The universe requires patience during the pursuit of your goals. Learn how to keep your cool!
“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you are goal-setting, conquering the world, and growing as a person it can be easy to get on a roll where you are expecting your dreams to show up in your reality ASAP. If you followed the steps in my blog post, 3 Tips to align your wants with the universe, it can be easy to expect your dreams to become reality because you have done the work laid out in those steps. Everyone talks about manifestation, being more disciplined, and going after your dreams but the conversation doesn’t include the waiting game you have to play. It’s like the time stopping in the quantum realm.. the place between where you are and where you want to be.
Once you acknowledge the light from within that wakes you up and inspires you to take control over your life you want to see the results of your actions almost immediately. The reality is that you must surrender to the process and be in acceptance of where you are today while planning for your future. The theme of my year has been the universe testing my ability to be patient in unsavory circumstances and stay committed to the goals I have set for myself. It has been an eye-opening journey where I have had to confront thoughts of lack and embrace an abundance mindset in all areas. Today I’ll share my experience and the tips I used to keep my patience and stay on the path.
Keeping your cool
So you have done the work and acknowledged the goals and dreams you want to see in your reality. Now what? Does setting the goal in your mind and writing it down mean that it will automatically manifest in the next 48 hours like a store refund for a pair of shoes? Well not exactly. While setting a goal helps to give you focus and a vision of where you want to be, you then must set mini steps to get the big goal accomplished. During the times you are completing a mini step, you should embrace an attitude of patience and inner knowing that what is for you will be for you. Let me give you an example where I had to practice the art of patience in my own life this year.
Do you know the saying that managers can make or break a job? Well at my last job, my manager left the organization in February 2022. We were on the path of reorganization and I was supposed to be the right-hand woman for the direction she wanted our team to be on. Can you imagine the frustration I felt? Finally, I had a manager that was invested in my growth, accepted my need for new challenges, and didn’t micromanage me and she was leaving!
When she left, I immediately started applying for other jobs, because I wanted job security during this pandemic. Since the great resignation was happening I just KNEW I would immediately land a new position. I set the goal of researching and then applying to 3 companies Monday through Friday. (Some days I would apply to more than 3) While I was waiting to hear back for interviews, I was extremely annoyed due to being assigned the job responsibilities of my previous manager and keeping my own responsibilities with the same pay and title I held before. I’m sure this *quiet promotion* is nothing new to anybody working in the corporate world of the USA, but I digress.
I’m a solution-oriented type of gal so being stuck in a job I no longer resonated with was not my cup of tea. There were some days when I was counting my savings and hedging my bets with a decision to quit and hope for the best! I had an interview with a company that went well but we couldn’t agree on an appropriate salary for the job duties so that fell through. I had interviews where everything went well and the jobs ended up closing up due to a lack of funding/resources. I had interviews where I admittedly wasn’t showing up as my best self due to being frustrated and not selling myself and my capabilities as I should have.
To keep my cool and be patient I alternated between several steps:
1) Practiced gratitude for what I have by giving thanks to God for having a job with the income to pay for food, housing, transportation, utilities, cellphone coverage, etc. This can even be as simple as being grateful for two eyes that can see, ears that can hear, legs that work properly, lungs, etc. I have found that once I start listing all that I am grateful for, it’s tough to stay in a negative mood.
2) Congratulated me for the steps I took to get to where I’m at today. This involves looking at where I was 5-10 years ago and recognizing my GROWTH.
3) Realized the value of what I learned by taking on so many hats at the job. For example, I became the go-to person for salary audits, alignment changes, system access, etc in the main HRIS system we used. Also, I learned to place boundaries on my time while learning areas I needed to grow as a professional by speaking up for myself and getting a few items delegated to another colleague.
4) Did something to relieve stress DAILY whether this was walking in the park, working out, meditation, yoga, calling to vent to a loved one, writing down my frustrations, watching funny youtube videos, turning my phone off, etc
5) I found my last job repetitive and there were no more learning challenges to enhance my growth. I could stay in place of complaining about it but instead, I found challenges outside of work that I could dedicate time to stay current in my field and could be used to enhance my resume. I did a weekly analytics course in June-July and received a certificate at the end of completing it. This enhanced my resume and helped me use it as a selling point in interviews.
While these steps do not REMOVE the pressing need for my goal to be accomplished, they help me align with what season I am in and be content in it. It helped me to alleviate the negative feelings I had towards not seeing my goal of getting a new job immediately.
Eventually, in June, I had a recruiter reach out via LinkedIn with an amazing opportunity! I did a phone screening, and panel interview and just KNEW that I had gotten the job. Sometimes it just feels right, and you know! But ….. I didn’t get the job.
Talk about a deflated balloon.
After allowing myself to be sad and embracing my feelings, which I wrote about in my How to keep the faith blog post, I kept the faith and continued to apply for more jobs.
Brighter days ahead
A month passed after I got the dreaded email saying that I wasn’t selected for that role. I got a call back from the same company with a position that opened up and they had me in mind for it!
When I tell you I was praising the LORD that day!! *ALEXA play Kirk Franklin’s song Brighter Day*
Gospel music playing throughout my place!
During the time I was applying and waiting for another *aligned* job opportunity, I was ready to leave my job. In hindsight being the in-house guru for using the system at my job during that time had its perks because I enhanced my system knowledge and that system is what is used in my new job. Do you see the blessing that the universe gave me in my time of waiting? Sometimes when we are still in a situation we can’t see where God is actively developing us for greater blessings.
I’m sharing this story in this blog post as a friendly reminder to be patient with yourself, respect where you are at in life, and trust in Your Creator to get your goals accomplished. Stay encouraged and in the words of Soul 2 Soul, Keep on movin'.