Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Letting go of fear

Well, the job hunt continues. There is a position that sounds really cool, I think would be exciting, challenging, etc, but I've been dragging my feet on applying to it. So I spent a few minutes journaling about it to see why I might be afraid to apply. While journaling I remembered a great post by the Evil HR Lady http://evilhrlady.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-worst-that-can-happen.html
It's quite a fascinating read. To abbreviate a long story (it really is worth the long read though!) a woman said she was scared to apply for jobs because she now has a 'criminal background'. Evil's advice was to point out: what is the worst case scenario if she applies to the postion? She doesn't get hired. Well, what's the worst that can happen if she doesn't apply for the position? The exact same thing--she doesn't get hired. Good point!

I realized I was living out my worst case scenario and thus shooting myself in the foot. I also happened upon Christine Kane's post about "What's Easy, What's Not" (http://christinekane.com/blog/whats-easy-whats-not/) I loved it. I realized "It's easy to print off a job description. It's not easy to apply for that position" (at least for me it isn't always easy).

But I realized I'm still worrying about perfection (an ever Christian obsession, I believe). Perfecting a cover letter or resume before I can apply. That perfection is leading to my living out my worst case scenario. So, I'm opting for imperfection and submitting an application. What's the worst thing that can happen? What I'm living right now! I've got nothing to lose and lots to gain! I'm letting go of perfection and fear. If I'm going to be afraid, I'd rather it be fear based on me trying something new and risking success! So, I'm off to finish tweaking that cover letter, apply, and then go out and have some fun to celebrate overcoming that fear! yay!

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