Thursday, November 7, 2013

Keeping the Faith Vs. Accepting Reality

I always tell my kids, "Trust your gut."  When it makes sense, and when it doesn't.  When it's easy, and when it's not.  If you feel threatened, unsafe, pushed in one direction, suspicious of someone/something, or convinced of something, even when current conditions indicate otherwise- trust your gut.

I find myself repeating this mantra to myself these days.

I applied to be a workshop presenter for a 2014 program.  It's being held in a place I've dreamed of visiting for years.  Those who were approved were to receive contracts last month, and those who did not got rejection letters.  I received neither.

Here's the gut check- I have been convinced I would be booked by this program from the start.  Don't confuse this with me feeling I should be booked, or was somehow better than anyone else who submitted proposals.  I simply felt it was to be.

This gut feeling is now at odds with reality, since we are past the approval date.  By a couple weeks.  You see, I still feel this assurance that I will be participating.  It's a visual thing, reminiscent of a game show I played years ago.  I can see myself there.  No, seriously.

I auditioned for Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 2001.  From the start, I inexplicably knew I would be on the show.  I lined up with hundreds of strangers the night before they held auditions in Nashville.  I made it through the initial stages, then was told we would hear soon if we were chosen to appear on an upcoming show.  Soon after this, however, Regis left the show and the set went dark.  A year went by before I got "the call" in 2002.  I ended up playing the game, just as I had felt I would.

So, how long do I check the mail with urgency?  At what point do I accept that they're "just not that into me", and try again next year?  Maybe my intuition was a year off?  I just don't get it.  When my radar hits this strongly, it's never been wrong.  Is it an age thing?  Is my mojo weakening?

I maintain it's a good rule to trust your gut.  I won't temper this directive to my kids simply because of this hiccup.  I still believe we are better off when we stay sensitive to these directions and warnings, and I remain hopeful (and possibly unrealistic).

Sigh.




9 comments:

  1. Call them. Now. There's no harm in following up. And waiting around for the mail is just too painful. Plus, I WANNA KNOW! :) Love the advice of "trust your gut." I am trying to remember this and believe in my gut more and more.

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  2. I called them already, a couple weeks ago. That's how I knew they were still processing approvals, but expected to be done in a day or two. Yesterday I saw a tweet from another hopeful saying she and an associate of hers rec'd rejection letters. They're in FL. I then tried to mentally calculate delivery tables, alphabetical anomalies, and probability of lost mail. So, you think calling again would be a better use of my brain power? I'd hate to earn a big, red DESPERATE warning on my file. Wherever that file may be.......

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  3. No, NIki, not you too! You're the daughter of a math teacher. Stand in the logical land of reason and reality! Your support only encourages me...but thanks!

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  4. And shame on you for fueling my foolishness!

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  5. UPDATE- I got a contract for 2015!! Apparently I just need to have my intuition recalibrated,

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