Judging by the response to yesterday’s post, we all struggle some with disappointment. It’s human nature for us to be disappointed when we don’t get what we want. But what if what we want isn’t what is meant for us? What if what is meant for us is beyond our wildest dreams? The no’s in my life have lead me down paths I would’ve never chosen to travel. They have led to my very best yeses. Sometimes we experience the hard places in our lives to clear our vision.
When I finished my masters degree in 2009, the job market was terrible. Like, really, really terrible. I applied for 100’s of jobs in the field of psychology and did not get one single interview. Not one phone call, email, rejection letter…nothing. My applications weren’t even making it out of HR departments. I had a lot of education, but zero experience within the field.
I was working as a graduate assistant in Institutional Advancement at the time and thankfully they offered me a full time job just a couple of months before graduation. I made $27,000 a year and was drowning in student loan debt. My heart was broken over all the time and effort I put into getting a master’s degree and getting no return on it whatsoever. Fast forward a year, and I asked the athletic director for a job. There wasn’t a job posted, I just set up a meeting and asked for a job. Graciously, he offered me one.
Fast forward 12 years and I am running an athletic department of my own. Yall, I’m a female. Running an athletic department…that sponsors football. That’s not normal. There’s a reason I didn’t see this path for myself, it’s not a very well paved path for females. It’s hard to have a vision for something that largely doesn’t exist. The point of all this? I never, not once in my life, thought about working in college athletics. Not once. Before all those no’s forced me to seek a different path. It’s a path that has led me to some of the greatest joy, sorrow, victories, defeats, accomplishments and failures of my life. It’s not a path I would’ve chosen for myself. Thank God all the no’s led me to this place. Today, reflect back on some of your biggest disappointments in life and honor the place they led you to. And the next time you find yourself in the midst of disappointment allow the excitement of new possibilities guide you. No’s are actually full of beauty if we choose to see them. Much love and renewed vision sweet friends.
