It's Professional. It's Personal.

Fine tuning the balance between professional and personal stability is always a hard gamble, but it's do-able. Young professionals, especially, give themselves a to-do list of things they want to accomplish, people they want to meet, and relationships they want to develop - there seems to be a fine line between hard-work and fate, between choice and destiny. How do you know the difference? If you're trying your hardest and the dots aren't connecting, does this mean it's not meant to be or that you should try harder? These are questions that I have pondered over and over again. As I interact with professionals and up and comers, I start to understand that these thoughts are universal and is seemingly a never ending chase to attain an ideal that you never really know exists or not. It could or it could not, it's just a chance you have to take. You have to give yourself one of those pep talks and in grain in your head that if I try hard or harder or even harder, it'll all come together. But the end result is never foreseeable when you need it to be, so for months or years on end we run in darkness and walk in faith. The years of our 20s seemed so fun and innocent as a college party-hopper, but after graduation reality sits in as soon as the first cheerful person with an intriguing mind wants to know, so "what are you going to do with your life?" At that precise moment, it seems like the safety net has just dissolved and we literally have to learn how to survive as a little fish in a big pond. The first couple years are tough, at least for those seeking higher advancement. This story is very familiar to those who aspire to be better, to do better. I mean really, if you're even considering elevating yourself then you're one step ahead of the game. I'll spare you the cliche speeches that we've all heard before - "just be patient baby, you're time is coming!" In the interim, while you're waiting your turn to receive the golden ticket, it's the web of support that's so critical. Sharing stories and hearing your girlfriend say, "girl that same thing happened to me" or sharing a moment of frustration with your co-worker truly helps in those breaking moments when you feel like giving up. Or you read your horoscope and it gives you words of wisdom that you desperately needed to hear. Or you see your friend paving a way and you get inspired. Or you pray and somehow all your problems don't seem so mind boggling. There is no road map to success or failure or even a pit stop to let us know we're headed in the right direction. However, what is certain is that our experiences and life lessons will better prepare us for that next step in our personal and professional lives. So, just when you want to fall off the band wagon and call it quits, think about how far you've come and how blessed you are. Creating a web of support is the ticket to making ourselves be that Energizer bunny that keeps going and going and going. Make that call or visit that friend...remember, it takes a village!