a job doing office work for a hospital. It was alright and I was happy to get another job, but I felt empty because it wasn't what I wanted to do.
During my time working at the hospital I thought about what I wanted to do and what sounded interesting to me. I thought about teaching in Japan again and decided I'd give it another shot. I did more research and it turns out I kind of dodged a bullet with the previous company. I found the company I'm currently working for and it turned out to be a much better deal (on paper). I applied, heard back, and was invited back to do a group interview. I had experienced failure before so I didn't expect to get the job, rather, I wanted to learn from my failure if I didn't get it. I was determined to succeed despite my previous losses. I got the job and here I am living in Japan almost a year later.
Had I given up on this pursuit after the first time I may have never found a way to live in Japan. Had I ran away after defeat I never would have come this far. This experience taught me that it's okay to fail. It's what we do with our failures that will determine whether we can get back up and overcome them. It's the truly important things in life that will make you fight hard for them and sometimes failure is necessary for our growth. My failure showed me how much I really wanted to live in Japan.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Never give up, never surrender.
Peace
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| The road ahead may seem endless, but we have to keep climbing no matter what. |
Today's assignment: Decide what in life you will not give up on. What matter's most to you?
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