A few months back, I woke up and read a comment that somebody had made about my guest post on Dumb Little Man, 10 Tips for Navigating the Waters of Life. The message more or less was that life is not about what happens to you but how you react to it. What he mentioned was that every single time something seemingly bad had happened in his career it had turned out to be a tremendous opportunity. It seemed like something worth exploring in further detail.
I once said that a shift in perspective will shift what you are seeing. When I graduated from college in December 2000 , the economy was in shambles, kind of the way it is now. One year after my first job, I found myself in a situation similar to the one I was in for the last few months (unemployed, and living at home). But ,what’s interesting to note is that during that time all I did was wallow in my misery.
This time I focused on the 25 things I’ve accomplished while being unemployed, and I used the opportunity to start my blog, network like crazy, and build relationships. As ridiculous as it might sound I’m actually now grateful that I was unemployed because it gave me time to work on some personal projects and make some big improvements in my life.
Starting The Skool of Life and unemployment ultimately landed me in a job at Cheapair.com where I am working as a social media strategist. I’m getting to do what I enjoy and be really creative. I was recently in a bad car accident and while I don’t think an accident is anything pleasant, I was lucky that my parents gave me their Toyota Camry, which is a much nicer and newer car. It seems that in all this adversity there’s always been something good to come out of it.
To quote my friend Alex from Unleash Reality “The Future is so bright….gotta wear shades.”
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Srinivas,
That’s a great positive attitude you have there. That is so true about life is how you react to things. That’s what makes or breaks us. Glad to see you now have a job doing what you love.
Hey Srinivas, I think it’s really up to you how to react to an event. There are infinite opportunities available in every situation and if you are always happy and positive you have more chances of finding them.
Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..The Law of Attraction
@Gordie: Thanks. I definitely am much happier with the work I’m doing now and find it much more interesting.
@Oscar: We definitely have a choice in terms of how we process all these events in our lives. I think that when we start to look for positive that’s what we’ll see.
Srinivas Rao´s last blog ..It’s Always for the Best: The Opportunity in Adversity
Sometimes I think I seek out opportunities heavily disguised as adversity.
Where I’m at right now is a pretty good place, to be sure. It’s so nice to build a network on my own, without being hobbled or checked by employers, etc. Big benefit: If I fail, I know *exactly* whose fault it is.
Need a little more surfing though.
Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Website In A Weekend: Thursday evening – Get into the gate
@Dave: It’s interesting how the best opportunities can be disguised as adversity. I walked away from that job I hated and thought it might mean 8 more months of job search hell. Instead I’m doing something i enjoy and still getting plenty of time in the water. If you ever decide to escape the frigid waters of NorCal and come down here, let me know. We’ll make a surf day of it.
Srinivas Rao´s last blog ..It’s Always for the Best: The Opportunity in Adversity
Hi Srinivas.
There sure is something good that comes from adversity when we look for it. It isn’t usually what we expect it to be though. An example would be having a disagreement with someone, with leads to a frustrating situation with them, but the outcome can be a better understanding of who you are dealing with.
I like the way you connect from one thought to the next, and link to fitting posts along the way. Things sure do happen like a story.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..An Interview With Chris Guillebeau