Patience

A little background...  When dreaming of potential new jobs, there are a few ideas that always get me excited.  Somewhere on that list, after "personal assistant to Michael Franti" and "cast member on Glee", I think working in a vets office or teaching math for middle school girls would be pretty awesome.

One option in my "escape from Corporate America plan" is to find a job that would allow me more freedom to spend time creating my new career.  And this past weekend, there it was - the perfect option!  Receptionist at a veterinary office down the street from my place!!

I can't tell you how happy it made me!  I started dreaming of owning a Boston Terrier puppy and bringing it into the office with me.  I could lunch on Tempeh Reuben sandwiches at my favorite local vegetarian restaurant.  I wouldn't spend so much time in rush hour traffic.  Ah, bliss!

There was a small catch... I'm completely under-qualified as a receptionist.  And completely over-qualified in many other areas.  But, I didn't let that hold me back!  And long story short, they weren't interested.  :-(  I won't lie, I was pretty upset.  No more Boston Terrier.  No more Tempeh Reuben sandwiches.  No more short commute.  It was so easy to let disappointment cast a dark cloud on my week.  

Now, the ideal option in my "escape plan" is to find a meaningful career while I'm still employed in Corporate America.  I have a real passion to help girls develop as strong, confident women.  I am also a self-professed numbers geek.  In my mind, the ideal combination of the two would be to teach math at an all-girls school.  

There is only ONE all-girls school in town.  So, I check their website every few weeks to see if there are any job postings...  And it doesn't take a numbers geek to figure it out!  They had a posting for a middle-school math teacher yesterday.  All of those dark clouds seem pretty silly now, don't they!?!

There are two things that I learned here...

One.  Did you notice that I called the receptionist position "perfect" and the teaching position "ideal"?  When I think something is perfect, I have too much attachment to it and end up getting hurt when it doesn't turn out exactly as I planned.  We all know that nothing is ever perfect... so when "perfect" fails, it is so easy to beat myself up.

But when something is "ideal", it doesn't come laden with unrealistic expectations.  "Ideal" doesn't mean I will avoid disappointment.  Shoot, the disappointment might be deeper.  But, it won't be accompanied by my "inner critic" saying I TOLD YOU SO!

Second thing.  The more I hope that I can control the outcome of this journey, the more disappointed I become.  I know there is something great out there for me.  But, this example reminded me that when I'm "in control", it is easy to sell myself short.  I just need to trust and believe that everything is going to work out for my higher good!