Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

It has been one year since I graduated. It was a rough year trying to figure out which direction to head, but it seems that on the one year anniversary of my graduation things started to turn around or maybe I’ve just started to see things more clearly. When I think about my freshman year of undergrad I sometimes cringe at how scared I was, at how I wandered about not sure of what was going on. After a while, I got the hang of things and felt like I was really “in it”. I was “in it” in a way that when I walked around I felt like I finally figured out what I was doing (kind of). I found the missing piece and was no longer looking at this big world in awe and confusion. The world seemed to be a bit less complicated. When I think of that time when I felt like I was “in it” now, I think to myself, “woman, you still don’t get it…there’s more to come!”. Then another new and challenging thing came full force and I was back to that wandering point, back to that naivety.

I go through this confusion/figuring out process all the time; I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. If I could sum up this past year? Confusion. But now I’m getting to the good part. I am getting to this “in it” phase because I’ve realized something that I continually do NOT do during my naive states: see the big picture. I realized that life is like this huge puzzle, but instead of it being 100 pieces, or 1,000 pieces it is 1,000,000,000,000,000 pieces. When we open life’s puzzle box we are faced with this challenge and it’s hard to know where to begin. Every person has their way of figuring puzzles out… I tend to start with the corners. So we get crackin’ on that corner and we start getting stuck. But instead of giving our mind a break, of letting go of the frustration; instead of refreshing our desire to finish the puzzle by moving on to another corner, or finding pieces that fit together no matter where they belong within the picture, we keep obsessing with that one stubborn corner.

That “in it” moment, is that instant when we finally remember why you are trying to finish this puzzle in the first place: satisfaction. If we’re working on this puzzle for enjoyment and satisfaction then why are we torturing ourselves with one aspect of the damn thing? Instead of thinking, “What CAN I do?” we wonder “Why can’t I get this?”. I have fallen into that thinking too many times, and I will probably fall into that type of thinking again…it’s the cycle of things, but once you understand the cycle you can catch yourself before you start the obsession.

I was explaining to the founder and CEO of Images of Us in Milwaukee how my running career came about. I focused so much on feeling like I didn’t fit into the running world physically that I prevented any success. Who would succeed when when the focused isn’t on success? Doesn’t sound like rocket science, but our mind wanders, like mine did and does, onto things that don’t help. I again, put myself in this rut over many things this past year: my job situation, my living situation, my car situation, etc. When I think about why I am doing what I am doing it is just like that puzzle: satisfaction…and happiness. Worrying and focusing on that stuff only made me mad, not satisfied or happy. Do I know where I will live in one year? Nope. Do I have a new car? Nope, not yet. Do I know exactly what my career calling is? Nope. What would make me happy? Going to school. Check! Working with companies that I believe in. Check! Working in women’s sports. Check!

I’ve finally caught glimpse of the big picture, and it looks pretty good!

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

• SportsPLUS
• Career
• Personal

View Original Post at stephanieperleberg.com

View stephaniemp's Full Profile

No one has commented on this yet. Be the first!

Leave Your Comment:  Read our comment policy

Login  |  Sign Up

LOGIN TO WOMEN TALK SPORTS:

Username: 

Password: 

SIGNUP FOR A WOMEN TALK SPORTS ACCOUNT:

A Women Talk Sports account allows you to maintain a profile at www.womentalksports.com and login to comment on posts using your WTS identity.

Fields marked with a * are required.

Your First Name*: 

Your Last Name*: 

Your E-mail*: 

Your Website: 

Your Location: 

Your Twitter Username: 

Create a WTS Username*: 

Create a Password*: 

Confirm Password*: 

Check here to receive bi-weekly emails from Women Talk Sports and partners highlighting discussions on our site and upcoming women's sporting events, as well as informing you of new products, services and special offers.

I accept the Terms & Conditions for joining Women Talk Sports