I played racquetball for the first time since my accident in 2008 on Friday. So many emotions ran through me while I played — not at peak performance, of course, but playing nonetheless. At the very basic level, it was nice to be moving again.
While my husband and I smashed the ball back-and-forth, my mind immediately went to the career lessons that could be learned from our game.
- Don’t give up hope. It’s a tough market out there. No doubt about it. But, there are signs all over that things are improving. And even if there weren’t, the second you give up hope is the second you will never land that job. I’ll be honest and admit there were many times I gave up hope while I struggled to find a diagnosis and temporary “cure” for my reflex sympathetic dystrophy. With so many unknowns, I thought for sure I wasn’t going to get help in time and be paralyzed for the rest of my life. Luckily, in the end, I didn’t accept “there’s nothing we can do for you” and switched doctors until someone gave me a different answer. Now, 18 months after the accident that led to the disorder, I’m playing racquetball again. Hope and a positive attitude are powerful things.
- Play to your strengths and work on your weaknesses. When my husband and I play racquetball, he always serves and I always play the backfield. (Clearly we don’t keep score!) This is because he needs to work on his serve, and I need to work on recovering serves. While we don’t plan to ever get to competition level, we do want to get better (so we can stop practicing on the court that has no windows, if nothing else!). Evaluate yourself: What are your strengths and weaknesses? How can you play up your strengths and diminish (while working on) your weaknesses?
- Rules are merely “suggested guidelines.” I often spout things you should and shouldn’t be doing at every stage of the hiring process and on the job. However, stepping outside the rules can be fun — and beneficial. I already said Brett and I don’t keep score — and it had been so long since we last played I only remembered one rule of the game. But it didn’t matter — we had a blast! Test what rules are essential for you to abide by and what rules you can break — coming out the candidate on top.
- There will always be someone better than you — and someone worse. It’s sobering to remember that, no matter what you do in life, there is always someone out there who does it better. Learn from these people in any way you can! And also remember that there’s also someone out there who you could “beat” in the hiring process when put head-to-head. Everyone has a unique skill set and background they bring to the table. I’m happy to say that while there are certainly plenty of people better at racquetball than me, I am at least better than Brett, for now.
(Although Lord help us if anyone ever decided to tape us playing and put it on YouTube — would probably bring the sport to shame!) - Celebrate the small victories. I can no longer make tall leaps or run after the ball at full force — I’ll never be able to again. But I got out there, moved around the court, and had a ton of fun. For me, that was a small (maybe even huge) victory. You’re going to face a lot of “nos” as you search for a job, but take pleasure in every positive outcome: an interview, feedback, etc. It will make the whole process a lot less painful, and maybe even enjoyable!
