Recently, I have learned a profound life lesson and I learned it from two of my fellow co-workers. Last week, literally one day after the other I had one co-worker tell me something and the next day have another co-worker tell me the exact same thing. The funny thing is, each of these two conversations were not remotely similar. What is this profound life lesson? Well, I will tell you. In life, if you have no have expectations, you will never be disappointed. It almost seems quite brash, but I plan to tell you why I feel that this is a great concept to keep in mind and even live by.
Pick an area of your life, work, friends, families, relationships, hobbies, etc.
For now, I will pick work. I work at a hotel and every day when I am on my way to work I think to myself about what kind of day it will be...hard or easy. I usually base my predictions based off of things our head housekeeper or general manager will mention during the day about what tomorrow will be like. If I know that it is going to be a hard day, I do not expect an easy day because if I did, I would automatically set myself up to be disappointed if the day turns out to be tough. With a job like mine that is so physically demanding, it is important to never expect an easy day because then no disappointment will occur. In fact, I often expect every day to be hard because then any sort of amount of rooms seems easy. Plus, when it is a hard or long day, I get more hours which is always nice when the pay check comes.
This simple concept could be applied in many areas of our lives, and I could go on with many different examples. Next time you have an expectation of your job, of a friend, of a family member, of your day, of your work out, or of the weather...eliminate it. That way, when things do not go as expected, you will not be disappointed.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
17 Again: Getting a Second Chance
It is crazy how much life can change in a year's time. It is crazy how much you can change your mind in just a short period of time. It is crazy just how fast time flies.
Last September, I was 100% certain that I had found my career path. I loved my classes, I loved my school, and I loved the town I was in. I was on my way to what seemed like the perfect life and perfect career. However, around mid October last year, that feeling of 100% certainty disappeared. I did not have a love for all of my classes. Luckily, I still loved my school and where I was located. After a long time spent debating what my next move should be, I decided to not only switch my major, but my school as well. Essentially, I am starting completely over because my previous major and new major are so different.
My life has taken quite a drastic turn in the last month. I went from being a college student who had a job that provided minimal hours allowing me to have tons of free time to moving back home. I now work 2 jobs and put in over 50 hours a week. My free time to do the things that mean the most to me like going to ride my horse, spending time with friends, reading, etc. came to a halt in a matter of a day once I began working. Even though I was not doing much with my time for nearly a whole semester, I loved my life and I was content...despite being at a "standstill" with my future.
I relocated to a very familiar place: home. While I have had this same schedule in the past, it is quite the change of lifestyle compared to the one I had, and it has been a struggle to balance work, friends, horses, family and "me" time.
It would be easy to say that I completely wasted nearly 3 years of my life doing something that was not right for me. When I stop and reminisce about the last 3 years of my life, I cannot feel anything except blessed. I have had experiences and opportunities that few people gain in a lifetime, I have truly grown as a person, and I have made the friends of a lifetime. If given the chance to go back 3 years and start over to what now feels like the "right" decision....well, I would not do it. There is no way I want to eliminate the people, experiences, opportunities, and memories from my mind because they have shaped me into the person I am and helped shaped my future. If I did have the opportunity to do things over I may not be where I am at in life now.
If you have ever seen the movie 17 Again, I feel exactly the way the main character does in the end of the movie (sorry if I spoiled the ending for you). Even though I was not given a second chance like he was, I can be content with the fact that I know I would have lived my life exactly the way I have even if I would have had a glimpse of my future. I am thankful for this peace of mind because it would be easy to feel like I just wasted the last 3 years of my life. However, I know that my life has turned out exactly that way it has needed to and that is perfect.
Last September, I was 100% certain that I had found my career path. I loved my classes, I loved my school, and I loved the town I was in. I was on my way to what seemed like the perfect life and perfect career. However, around mid October last year, that feeling of 100% certainty disappeared. I did not have a love for all of my classes. Luckily, I still loved my school and where I was located. After a long time spent debating what my next move should be, I decided to not only switch my major, but my school as well. Essentially, I am starting completely over because my previous major and new major are so different.
My life has taken quite a drastic turn in the last month. I went from being a college student who had a job that provided minimal hours allowing me to have tons of free time to moving back home. I now work 2 jobs and put in over 50 hours a week. My free time to do the things that mean the most to me like going to ride my horse, spending time with friends, reading, etc. came to a halt in a matter of a day once I began working. Even though I was not doing much with my time for nearly a whole semester, I loved my life and I was content...despite being at a "standstill" with my future.
I relocated to a very familiar place: home. While I have had this same schedule in the past, it is quite the change of lifestyle compared to the one I had, and it has been a struggle to balance work, friends, horses, family and "me" time.
It would be easy to say that I completely wasted nearly 3 years of my life doing something that was not right for me. When I stop and reminisce about the last 3 years of my life, I cannot feel anything except blessed. I have had experiences and opportunities that few people gain in a lifetime, I have truly grown as a person, and I have made the friends of a lifetime. If given the chance to go back 3 years and start over to what now feels like the "right" decision....well, I would not do it. There is no way I want to eliminate the people, experiences, opportunities, and memories from my mind because they have shaped me into the person I am and helped shaped my future. If I did have the opportunity to do things over I may not be where I am at in life now.
If you have ever seen the movie 17 Again, I feel exactly the way the main character does in the end of the movie (sorry if I spoiled the ending for you). Even though I was not given a second chance like he was, I can be content with the fact that I know I would have lived my life exactly the way I have even if I would have had a glimpse of my future. I am thankful for this peace of mind because it would be easy to feel like I just wasted the last 3 years of my life. However, I know that my life has turned out exactly that way it has needed to and that is perfect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)