As You Like It

In his play As You Like It, Shakespeare writes a monologue in which two lines are well-known by the world:

 

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

Today, this came to mind and I took the metaphor to heart.  Day in and day out, I work with people in my peer group who become complacent in the roles they are in.  Yet, they do nothing to propel themselves or change their destiny.  For example, if you are not happy in your job, why are you not looking into how you can become happy or change positions?

I too was complacent at one point.  I found it too difficult to work towards changing things that don't ever seem to stay changed.  I finally decided to put my head down and accept the hardships as things not meant for me.  I read a wonderful picture recently which referred to Abraham Lincoln.  One of the most memorable presidents who had ran for political office repeatedly and failed every time until he was elected President of the United States.

We learn a lot through our failures.  We learn what no to do, but more importantly, we learn to persevere.  Today, I thought of a way to add on to the words of Mr. Shakespeare: In this case, our decisions are our props.  Only good actors know how to effectively use them.  We are all given choices in life.  If we do not work to make choices that will benefit us or accept the bad decisions we have made, we cannot change our path.

Another short one but one does not need to be long winded to express a point.  Embrace life, its successes and failures, its rights and wrongs.  More importantly, remember to not give up on the journey because that's the most exciting part.  Don't miss the ride or the destination won't mean as much.

Forge Your Own Path

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."

-William Shakespeare

Throughout life, we all encounter those moments we refer to in several different terms.  Fate, destiny, it was "meant to be"...all of these terms indicate that something occurred that was somehow predetermined in the universe.  Now, I am not saying this is not completely incorrect because I do think there are things that come to pass.  But I think to a degree, we control that fate as well.

When I was in middle school, I went with some friends to a place called Oneighty.  This was a safe place where kids around the same age can go to.  For the first hour, you could play video games, have something to eat, hang out with your friends and the second hour was dedicated to the ministry portion of the program. One time, during the second hour, the topic turned to dating and how you find your soulmate.  The advice given to us in those seats was that your soulmate will come to your door.

Looking back, I realize that what they meant was that when you aren't looking, Love will find you.  But at that age, I took this to mean literally, sit at home, and wait for the person you are meant to be with to arrive.  Love, like life, sometimes needs helping along.  While you shouldn't search for it, you shouldn't ignore it either.  We must create our own destiny in Love to an extent.

Why does this come up, you ask?  Because this applies to the work place as well.  At my place of employment over the years, I have had many people mill promises over me.  A lot of times, I was content to rest on my laurels and wait for these promises to come to fruition.  I suppose you can see where this is going.  Nothing ever really became of what was said.  This can wear on a person who is constantly looking to better herself or improve who she is in work (she for myself, of course!).  This time, I determined that it needed to be different.

I was beginning to become frustrated.  I had a large system of support at first when I started at the company.  But, as it often happens, sometimes roles of the superiors change and with that, expectations and support can also alter.  I was holding a lot of things I wanted to see for myself.  However, I found myself waiting for someone else to make it happen for me.  Odd, as this is never how things work generally.  So, I came to a decision: take my own destiny, my own work future, into my hands.  I plan to start different training courses and searching out ways to better my skill set.

What about you?  Is there something currently in your life that you have been waiting to take care of itself?  Perhaps you, like me, are waiting for something in the workplace to take off?  Or perhaps you are waiting for Love?  Maybe it is something else entirely, a calling or something deeper.  You are not helping yourself by waiting for it to be handed to you.  Take chances, take risks and enjoy life!  Why wait for someone else to hand you something when you will feel so much better about it when you earn it?