Life Isn't So Bad After All

Have you ever thought about the lessons you've learned throughout your life? What makes these lessons significant in your mind? How have these lessons shaped your perception of reality? If you try to answer these questions right away, you may end up selling yourself short.

Growing up, I was taught that I could achieve anything I put my mind to; the size of the goal didn't matter. Throughout school, I did well and was confident that success would come each time I performed to the best of my ability. At this point, the lesson I learned was this: if I worked hard, I would be rewarded for it.

As I progressed in school, I started to realize that success didn't always happen as a result of hard work. I questioned why people who were less deserving (they didn't work as hard) kept winning. Initially, it motivated me to try harder, but when the same people kept winning every award, receiving all the scholarships, and getting opportunities they weren't qualified for, my perception of what was real was distorted, which created dissonance. The lesson I learned was this: no matter how hard I tried, if I didn't know the right people (and they knew me), didn't have the right last name, or didn't kiss butt, I wouldn't be rewarded for hard work. I bet you can only imagine how bitter I was during this point in my life.

One day, my reality shifted again. It happened when I was accepted into graduate school. I was actually accepted into a program because of ability to work hard. It was the first time, in a long time, merit was valued over politics. It was this day I realized the world isn't such a bad place after all. The lesson I learned was this: Politics do exist. Many people gain opportunities because they effectively network. However, I now know hard work is valued by some. 

When I think about my life progression, I've realized that everything works itself out. Sometimes, life can be unfair and not work out the way I want it to. However, I have learned to accept the negative times because they make the positive times better. Sometimes, life has a funny way of developing my perception of reality, but my perception can change at any time. What I am saying is that I am in control of how I perceive the events that happen in my life. Think about the events that have happened in your life. Did something unfortunate happen? If so, how has it improved? How has the event shaped your perception of reality?