On Monday morning I woke up at 7.30, a decent time you might say, yet it was 2.5 hours past my alarm. I had an important job interview at 7 in the morning, located an hour drive away. The early hour of the meeting was set up as a sort of test, which they apparently they do to all new potential recruits. I wasn’t too bothered, I can get up early easily when I have to. I prepared well and set my alarm well on time, but alas, life had a different plan.

How I managed to wake up that late, I’m still not sure. What I do know, is that I was bummed out all day. After talking to the person handling the meeting, and asking to reschedule, I was told it was very unlikely I’d get to try again. Fair play, that was the test wasn’t it?

Now I took it fairly easy the rest of the day, I cleaned some things around the house, went for a run, did some research and played some video games. Even for how much I did not wanted it to, the missed interview sort of ruined my day. Obviously you might say. I beg to differ. I tried not to be too affected by it, and to carry on with other things and to still be productive. Not doing too much was a conscious choice as well, to take some time and let it all sink in. Still though, at the end of the day (literally) I could still boil up and get angry at myself over it. This is very unlike my new self, and did not like the feeling.

Now, the point of this post is that I had to take a hit yesterday and I was having issues coping with it properly. What I’ve learned from it is what I want to emphasize on here, with the following quote as a backbone.

The coping with disappointment  reminded me of a clip a friend showed me, from the sixth installment of the Rocky Balboa franchise. (one of Sly Stallone’s better movies, I must say) The clip sees him telling his son not to quit and to “Go out and get what you’re worth!”. It’s a powerful piece (watch it here).
I focused on the bit from 2:04 on, which is the following:

Let me tell you something you already know: the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.

You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can GET hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can TAKE, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth! But you gotta be willing to take the hits! And not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you want to be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!

My friend has that speech as his alarm tune, because “I wouldn’t dare to hit snooze after that”. I followed suit and have it now as well.

You have to be willing to take some hits, it’s in similar lieu to taking risks and facing consequences. Don’t be afraid of them, accept them and move on. Despite my best efforts and preparation, I messed up, knowing full well what the consequences were. I will still fight to try and get somewhere in this situation, but at some point I might have to admit defeat and carry on. This is just an example but it’s something that can happen everywhere, at any given time. Coping with ‘defeat’ properly is what will make you stronger and will help you grow.

Also, I found this site with a few tips to help you wake up in the morning, worth a read 🙂

Edit: I chased it and worked for it and ended up getting a second chance; another interview. Perseverance pays off.