No, the title of this post is not a suggestion to the marketing team of the pill for unwanted pregnancies. It’s a call to action for your life. Unfortunately, it was inspired by true events in my own job quest.
I received my first official rejection letter today from a company I was very interested in working for. I plan to hang it up in a place of honor because it is undoubtedly the first of many. But that’s not my low self-esteem talking, although it will give you an ear-full if you let it. I’m simply acknowledging that you can’t win them all, and that there is a grain of truth to the sentiment that some things are simply meant to be or not. And that’s that.
These composed and mature ideas were not my first thoughts when I slit open the envelope that contained the rejection letter on my dining room table. Actually, my first string of words upon finding the word “However,” in a dense mass of text in the letter are a bit too vulgar to repeat here.
But once I was able to ruminate on the experience a bit, a familiar motto floated into my head: “everything happens for a reason.” And with a deep sigh, I knew this to be true. But when I began to think about my next plan of action, the words “plan B” took root in my head, and I recoiled. Should any of us refer to any opportunity as a plan B? What, exactly, makes it secondary? And why do we allow ourselves to pursue a “secondary” plan instead of making a new “primary” one?
This terminology suggests that when we don’t get something we want, we are simply settling. It says that we will only pursue second best if our first choice is out of our reach or eliminated as a possibility. But what makes it so?
I openly reject this thought process. If you needed a reminder about your potential on this cold Tuesday night, here it is: never settle and never give up. If something didn’t work out, it wasn’t supposed to. If you’re still breathing, it’s not over.
Call it God’s work, call it the universe’s abundance, or call it luck that you are where you are, but don’t call your next move plan B. And in that vein, don’t work towards your plan B. Any chance you get at achieving your dreams requires you to pursue your plan A. See everything as a possibility that will help to strengthen your career or your character, no matter how diverse the opportunity is from your original goal. Perceive your next interview or date as your top choice. If it isn’t a plan A in the first place, don’t pursue it. And if it doesn’t work out, find a new plan A.
Here’s another friendly reminder: you don’t have to have it all figured out. You can go ahead and read that again because I know it didn’t sink in the first time. People will tell you that you should, and they’ll act very prepared when they are around you, but they don’t know what they are doing, either. The plain and simple truth is this: if you follow your passion, you’ll never have to look very far for your next move.
So, with this in mind and my heart in hand, I’m reaching for that next plan A. Are you?
Bailey Dailey 