A few years back, when I was in beauty school studying to be a hairdresser, I started to get burned out. After a few weeks of being on my feet for 10 hours a day, I found myself with sore arms, feet, legs - even a sore butt - and I started to question my life choices. Was this really worth it? Was I cut out for the hairstyling life? I couldn't even get through a couple of weeks without my body falling apart. Maybe I couldn't do this. "...the most essential thing that beauty school taught me was not how to cut or colour hair, it was how to complete something even when I don't want to." As it turns out, I'm actually not cut out for salon life. I don't have the passion for styling that it takes to work that hard on other people's hair. Hairdressers are some of the hardest working people in the world, and though I respect them, writing is more my speed. In the end, I did complete my hairdressing program. I even still take a few clients to this day. However, the most essential thing that beauty school taught me was not how to cut or colour hair, it was how to complete something even when I don't want to. Completing my certification, even though I knew it wasn't what I wanted long term, gave me a confidence boost that I carry with me to this day. It taught me that I have the strength and willpower to follow through, even when it feels too hard. I've learned I can trust myself, and I've learned that other people can depend on me, which gives me a strong belief in my own character. The more things I do that I don't want to do, or think I can't do, the more my self-esteem grows. Sometimes I wonder if I owe the completion of my certification to some sort of motivation. Some lightning in a bottle that I may never capture again. That kind of thinking starts to sneak up on me when I'm feeling my worst. Truthfully, I think that it is simply not the right way to look at things. Instead, I believe I owe my success to how I imagined myself, and my abilities, throughout my program. I would often visualize myself completing my education and working in a salon. The more I imagined myself as someone who could finish school, the easier it became to work toward that goal without fear. "...fear does not mean defeat." Through visualizing my own success, I rid myself of the anxiety that I couldn't handle what I was experiencing. In the process, I realized motivation wasn't what I needed. What I needed was the belief that I could handle anything life gave me. Sometimes I find myself convinced that I cannot succeed in a particular environment. At one time, that environment was a university. For many years, I wasn't sure if I could excel the way I wanted to in that kind of competitive atmosphere. In fact, I had people around me, counsellors and advisors in high school and college, who would warn me about how difficult university was. It almost felt like they too didn't think I would survive. As a straight-A university student, I can tell you that fear does not mean defeat. Before I entered my university, I spent a lot of time imagining that I was successful there. When I arrived, I used the behaviours and habits I had envisioned for myself to work my way through my first year. Motivation came and went during that time, but the thing that kept me going was the belief that I could handle it. Motivation - the desire to get things done - won't always be around. Some days I feel I can conquer the world. Other days all I want to do is sleep. One thing I always carry around is the belief that, no matter what happens, I'll be okay. No matter what situation I find myself in, I'll know what to do. This mindset allows me to get through even the most difficult days. Days when I don't feel motivated to do anything at all. Even just the ability to remind myself that I've earned a break, and can do whatever needs to be done at a later time, comforts and propels me. "...the harder something is, the more rewarding it often turns out to be." To be honest, I have to wonder if real motivation exists. Maybe that's just what we call it when we have the energy to do everything we want to do in a day. Is it possible that motivation isn't the golden key to success? Maybe instead, the key to success is to remember that you're as capable as you believe yourself to be.
Even when something is hard, that doesn't mean you can't do it. Actually, I find that the harder something is, the more rewarding it often turns out to be. Discomfort is where growth happens. If something is too easy, is it even worth your time?
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What?The ramblings of a writer with her head in the clouds. When?
July 2019
Where? |