Letting Myself Be Excited

I applied for a job I am excited about. I have been thinking about my career and my next step for a while. As I often do when things come up in my life, I told my parents. My dad, who is a practical man, told me to get excited but not “too excited.” My mom said to put it in Jesus’ hands. While I appreciated where their hearts were sharing advice to protect myself, it just not in my nature to be partially excited. 

It is ok to be all the way excited about something. It made me think of something Dr. Brené Brown said in one of her books. She was invited to give a talk at an event that was a big deal to her. She did not want to let herself get too excited and downplayed how much she wanted to opportunity. She held herself back by limiting her excitement. She shared that when we do not let ourselves be fully excited we prevent others from being excited for us and to receive consolation from others if it does not work out. 

Life is filled with ups and downs. There are successes and disappointments. We need to be able to navigate disappointments so that we do not feel the need to overprotect ourselves. As I prepared for my interview, I allowed myself to be excited. During the interview, I was my authentic self and did the best I could. I made them laugh and feel feelings. 🙂 I think they got a strong sense of who I am and what I could bring. I felt good afterward and I let myself feel the excitement at the possibility. I believe I will make it to the next phase but if I don’t, I will allow myself to be disappointed, learn the lesson, and keep going. There is one thing my mom said that I believe in, “si es para ti, ni aunque te quites. Si no es para ti, ni aunque te pongas” (If it’s for you, not even if you remove yourself. If it is not for you, not even if you put yourself. 

We will see what happens. I am going to remain positive and excited until I heard otherwise, I should know by the end of next week. Until then, there are possibilities ahead of me and I will focus on that. If it does not pan out as I hope, at least I had the opportunity to interview, which is always good practice.