I had my job interview today. I don’t really know whether it went well or not. Not an ace-in-the-hole, let’s say. It was tough getting prepared during March Break and with the husband working and then catching up on much-needed sleep all weekend. Afterwards, I thought I should tell the girls that it went really well, but we have to wait and see because they can only hire one person but there are lots of people who want the job.
Now why would I lie to my two daughters? I pretty much felt like crying all day after this stressful event so I definitely needed to come clean with them and say I just didn’t get a great feeling from the interview, and now I am going to have to wait and see what happens.
I guess I just thought it would be easy to get back in the workforce and show these two girls of mine how great the world thinks I am. I want them to see me being successful. The only problem is that I can’t seem to figure out how to measure success. Is it paid work in the business world that I need to be considered successful? I don’t know anymore.
overeducated & understimulated 
Well, I just think it is wonderful that you WENT to an interview! Not an easy thing after being out of “that world” for a while. I think I would have get prescription deodorant if I had to go to a job interview. And good for you for sharing it with the girls. I mean, kids can always tell when we are worked up about something and if we hide it – well, you are right: what are we teaching them!
Strangely enough, I wasn’t nervous beforehand — or maybe I just didn’t have time to think about it. It was about halfway through when I realized that they didn’t seem as impressed with the stuff I was telling them as I thought they should be that I started getting shaky. I just wasn’t prepared to repeatedly be asked how I have stayed “current” in the past few years. There are a lot of things I could have said, but I don’t think any of my answers were what they were looking for.
Hmmm… How to measure success..? This question you ponder had me quickly reaching for a book I keep on my bedside table. Nestled within its pages, a quote that immediately came to mind… “what were those exact words he used?” Well, after a little searching, here it is, double hilighted on a doggy-eared page – “What the world doesn’t tell you – because it doesn’t know – is that you cannot become successful. You can only be successful. Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment. And what is that? There is a sense of quality in what you do, even the most simple action. Quality implies care and attention, which come with awareness. Quality requires your presence.” – Echart Tolle – A New Earth
Hope that helps define the true meaning of success. In my personal experience, I still set goals and aim to be the best I can be in all that matters to me, but I place primary focus on the journey rather than the destination. If I ever find myself worried or stressed along the way to achieving any particular goal, I question that. No grandiose accomplishment could ever be worth what I’m losing in peace of mind along the way.
Congratulations on going for the job interview. No matter what the outcome, you could NEVER be less than fabulous! xo
Thanks for the quote, Lee Ann! It helped me, as you might see from my newest post.