I’m a list girl. My day doesn’t feel started until I’ve made one. I have daily lists, dream lists and life lists. I like to know where my life is headed and whenever there is a sudden change of plans, it’s the first thing I do.
Yet, many of the best things in my life didn’t go according to plan. My husband lost his job before I finished my last semester of college. The plan was that I was going to graduate, get a job and then he would keep working and go back to school part time. Instead he went back to school full-time and got a part time job and we prayed our savings would hold out until I got a job. Looking back, it was the kick in the pants my husband needed.
I got let go from a long term temp job after eleven months. I was so stressed out about how we were going to pay the bills. That experience led to me try out a new temp agency which resulted in a long term temp position for a small non-profit.
My boss there recommended me for a permanent job with her previous organization, which ended up being the last paying job I had prior to having kids. (Also the first decent paying job I’d ever had and the only one where I didn’t dread going to work every day). Even after I left when my daughter was born, I freelanced seasonally for that same non-profit for another six years.
So yes, I think it’s great to have a direction, goals and a road map of where you think you are headed. But I’ve also learned to recognize that sometimes the best things will come in unexpected, even counter-intuitive ways. Click To Tweet
