I spent time today with some exceptional students at Morehead State University’s Craft Academy Alumni & Leadership Conference. These students attend MSU as high school juniors and seniors taking dual-credit courses. The application process and criteria are rigorous leading to a cadre of talented and intentional students.
As part of the conference, the Craft Foundation asked a few corporate sponsors to attend and participate in a panel discussion about preparation for work. I was fortunate to be asked to participate, along with some talented leaders from other local companies.
Following a moderated panel discussion, students and alumni were invited to pose questions. As you can imagine from the caliber of the students, the questions were well thought out and purposeful.
One alum asked a question that is worth capturing here. He said we’ve learned that most people as they are at the end of their life have two things they think about. The first is the people they know–family, friends, and other relationships. The second thing is regrets–what they regret about their life. The question: “What regrets do you as panelists have regarding your careers?”
I’m sure there were many thoughts that went through each of our minds–there certainly were for me.
The thought that resonated for me related to an earlier discuss we had. We had talked about taking advantage of opportunities–even when they were disguised as challenges. My response to the student was a regret for not recognizing those opportunities better and approaching them with optimism rather than trepidation.
We know change can be challenging. Maybe even more so when it is unexpected and seems to be negative. Perhaps we have an opportunity to consider these challenges as opportunities for growth and development, rather than as impediments to our “plan”.
I’ve started listening to the audio book “The Untethered Soul”. The author, Michael A. Singer, discusses letting go of our expectations about a given situation and being present with what is happening.
What if instead of seeing change and challenges as difficulties or problems, we looked at every situation as an opportunity to grow, develop, and contribute in a way that maybe we hadn’t considered before? How would that change our lives? What might the outcomes be? What if it made life better?