𝟭𝟬 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝟭𝟬 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮
𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 #𝟲: 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲’𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻: 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗢𝘂𝘁
In 2016, during an interview at EYA, I sat down with Lorin Randall. He posed a standard interview question: “Describe a time when you faced adversity and how you overcame it.”
I’d heard this question many times before during my job search, and I always tried to give the perfect answer. But this time, instead of a rehearsed response, I decided to be honest. I told him that I’d thought about this question a lot, but fortunately, things had always worked out for me. I shared an example from the summer after my first year of grad school when I didn’t have an internship lined up, and uncertainty loomed. Despite that, I took a summer course, visited family, and eventually landed a great internship. Things had just... worked out! (See Lesson #2).
Lorin paused and then offered a new perspective. He suggested that it wasn’t necessarily that I hadn’t faced challenges, but rather that I viewed them as steps forward rather than obstacles. Maybe my positive outlook and faith in the process were what helped me keep moving and succeed. His words really stuck with me.
I went on to get the job. But more importantly, that conversation with Lorin gave me a new perspective on handling adversity and uncertainty and made me more confident in my approach to life. By being honest and acknowledging things as they are, rather than how I think they should be, I felt more sure of myself.
In my experience since, I’ve realized that when you trust that things will work out, they usually do, and this mindset helps you enjoy the journey rather than fear it.
