Fleeting Happiness

"Instead of telling the world what you're eating for breakfast, you can use social networking to do something that's meaningful." ~Edward Norton~

Well this honeymoon ended quicker than I thought!

I submitted three posts in three days. I was pretty proud of myself, until it today's challenge to tell LinkedIn about myself. It reminds my of the apprehension I felt during my Naval career.

I dreaded my annual Naval performance evaluations. It wasn't enough to list my accomplishments; I had to show my performance set me above my peers. I rationalized my struggle was justified, that I was too busy performing to realize my accomplishments.

Looking back, that struggle was self-imposed. Because I didn't have a plan. Because I lacked clearly defined goals. I had categories by which to judge my actions but I failed to detail actionable steps to satisfy those categories.

I'd start off each new evaluation period resolved to correct my mistakes. I'd jot stuff down on a notepad to keep track of my efforts. But once the excitement wore off, I got caught up in the reactionary day-to-day distractions instead of following a focused plan.

I was caught in a cycle of fleeting happiness. Complete with the dopamine dump of resolve & jagged pill of disappointment. And I still am...especially during tax season. The struggle is real though and I welcome it everyday to become a better person.

So who am I? That's a tough one because I haven't been one to talk myself up. I'm still figuring that one out. It took me a few days but I'll keep peeling the onion to share more about myself.

If you're about to transition from Active Duty or a frustrated job-searching Veteran, hang in there. Honeymoons are overrated...maybe happiness is too.

True fulfillment comes from the struggle of just making that one simple change to keeps you on the right path day in & day out.

[Day 3 of #30DS]