Getting back up
Over the weekend, I had a long phone conversation with a friend of mine. We have a unique relationship, and, without getting into too much detail, I'm grateful he's in my life. Anyway, I was giving some advice on grant-writing and research, since a lot of those responsibilities have fallen on me now, our other VISTA having left a couple of months ago. I mentioned that recently, I've just been working on writing LOIs (Letter of Interest, for those of you not in the know with grant-writing jargon), and that last week two of our proposals were declined by foundations we'd reached out to.
"Well, that sucks," he said.
It does, not going to lie. But what I've learned, and what I shared, is that you can't take it personally. You have to get back up and keep going, keep pursuing, keep putting yourself out there, in the hopes that someone will be baited by your "hook", so to speak.
"It's like applying for a job," I went on, "You're going to get told 'No' a lot more often than you're going to get told 'Yes'."
On to today. Today wasn't exactly a good day. It wasn't terrible, by any means; just had a lot on my mind. Still do. A couple friends of mine are going through a pretty rough time right now. Kelly and I feel stuck in a seemingly endless waiting game, waiting to hear something, anything, about when exactly we'll be able to move into our house. It's getting difficult to keep the faith, and easier to remain in a constant state of frustration, not just for me and Kelly, but for my friends also. So earlier today, I was thinking about the previous conversation, and it sort of dawned on me that this doesn't just apply to grant-writing; this applies to life too, especially life as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Often times, or at least from what I've observed from not just myself, but my fellow VISTA peers, is that we are often put into situations or work environments we know absolutely nothing about. Up until I started at Grow Appalachia, my knowledge of how a nonprofit worked was right at zero. It took me about a week to integrate myself into an office atmosphere, which was far less fast-paced and demanding than from where I'd come from. And so on. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am and I love what I do. But does that mean every day has been puppies and rainbows? Nope. I've had plenty of days where all I wanted was to shout a big fat "Screw THIS!" and call it a day. It's easy to adopt that mindset in the grant-writing world, especially after your sixth or seventh rejection email. It's easy to adopt that mindset when it seems like everything in your life is going a million forms of wrong with no end in sight.
But here's the trick: You have to get back up!
And when you get to that place, that crappy, scary, frustrating place in your life, job, whatever, and you decide "Ok, this is what I have, this is what I've been dealt, and I have to have faith and keep going, keep putting myself out there", then that, I believe, is when growth happens. This doesn't mean that you have to shut out any feelings of frustration or anger, no. To me, it means coming to a place of acceptance, in which I accept that there are things out of my control, and I can only do what I can. Never hurts to have a sense of humor either (It's really the only way we haven't totally lost our minds in our apartment). I went on a walk this evening in an attempt to clear my head. I was listening to Bethel Music on my iPod, and I was just talking to God about today: our living situation frustrations, my friends, my own feelings about missing someone, so on. As I turned up the corner through one of the dorm's parking lots, I turned around and I saw the most incredible sunset behind me! It was almost as if God Himself was saying to me, "Hey, I'm here." And while I don't feel entirely better about the circumstances of today, I know I have to get back up, God willing! I would encourage you that if you find yourself in a bit of a slump, a rough spot, whatever, to trust: trust in God, yourself, your work's mission, anything, just trust that all will come to fruition and fulfillment in its due course. I've learned that life works like that, too.
"The bad news is that nothing is permanent. The good news is that nothing is permanent."
"Well, that sucks," he said.
It does, not going to lie. But what I've learned, and what I shared, is that you can't take it personally. You have to get back up and keep going, keep pursuing, keep putting yourself out there, in the hopes that someone will be baited by your "hook", so to speak.
"It's like applying for a job," I went on, "You're going to get told 'No' a lot more often than you're going to get told 'Yes'."
On to today. Today wasn't exactly a good day. It wasn't terrible, by any means; just had a lot on my mind. Still do. A couple friends of mine are going through a pretty rough time right now. Kelly and I feel stuck in a seemingly endless waiting game, waiting to hear something, anything, about when exactly we'll be able to move into our house. It's getting difficult to keep the faith, and easier to remain in a constant state of frustration, not just for me and Kelly, but for my friends also. So earlier today, I was thinking about the previous conversation, and it sort of dawned on me that this doesn't just apply to grant-writing; this applies to life too, especially life as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Often times, or at least from what I've observed from not just myself, but my fellow VISTA peers, is that we are often put into situations or work environments we know absolutely nothing about. Up until I started at Grow Appalachia, my knowledge of how a nonprofit worked was right at zero. It took me about a week to integrate myself into an office atmosphere, which was far less fast-paced and demanding than from where I'd come from. And so on. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am and I love what I do. But does that mean every day has been puppies and rainbows? Nope. I've had plenty of days where all I wanted was to shout a big fat "Screw THIS!" and call it a day. It's easy to adopt that mindset in the grant-writing world, especially after your sixth or seventh rejection email. It's easy to adopt that mindset when it seems like everything in your life is going a million forms of wrong with no end in sight.
But here's the trick: You have to get back up!
And when you get to that place, that crappy, scary, frustrating place in your life, job, whatever, and you decide "Ok, this is what I have, this is what I've been dealt, and I have to have faith and keep going, keep putting myself out there", then that, I believe, is when growth happens. This doesn't mean that you have to shut out any feelings of frustration or anger, no. To me, it means coming to a place of acceptance, in which I accept that there are things out of my control, and I can only do what I can. Never hurts to have a sense of humor either (It's really the only way we haven't totally lost our minds in our apartment). I went on a walk this evening in an attempt to clear my head. I was listening to Bethel Music on my iPod, and I was just talking to God about today: our living situation frustrations, my friends, my own feelings about missing someone, so on. As I turned up the corner through one of the dorm's parking lots, I turned around and I saw the most incredible sunset behind me! It was almost as if God Himself was saying to me, "Hey, I'm here." And while I don't feel entirely better about the circumstances of today, I know I have to get back up, God willing! I would encourage you that if you find yourself in a bit of a slump, a rough spot, whatever, to trust: trust in God, yourself, your work's mission, anything, just trust that all will come to fruition and fulfillment in its due course. I've learned that life works like that, too.
"The bad news is that nothing is permanent. The good news is that nothing is permanent."
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