Thursday, September 03, 2020

Life Lesson: Letting Go Of The Familiar

If you really think about it, a large chunk of life is a series of letting go of the familiar.

Letting go of what we know and what we're comfortable with.

We often say that we desire change, yet when change moves towards us, our initial reaction is to latch onto what's familiar because, well, it's familiar.

Even me, someone who relishes change because I get bored after I reach a point of learning all I can, I too latch on because there is a tiny part of me that feels safe within the comfort of it.

However, I always push through any fear I have of letting go because boredom to me is more uncomfortable than letting go of what's comfortable.

Do you remember a post I shared back in March, in which I said that I had a feeling COVID-19 was going to teach me something on a personal level?

Well, I was right.

It has definitely taught me something. In fact, it is still teaching me things.

In my 64 years of living, I can look back on so many times in my life when things were tough and scary, and I see those times as some of the best chapters of my life because of what I learned.

Tough times are like giving birth.They can be uncomfortable, and sometimes downright painful. However, if you breathe deeply and push through them, you create a new life experience.

And that, to me, is what life is all about.

Creating and reinventing yourself. At any age.

So that's what I have decided to do with what's currently happening in my life. Instead of looking back on my life later, I'm looking at it right now as one of the best times in my life because even though I'm not exactly sure what is going on, I can sense that I am giving birth to something new.

Midway through the COVID lockdown, I began looking for employment because the job I had was finito.

I won't get into the specifics of why, but let's just say that I no longer had a job.

However, I wasn't worried because I had a nice savings account that I built. And I carefully used that money for almost six months, while keeping an eye out for another job by continually applying online.

But guess what?

Like so many other people here in the U.S. who were jobless, I too couldn't find work.

I had quite a few Zoom interviews with potential employers, all of which ended with an email saying, "I'm sorry to inform you that we will not be moving forward with your application."

I received one rejection email after another, which was something I was not used to because I'm someone who has never had a problem getting a job. And I have to say that it caused me to become a bit concerned. Not only because I knew that I needed to start creating a flow of income, but because I suddenly didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.

I felt like I was in a weird space that was unsettling, but also oddly exciting because it propelled me to reevaluate my life by asking questions.

Why is this happening to me? Why can't I find a job? Why are all these doors closing? And why do I no longer feel inspired?

And that's when it hit me.

I realized that those doors were closing because I kept running back to what was comfortable and familiar to me. I kept going for the exact same jobs that I had done for years and years and years.

That's why the doors were closing on me. And that's also why I didn't feel inspired.

Life was trying to get my attention by saying, "Ron, it's time for you to choose a different door. Make another choice."

I could literally hear that message within my whole being.

So, I took several days and cleared my mind of all preconceived ideas I had of what my next job should be.

And instead of specifically applying for "beauty industry" jobs, I changed my job search by typing in "customer service " because that's truly what I do best.

I love to serve people. And do it with integrity.

And ironically, that's when the freelance job of working online as a beauty advisor (concierge) dropped into my lap. It was listed under "customer service."

It immediately sparked my attention. But I had never worked online/remotely before, so I didn't know if I could do it. For years I had only worked in a retail store environment assisting clients. This job was a completely different animal because I would have to make product recommendations based solely on what a client wrote on their profile page, without ever seeing them face to face. And that can be very challenging.

But then I thought, "What the hell, apply for the job and see what happens. Do it!"

So I did.

After two phone interviews, I was hired.

And what is so cool about the synchronicity of this occurrence is that not only am "I" opening a different door. But the two women who own the online business are also opening a different door because this concept (which they created) has never been done in the beauty industry.

It's a whole new adventure.

And it's as if life handpicked all the right people to join forces in this adventure.

Last Saturday was my pilot day of training on the website. Alone. I was supposed to work six hours, taking each clients' profile and selecting specific products for their needs; filling out instructions for them; and then finishing it off with a quick 20-30 second video sharing a beauty tip. However, I ended up working for 10 hours because I was so excited to be learning something new, I couldn't stop myself.

Later that evening, I got an email from one of the business owners who said that she was extremely pleased with my orders and that she could tell that I really knew the products well, and that I was very efficient.

*doing the happy dance*

So you see, it all worked out.

It was just a matter of me letting go and remaining open, in spite of doubting myself.

And who knows where this experience will take me. It may even lead to something else.

So, if I can leave you with one inspiring thought from this experience that may sound corny but it's true, it's this:

As you let go of the familiar, 

trust that when one door closes, another one opens...

Have a grrrrreat rest of your week, y'all!

💗

P.S. This is not the only thing that has changed in my life, there have been other things. And I will share them with you in future posts.