If you’re a regular reader, you’re surely aware of my struggle over the past few months of picking a path in life (the orginal post can be read here and the more recent follow-up here). Well, it’s done. I struggled, I pondered, I cried, I debated, I worried and I made a decision. The path is not yet defined, I don’t know where I will end up but still, it’s done.
As I struggled, I found myself thinking a lot about the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” The idea that one’s skills and talent can be secondary to knowing the right people has been weighing on my heart. Often this phrase is thrown around when talking about getting ahead in the world but it has different meaning to me. I’m not trying to “get ahead” because truthfully, I don’t even know who I’d be trying to get ahead of. I don’t even really know where I’m trying to go so how can I possibly get there ahead of anyone else?
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” means that it doesn’t matter what my background is, my education, my experience, my talent. It all means nothing if I’m not surrounded by the right people. I realized that being MY best is contingent on the people around me being like-minded. And I see now that times I’ve tried to run away in the past were for the same reason.
I see that I can only be successful if I am surrounded and supported by people who value me and my talents and abilities. People who lift me up and encourage me when I struggle or fail and people who celebrate and appreciate my accomplishments and victories. I need to be pushed to be my best. Just being okay is not okay.
Making the decision was hard for me because I worried about giving up what I had and not having anything to replace it with. I worried about being left with nothing. But a while ago I came to know in my heart what the right decision was and while it wasn’t easy to make and finally put it out into the universe, I feel amazingly optimistic.
Instead of feeling empty and lost, I feel ready, open and available for whatever great opportunity may come my way in the future.
