Mid-Week Check-In

Whew.  Don't blink or you may miss my life going by in a hurry.  That's what I feel like these days as life is action packed with work, running, IU Hoops, and good home life.  The pace is fast and aggressive, and I like it that way.  On my run this morning and then in walking Myles this afternoon I was thinking about where I was two years ago--working in a job that I just was not feeling and where they were just not feeling me.  It was not that it was a bad job, but it was a bad job fit for me.  I'm a Housing and Res Life person, not a HR person...And there is nothing wrong with that.  They wanted procedures and decisions and I wanted to ask how people were doing and have everyone do ice breakers.  It just was not a good fit.  I told one of my Grads, Drew, today that "I get up and live my dream every day."  And it's true, my dream is to influence lives in a positive way, to make a significant difference, and to have fun doing it.  I'm very fortunate to be living the dream I had in mind when I earned my college degree and subsequent Masters Degree.  I'm a lucky guy.

Two years ago I was down and nearly down for the count.  It was about this time that I made some significant moves to change my life's direction, the most significant being my attitude.  See, it was not my boss at the time's fault that I was in the wrong job.  After all, I took the job and she gave me a shot.  I just let being so down about not being in Res Life and Housing change my attitude.  For my life to change in the spring of 2009, I had to first change my attitude.  And...I did.  I scheduled a meeting with Vicky (who eventually became my boss) about getting involved in Housing.  I presented at a campus leadership conference to students.  I volunteered to help with Student Staff Interviews and then to lead some Spring Training sessions.  Then...a job opened, I applied, and earned a spot on the HRL team.  Now...I am so very happy and truly fortunate.  And...it all started with accepting the reality that I, Josh Skillman was responsible for my attitude and for putting myself in a position to get where I wanted.  Good things that you want don't usually just drop out of the sky.  I've spent 13 out of the last 14 years working in Housing (RA, GA, RHD, AC, AD) and I've learned a lot, but the lesson I learned in the one year I did not work in Housing may rank as life's most important:  It's not how you respond when things are going well that defines your character.  Rather, it's how you respond when things are not going your way that truly defines who you are.  I'm thankful for that experience, although at the time I was miserable. 

Running is a funny thing as this particular series of memories continue to bubble up on my runs.  It was two years ago this month that I changed my attitude--thus changing the course of my life.  So...I guess it's probably the time of the year that brings it back.  For those who read my blog, I once again will reiterate what I stated a few weeks back:  My hope for you is that you find something that you love and just cannot wait to get up and go do.  I'm lucky to have found that in work, running, and in my personal life.  I hope you can find that too.  Happy running to you...