Poetry has always made me feel very anxious.  This was because all far too often I just did not ‘get’ it and I longed to shout out  – just say it as it is!  However, the poem below really resonated with me because it struck a chord and the message can be translated into all aspects of our lives – just keep going.

How often do you just feel like hiding away and not starting on the projects that you need to start on? How often are you wanting to just ignore the tasks that hand … and find ways of keeping yourself distracted from doing the work?  How often are you just debilitating yourself with an internal chatter of ‘this is hopless’ or ‘what is the point – I will never get there’? 

I think that many of us feel like this – and there are many graduates out there who need such encouragement at the moment to just keep going despite the challenges of starting work.  Finding a job is a job in itself, and does require the ‘grit’ that Angela Duckworth speaks about.  This is the grit of perseverance, the ongoing taking of tiny steps and remaining optimistic about possibilities.  

There is no ‘perfect’ way of applying for jobs – but it is only by taking that first step … and then the next one … and then the next one that will then opens up possibilities.  

That covering letter needs to be done … write it, rewrite and reword .. and then refine it again.  Your CV will need to be fine tuned, adapted and updated.  As you gain experience with interviews, you will notice yourself reviewing your interactions and adapting your approach. 

Just as the pertinent poem below suggests … just start … get going … and as you forge ahead, keep refining.  

The poem from the book Grit, Angela Duckworth – p 276  Ta-Nehisi Coates:

The challenge of writing

Is to see your horribleness on page.

To see your terribleness

And then to go to bed.

And wake up the next day,

And take that horribleness and that terribleness,

And refine it,

And make it not so terrible and not so horrible.

And then to go to bed again.

And come the next day,

And refine it a little bit more,

And make it not so bad,

And then to go to bed the next day.

And do it again,

And make it maybe average.

And then one more time,

If you’re lucky,

Maybe you get to good.

And if you have done that,

That’s a success.