I have to admit, I don’t like surprises.
I don’t mean the fun ones like getting a gift, winning a contest, or someone making your favorite meal.
I mean the kind that are performance based with expectations attached.
I like to know, learn and prepare for what is ahead and not be caught off guard. The more prepared I am, the more confident I feel in what I can contribute.
“Before everything else, being ready is the secret of success.” - Henry Ford
If you are wired this way too, maybe you can relate. If you love a last minute challenge, more power to you - run with it! I will say, I have learned to become much more flexible in life, in spite of my preferences, and this is always a good thing.
Not liking surprises could be initially why I didn’t want to teach a women’s class, when asked, that I was a part of. It was so much easier to set back and enjoy learning and observing, than helping to facilitate.
Plus, I didn’t think I wanted the responsibility of planning and preparing.
The bigger truth was, it scared the fire out of me. My introverted-self thought I’d rather stay in the background where it felt safe and secure.
Yet, I found myself agreeing to this new opportunity.
Sometimes you just have to jump in and see what happens. You never know until you try. Right?
“Some people don’t get close enough to see things as they really are.” - Felder Rushing
About a month later as I taught for the first time, in spite of my nerves, I realized how much I actually enjoyed preparing, writing, and sharing and hopefully making a difference in people’s lives.
Being put in positions to try new things is both a gift and a challenge. You will be stretched and become more self-aware as you learn what you like and don’t like, and what you’re willing to endure because of the end result.
The nature of surprises is that they can come at any moment.
As a young person I remember being caught off guard when asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I hated trying to come up with an answer, because I didn’t exactly know the answer.
It’s an age old question we often get asked as we are growing up ourselves and then we tend to ask it of others.
I have always known that I wanted to help people in some way and make a positive impact in the world.
Doesn’t everybody?
“Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.” ― Michelle Obama, Becoming
We are always evolving, learning and growing in new ways, hopefully intentionally, and as we experience life. What we envision becoming may change over time as we step over fears and uncover how we can best use our gifts in this world.
Recently at a Workforce Wednesday, with Ava Parker from Refill Jackson, she mentioned that part of learning what we want to do in life can come from narrowing down the options. This often happens by figuring out what we do NOT want to do first.
This is such great advice for young people, and really all of us that are preparing to succeed.
Young adults have an amazing opportunity to participate in an on-the-job training experience through The Refill Jackson Initiative. They will receive on-the-job training and one-on-one mentoring while going through programs like Smart Start, ACT WorkKeys, Servsafe, and being further educated in other areas such as finances and health.
The course emphasizes soft skills, building resumes, career assessments, personality assessments and mock interviews. One will basically get a chance to prepare and practice real world experiences before having them.
What better way to become more self-aware, learn best practices, and gain experience as a young adult starting out. To learn more about this initiative visit https://refilljackson.org
Practicing the art of preparing can take the edge off of the unexpected.
May we all continue to learn, grow, prepare and become.