I wonder sometimes if I learned of having a learning disability at an early age, if my mom would have stopped calling me stupid. I wonder if, I saw a therapist when I was being bullied at school or if someone listened to me, would I have been stronger.
From time to time, I think of these moments in my life, these critical moments where my life could have ended up where I am now, or would it have ended. I believe as hard as these moments in life are, there is a reason that we go thru them. When my dad passed away when I was 23, it was the worst period in my life. My dad, my rock, my dad who loved me unconditionally, who told me that no matter what I decide to do with my life, so long as I'm happy then that's all that matters. I've always done what my parents wanted to a certain extent but, with my dad gone I was scared. I could barely take care of myself as I was falling apart on the inside but, I had to stay together because I had to take care of my mom and my sister. I finally broke down on Christmas 5 years later. It was really bad at work, my manager, my staff, the gm and other managers and even head office believed the lies my manager was telling them. Everyone was telling me to quit and all I could think of was but what I'm doing to right according to their policies and the law!! I told my boyfriend (now husband) all he could say was quit and snap out of it.
Never had I really felt so alone. I told him that I needed some air, so I went out to the balcony. As I was out there, I looked over the railing and down at the ground below. That day I seriously thought of ending it all. I felt so sorry for myself at what was going on in my life, and then I stopped thinking just for a minute and looked at the snow falling. In that minute I realized that I am a strong person, a good person, a smart person, a person who controlled their own fate and destiny. In that moment I realized that all those people who believed my manager were sheep and weak. So I decided that I wasn't going to fight those people anymore, I was demoted. People talked, pointed and stared the next couple of weeks but, I kept my head down and just did my job and went home. Within a month of my demotion, my manager was under fire for all the bad decisions that she was making. She even tried to blame me for poor sales even though I wasn't even in the country!! In the end she was demoted and let go and I was promoted back again with a good manager on my side.
These moments happen to us for a reason. It's how you react, or the decisions that you make at the time that either push you forward or keep you held back.
My apologises for the long ramble