Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 22nd

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. - John Quincy Adams

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. - Arnold H. Glasow

Hope: Belief in a bright future. ― Lailah Gifty Akita

We are like trees; we must create new leaves, new directions in order to grow. – Anonymous

Over the last few weeks, Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week has covered resilience, patience and character development.  All of these traits are important as we strive toward our goals and dreams.  They are also important when we face trails and setbacks in life, like the author did.

When the author moved to Virginia, she continued working for the same company she was working for in Texas.  On July 31, 2017, she was laid off.  When she moved to Virginia, the author started getting involved in a church, volunteering and attending various other networking opportunities.  As any person looking for a job, the author started contacting her network and applying for jobs online.  To the author, she did not think it would be that difficult to find a job.  With a strong background in financial services, she thought it would be natural to be employed by a member of Congress she had worked with or on one of the Congressional committees that she had met with in her previous job.  However, every door she knocked on closed.  The author was confused.  Every other time she had searched for a job, it happened almost immediately.  However, that was not the case this time.  Over 550 resumes were sent out, seven phone interviews and four in-person interviews came of all those resumes.  Through all of this, the author had to hold on to her faith and questioned many times if she made the right decision to move to Virginia.  She thought about returning to Texas, but every time she prayed she had peace about staying.  After 25 months, the author finally found a job. 

Through this whole experience, the author regularly had to have resilience to keep applying for jobs, patience during the employment search and her character was developed as she had to remain calm and release control as she could only do so much.  Mama Flow (aka the author’s mother) was the person that the author talked to regularly.  She encouraged the author and when the author became frustrated or was ready to give up she would calm the author down.  Mama Flow challenged the author to step out of her box and try new things. 

It was a long 25 months being unemployed, but the author grew through the experience and developed resilience, patience and character. 

CHALLENGE:  Reflect on difficult times in your life when you have been resilient, patient and developed character through an experience.  Remember the difficult times that you overcame and be encouraged.