I’ve been doing a lot of new things lately. Some of the things I’ve been doing even scare me. Not scary in the horror sense but scary in the uncomfortable sense. Over the past month, I’ve started a new job, taken a major exam that my new job depended on (and passed, thank God), and started a new work-out program.
All these changes happened gradually and just happened to coincide with the start of the New Year. My new job, as an Adjunct Professor at the College of Charleston, started Jan. 13. The test I had to take to complete my Masters program at Villanova was only offered on Jan. 11, and I wasn’t about to start a new work-out program before the holidays.
While taken as a whole, all these changes might have been overwhelming, but because each one fell into place bit-by-bit, it didn’t seem like such huge changes until now, in hindsight. It’s only now, after all the changes are underway, I look back in wonder at how I got through the holidays with this stressful test looming over me, a new job to start, and the pressure of getting back into shape (my least favorite of all.)
But then I realized this is what we all do. We manage. We get through the stressful times and often, while we are in it, we are so busy doing it we don’t realize how scared, tired, overwhelmed or stressed-out we really are.
After I passed the big exam, everyone kept asking me, “Aren’t you so excited?” And the honest answer is, No. I wasn’t excited. I was just relieved I didn’t fail! I was so glad the damn thing was over and so pumped up from the pressure, it has taken me a solid week to come down from the stress and anxiety.
After coming through the other side of finishing grad school, passing my test and starting my new job, I’m happy I challenged myself. If three years ago I had thought about all it would entail to accomplish this goal, I don’t think I would have done it. Instead, I (maybe naively) just signed up for my first grad school course and jumped in feet first. In my opinion, sometimes it is good to not think too much about the big picture because we can become overwhelmed and dissuaded. Instead, if we approach our big goals, piece by piece, step-by-step or day-by-day, it might be easier to get outside our comfort zone.
So, here it is mid-January. New Year’s Resolutions are starting to lose their luster. Instead of focusing on all it is going to take to get to your goal, just take it one day at a time.
 
Katie Wells is a national speaker, a customer service trainer, and adjunct professor at the College of Charleston. She can be reached at kewsolutionsinc@gma

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