Time
Let me start by saying thank you to my manager Anna D, your mentorship over this past year has been invaluable. This post was inspired by one of our many talks.
Y'all remember when I wrote the post about Professionalism and I quote Anna saying "Be patient with yourself", yea, I didn't fully grasp the meaning of that at the time and I honestly don't think I still do. For now I will take the meaning to be "chill out bro, you're young; you're not about to be anyone's CEO tomorrow." I want to be a leader, I want to have influence, I want to feel like I have control, basically I wanna be in charge. I would love all of that now, like right now! I am not ready though. I am a 23-year-old man from Houston, who is not ready to be the CEO of a clinic system. I will be ready, but not now. Parts of me wishes I was, mainly my ego, but a part of me nonetheless. When I'm being completely honest with myself, I know that I need more time to develop. There is so much that I need to learn. I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately, but one thing that I have learned, is that you will quite literally never stop learning.
Give yourself time, with the option for more time. Nothing is going to happen to tomorrow. Rome wasn't built-in a day. [Insert every time cliché here] That is part of the reason why I value mentorship so much. Mentors will help you determine how much time you should set to achieve a goal, because they been where you are before. They know what it takes and most importantly they know you. It so important to find a mentor who understands that things take time and that not everyone's timing will be the same. You are you, and your path is not the same as your neighbor's. Don't stress yourself out comparing.
This first year of adulting has taught me that life is a marathon composed of little sprints. There are going to be time where it feel like you're running in circles, in the dark, with a blindfold on, with your hands tied behind your back; I've been told those are called your twenties. However, things will and do get better. You get smarter, you handle of what it means to be an adult; just be patient with yourself. I'm not saying that you should get complacent in the name of giving yourself more time. Instead, understand when you need to make a run for it and when you should conserve energy and get for the next sprint. Just keep running!