One of the thoughts that flings its way through my thoughts has to do with making life your own. We only go through once, and sometimes it seems as if we're always one step behind where we want to be. Or expect to be.
There are a lot of imposed goals on our life. By parents, teachers, leaders, bosses, and ourselves. I always thought the expectations in the 1950s were easier than those of the 70s when I was growing up. Find a good man, get married, have children vs the women's lib movement- equality, bra burning, choosing careers. It was not easy!
But as I look back, I realize that the best advice I could share with the younger generations is to make your life your own. I didn't have jobs that made a career. But I learned over time that doing my best every day no matter what the job was made it to be a job worth doing.
Ok. Real time story here. I was working for a forklift dealership in my 30s. I knew the ins and outs of most positions as I was there for 22 years in total. But there was a woman who was made CFO and she didn't like anyone to be smarter than her. She took an instant dislike to me and my position was eliminated. I was reduced to "file clerk", banned to the file room to keep all the files up to date. I'm sure this woman thought I might quit, but I didn't. I sang hymns while I filed, day after day. I didn't let her see that I was unhappy; I made that filing position my own, in my own way. After some time, the bosses realized that my knowledge wasn't being utilized. They opened a branch office in another city, and I was put in charge of the operations portion of it.
Sometimes what others expect doesn't line up with our own desires and expectations. But that doesn't make them wrong choices. The only person we have to be better than is our self. Each day, strive to do better than you did yesterday. No matter what the job or task is. Live your best life!
