The power of tiny reinforcement

I admit that I missed my Friday post. Since I often tell others not to apologise for things they don't actually need forgiveness for, I will not explicitly apologise for my oversight. 

Instead of documenting my thoughts and activities over the past few days, I spent my Friday talking with friends and acquaintences about job stuff; realising I really need to get cracking on midterm studying; lunching with a higher-up from my former oil employer; planning for our China trip; and hanging out with old friends at a house party in the city. All followed up by a sunny walk across SF this morning, and lunch with a classmate from last year. (At the Delancey Street Restaurant which has a very cool mission.)

While the details of my day aren't really important, my excuse for being tardy on the prose is that I'm focusing on community building this week. There's no better study than to actually spend time with people I want to maintain relationships with. I haven't been particularly consistent about seeing friends who live barely 40 miles from me, but it's comforting to know that I can pick up a conversation when I do happen to be around.  

I've also been comforted recently by tiny bits of positive reinforcement. I'm doing pretty well at not worrying about my lack of employment post-graduation. Now that I've taken some time away from the ol' job hunt, it's time for me to get back into the actual search. Last week I did an email blitz out to friends, friends of friends, old acquaintences, and alumni. Very quickly, sometimes within a few hours, I got some promising replies from people who are happy to help. 

Previously I'd been pretty discouraged about doing those cold calls, probably because I hadn't gotten responses before. But even hearing back from a few folks over the past few days has given me the confidence to press on and have a much more positive attitude about my search.  

It's tough to give myself the advice that I just have to be patient and persistent. But the key to remember is that it doesn't actually require that much effort. It only takes a tiny bit of positive feedback to keep me going. 

I just started Alan Lew's "This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared" about the Days of Awe. Pretty heavy (and inspiring) stuff, but I'm glad to not be reading it during the actual Days of Awe. Sort of like watching a horror movie in the daylight to relieve some of the tension. I'm hoping it will be a helpful coda to my focus on transitions. 

Happy weekend,

Emma