One of my favorite teachers in high school was Mr. Plaster and literally everyone loved him. He taught AP world history my sophomore year and recent american arts and culture my senior year. I wish I could tell you that I learned to love world history and I could spit off facts about random history but I can’t. What I can tell you is a quote he told me that has honestly changed a lot of my life and how I view success and failure. He shared the quote with his students time and time again and I didn’t really understand it until I was hit with success and all my failure. The quote was this:
“Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.”
As time has gone on I have read that quote more as “never let the yes’s get to your head and never let the no’s get to your heart.”
I have learned recently that there is something very humbling about the word no. Realizing that a no does not mean negative criticism. Sometimes no is just an opportunity for you to learn and grow from where you are right now. Several months ago, I applied for a higher position at my job and I truly thought I was the best person for the job. Turned out I did not end up getting that position. I took it pretty hard, like everything I saw it as rejection and I felt like I was back at square one. I felt like I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grow up. I felt like that was my one shot and I lost it.
Flash forward to right now, I finally have gotten to work for the first time in the last 60 days and I have learned so much about that “no”. The big thing I have learned was that I wasn’t truly the best person for the job and admitting that is okay. It’s uncomfortable to do but it is humbling at the same time. Learning and growing right now with what I have and the resources I have might make me the best person for the job in the future.
I know I have had success and I am not going to look past that but when I hear that “no” it always hits a little harder than the “yes”. However, I have learned more through the failures and the “no” than I have through the yes and I know and trust that one day I am going to get that big “yes”.
As Always,
Abi
As Always Abi 