{"id":1480,"date":"2018-03-20T06:25:27","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T06:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=1480"},"modified":"2018-03-20T06:25:27","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T06:25:27","slug":"the-readiness-is-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2018\/03\/20\/the-readiness-is-all\/","title":{"rendered":"The Readiness is All"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Near the end of Shakespeare\u2019s play, Hamlet realizes that \u201cthe readiness is all.\u201d<\/p>\n

But often, like Hamlet, we are not ready. We draw back, unsure, lacking confidence, not ready for a new challenge, a new chapter in our lives.<\/p>\n

Years ago, as a new assistant professor at Santa Clara University, I went to the faculty club for lunch. But when I saw all these distinguished looking professors in their tweed sports coats, I was intimidated. So I turned around and walked over to have lunch at the student union. I had gotten my UCLA Ph.D. and a tenure-track position but my self concept was lagging behind, still in grad school, still back in the past.<\/p>\n

Psychologists call this the \u201cimpostor syndrome,\u201d which includes feelings that we don\u2019t really deserve our success, that we\u2019re a fraud, that some day we\u2019ll be found out. Surprisingly, it affects many high-achieving men and women, especially when they approach new goals.<\/p>\n

Becoming a college professor was a goal that I had dreamed of and worked for years, a goal that seemed far off in the distant future. It took a while for my self-concept to catch up to my new reality, for the inner critic to calm down long enough for me to be fully present in this new chapter of my life.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019ve been a tenured faculty member for decades, a department chair, associate dean, and Faculty Senate president. With each new chapter, there has been a learning curve, a climb up to the next level, confronting self-doubts and learning valuable lessons to be ready to embrace the new challenge. The readiness is all.<\/p>\n

How about you? Are you facing a new challenge, a new chapter in your life\u2014anything from a new job, an exciting new project, a new home, new relationship, new stage in your life from graduation to promotion, career change, or retirement? If so, try this simple meditation:<\/p>\n