When something surprises us or happens that we don’t like, our gut reaction is to reject it, judge it or go into victim mode around it. We try to make sense of it, understand why it’s happening and our emotions go into overdrive.
When you invest time and energy into something that doesn’t work out, it sucks. Here’s a story I want to share:
Earlier in my career, after climbing the corporate ladder, I joined a 30 person, tech start-up as VP of Sales. During my first interview with the CEO, we instantly hit it off and I was super excited when I received an offer to join the company.
I started the job on a Monday and by Friday, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. I mean a BIG one. The CEO was 30, super smart, had a big ego and was inexperienced. That I knew before I accepted the position. What I didn’t know was that he was a control freak and wanted to monitor my every move, and every person in the company. Not exactly my cup of tea.
Instead of accepting that I made the wrong choice and quitting, I resisted the situation. I fought the truth. I said to myself, I can make it work! Yikes, was I wrong. The situation only got worse. I stuck it out for a few more months but I was beyond stressed and miserable every single day. By the time I left the company, I was a big, hot, disempowered mess.
It took me awhile to learn that no person, relationship, job or organization was worth putting ahead of my own personal happiness. If I had the wisdom I do today, I would have cut my losses, learned from the situation and not looked back.
Ride the horse in the direction it’s going. Don’t resist. If the horse is going where you don’t want to go, change direction. Decide where you want to go next, take the reins and enjoy the ride.
