Adam Cole is a Marine Corps Veteran of 18 years. He holds a BA in History from UNC Wilmington. He aspires to become a novelist and was a member of the 2018 CASY Writing Internship. All images for this article were generously supplied by Adam Cole.
Last, when you combine your accomplishments and the support of your network, you have two things in your life to celebrate and be grateful for. We forget to really appreciate our own hard work and accomplishments but, pull together a resume, do a couple of interviews and you will be very proud of yourself. When it comes to kindness, your network shows up the most when you have a specific ask and they can empathize with you.
As Mary ended her call with me, I searched for what motivational words I could muster up to remind her to stay in a place of gratitude for the process, and I shared this quote from Steve Jobs with her,
"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."
Sometimes, we never know the why, something has occurred and maybe it’s not necessary to know the why, but being confident that your life is happening for you, and it’s all connecting on your behalf, is key to keeping a positive attitude and moving forward.