life lessons

Stand up eight

by Katie Welker

Everyone thinks they have a plan.

I’m going to work in this field, have this type of social life, make this much money, live in this neighborhood and have this type of life.

That’s a great plan, as long as you firmly understand and accept that it’s probably not going to work out that way.

And that’s not pessimistic of me to say. It’s realistic. And these unpredictable shifts in the way we expect our life to go are much more common than people care to admit.

Because the only sure thing about your plan, is that it is going to change. 

Sometimes the changes are easy to accept. You move past them with a shrug of your shoulders and say, “ya know what? that’s okay.”

Other times the changes just knock you down. Perhaps it’s because you were so confident that something would fit like a piece into your puzzle that you forgot to remember that there’s a chance it may not work out.

And when that happens, you have to do your best to adapt. Allow yourself to completely feel the initial emotion that comes over you: whether it be disappointment, anger, sadness or anything in-between. Sulk if you have to, eat some ice cream, do what makes you feel better. But don’t let that negative emotion linger. You must remember to keep hustling and keep busting your ass for what it is that you want.

Because if you’re going to let an unexpected glitch in your plan knock you down, you better be damn sure that you get back up.

Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

What chapstick taught me

by Katie Welker

chapstick

Disclaimer: there is a point to this post, I swear.

Earlier today at work I was looking for my pomegranate flavored Burt’s Bees chapstick. I thought it was in my purse but after looking, I couldn’t seem to find it. I moved on to look in my bag with my work materials in it. Nope. It wasn’t there, either. My pockets were empty so I knew I must have left it somewhere back at my apartment. It was only one o’clock in the afternoon and I knew I’d survive without it, but I didn’t want to wait until I got home after 7 p.m. to finally use my Burt’s Bees.

Frustrated, I sat down and went back to work. Not even two minutes later I looked down at my keyboard and realized I had a stick of Softlips chapstick sitting right there, literally less than two inches from my fingertips. I laughed out loud. I spent almost five minutes searching for my specific pomegranate Burt’s Bees that I was completely oblivious to the fact that I had a perfectly good alternative right in front of me.

So often in life we search for things that we think we need or think we want. We are hell-bent on the fact that these images we have created in our heads — of people, jobs, friends, whatever it may be — is what’s best for us, that it is the only option for our ideal happiness.

I am a big fan of working hard for what I want and an even bigger fan of never settling for less than I deserve and desire. But sometimes it’s necessary to be humbled by the stable and predictable parts of our day that rarely waiver. It can be okay to accept your second choice sometimes.

Maybe what you find isn’t exactly what you were looking for, but sometimes it turns out to be just what you need.

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