Love this post! It’s amazing how life works out. I “failed” at my first career of being a school psychologist. I only lasted 2 years. It was just wrong for me, all office politics, red tape, and paperwork. I got out and went back to school to become a therapist. I questioned myself all the time, but now I’m so glad that I listened to my intuition. I love being a therapist. It’s right for me.
Oh I just love this so much! Thankfully it only took two years before you realized the need to change course. And that you still love what you do now, to this day. Each path has it's own quirky twists and turns, for sure. Thank you so much for commenting!
This is very powerful, Rebecca. You've got me thinking about what my failures are. But I agree completely that sometimes what we think is failure leads us to where we need to be, so then how can that be a failure? Thank you for this!
17 years ago this past February 4th, I attempted to kill myself. Out of that wreckage my new life was born. I was blessed with a supportive family and a wonderful psychiatrist. In the course of my recovery, I discovered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This led me to Buddhism, and then to mindfulness and meditation. Sometimes, the worst day of our life turns out to be the best.
Absolutely. Perfect example, and thank you for sharing. It reminds me of the Tower card in the Tarot - complete annihilation of our old life, our old way of being in the world, to make way for the new. Sometimes, it just cannot be any other way. A deep bow to you for receiving what life had to offer from within the wreckage 🙏🏼
Rebecca, it's incredible you were able to make that decision to drop out. For me it showed a lot of strength to do something that other people probably wanted to do but felt too pressured not to follow through on. It takes guts to say "I'm going to do this thing that not many other people do and accept whatever the universe throws my way." I quit my wrestling team in college after transferring to said college for the SPECIFIC reason to wrestle there. I felt like such a moron, but knew it was the right decision for me. Things worked out for you, which I'm happy about. Thanks for liking my note the other day!
I so appreciate your similar story, Thomas! And I love the reframe you're making about it being a courageous act to choose something different than what we sought out to do in the first place. You're right, this isn't always easy nor for the faint of heart to course correct like this. I think life is a series of these course corrections and the sooner we can make them, the better!
I just adore your Substack setup with letters to and from your dad. What a beautifully unique concept!
Thank you Rebecca! I liked your fast food analogy to the first therapy you received and your statement we may never find a resolution to what we are seeking. I love your own quote, "To live fully is to dance on the edge of our comfort zone". I too dropped out of an ivy league university working on my doctorate at age 34. I felt like a complete failure and was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. I received excellent health care and was encouraged by my psychologist to not give up working which I am grateful for and also 43 years later, my diagnosis had changed to mild bi-polar. I had the chance a few years after my breakdown to go back to the university, but because perhaps of my own sense of failure, I did not. So what course did I change? The most valuable lesson I have received for me is humility. Before I prided myself on my intelligence and academic accomplishments; In working many types of jobs (again, I was not successful in all) I learned there is intelligence, worth and creativity in every endeavor. The job that helped me get over my mental illness handicap was waitressing: I lost my fear of people. My favorite job was driving a school bus for 3 years and singing along with the students. Thank you for letting me reflect and read your heart felt writings so inspiring.
Wow, Dianne! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my words, reflect and comment. Your story is so beautiful, and I honor the wisdom it contains. I love when you said that there are "intelligence, worth and creativity in every endeavor". YES! This is so very true. And sometimes I think we as humans can be very confused about what true success really means to us. Continuing to ask "what's important about that?" allows us to dig down into the why of what we're doing. I so deeply appreciate your reflection on this article and look forward to hearing from you again in this magical space called Substack. Much love, dear one ✨
Love this post! It’s amazing how life works out. I “failed” at my first career of being a school psychologist. I only lasted 2 years. It was just wrong for me, all office politics, red tape, and paperwork. I got out and went back to school to become a therapist. I questioned myself all the time, but now I’m so glad that I listened to my intuition. I love being a therapist. It’s right for me.
Oh I just love this so much! Thankfully it only took two years before you realized the need to change course. And that you still love what you do now, to this day. Each path has it's own quirky twists and turns, for sure. Thank you so much for commenting!
This is very powerful, Rebecca. You've got me thinking about what my failures are. But I agree completely that sometimes what we think is failure leads us to where we need to be, so then how can that be a failure? Thank you for this!
Wonderful to get you reflecting, Cherie ✨ Perhaps failure doesn't really exist at all.... 😌
That is a mind-blowing concept. I like it!
17 years ago this past February 4th, I attempted to kill myself. Out of that wreckage my new life was born. I was blessed with a supportive family and a wonderful psychiatrist. In the course of my recovery, I discovered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This led me to Buddhism, and then to mindfulness and meditation. Sometimes, the worst day of our life turns out to be the best.
Absolutely. Perfect example, and thank you for sharing. It reminds me of the Tower card in the Tarot - complete annihilation of our old life, our old way of being in the world, to make way for the new. Sometimes, it just cannot be any other way. A deep bow to you for receiving what life had to offer from within the wreckage 🙏🏼
Rebecca, it's incredible you were able to make that decision to drop out. For me it showed a lot of strength to do something that other people probably wanted to do but felt too pressured not to follow through on. It takes guts to say "I'm going to do this thing that not many other people do and accept whatever the universe throws my way." I quit my wrestling team in college after transferring to said college for the SPECIFIC reason to wrestle there. I felt like such a moron, but knew it was the right decision for me. Things worked out for you, which I'm happy about. Thanks for liking my note the other day!
I so appreciate your similar story, Thomas! And I love the reframe you're making about it being a courageous act to choose something different than what we sought out to do in the first place. You're right, this isn't always easy nor for the faint of heart to course correct like this. I think life is a series of these course corrections and the sooner we can make them, the better!
I just adore your Substack setup with letters to and from your dad. What a beautifully unique concept!
Thank you Rebecca! He had the idea! Just came to me with it out of the blue in January. I was all-in immediately. :) Thank you for the follow!!
Thank you Rebecca! I liked your fast food analogy to the first therapy you received and your statement we may never find a resolution to what we are seeking. I love your own quote, "To live fully is to dance on the edge of our comfort zone". I too dropped out of an ivy league university working on my doctorate at age 34. I felt like a complete failure and was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. I received excellent health care and was encouraged by my psychologist to not give up working which I am grateful for and also 43 years later, my diagnosis had changed to mild bi-polar. I had the chance a few years after my breakdown to go back to the university, but because perhaps of my own sense of failure, I did not. So what course did I change? The most valuable lesson I have received for me is humility. Before I prided myself on my intelligence and academic accomplishments; In working many types of jobs (again, I was not successful in all) I learned there is intelligence, worth and creativity in every endeavor. The job that helped me get over my mental illness handicap was waitressing: I lost my fear of people. My favorite job was driving a school bus for 3 years and singing along with the students. Thank you for letting me reflect and read your heart felt writings so inspiring.
Wow, Dianne! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my words, reflect and comment. Your story is so beautiful, and I honor the wisdom it contains. I love when you said that there are "intelligence, worth and creativity in every endeavor". YES! This is so very true. And sometimes I think we as humans can be very confused about what true success really means to us. Continuing to ask "what's important about that?" allows us to dig down into the why of what we're doing. I so deeply appreciate your reflection on this article and look forward to hearing from you again in this magical space called Substack. Much love, dear one ✨