For the past few years, I’ve been the kind of girl who tries to be as positive as possible in life. I won’t deny it—it’s hard. I’ve always been the girl who was there with the right words for my friends or family, but never for myself. For a long time, I was the girl who let rejections get me down, and that really took a toll on my self-esteem. And yet, I’m worth so much more than that.
Recently, I was turned down for my dream job. At the time, I held back my tears and tried to find out why. After my search for the truth, I cried a little, because I’d been labeled. At that moment, I had two choices: to wallow in self-pity and tell myself I was still just a “failure,” or to pick myself up with my head held high and look back on my journey. I shed a few tears because my career choice had put starting a family on hold. All my mind kept telling me was that I could have already been pregnant with our second child. Then I reminded myself that life works out just fine. At that moment, I started focusing on the positives related to this rejection. A beautiful list of possible achievements that lay before me and happy events to come.
I’m disappointed—I won’t deny it—but instead of viewing this setback as the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, as I would have in the past, I took the bull by the horns and turned the situation to my advantage.
It’s not easy to bounce back, but life goes on, and it’s a personal choice to decide how we face a situation. Today, I’ve decided to bounce back, and it’s one of the best feelings. Honestly, I’m doing just fine. I’m healthy, I have a wonderful family, I have a roof over my head, and food in my fridge. My basic needs are met. I’ll find a way to feel fulfilled eventually, but not today. Today, I’m going to enjoy my daughter’s smiles and hugs. I’m going to savor my coffee on the balcony with my partner as a little date night after putting our little one to bed.