Very superstitious, writing’s on the wall…
Hello and welcome to issue 13. I’ve decided to go against my usual nature and power on through any worries about superstition with the number 13. No saluting magpies for me or looking out for black cats this issue. I’m going to positively embrace the number 13 for this fortnight because it got me thinking. How many of us needlessly worry ourselves half to death about all kinds of things? Isn’t this more a female problem than a male one? It also gave me some comfort to read that it’s more intelligent people who are inclined to overthink things, so perhaps there’s hope for me after all as a serial overthinker..?!
Thoughts become things
Surely if you expect the worst, you attract the worst? Jack Canfield said, “Thoughts become things,” and I’m inclined to believe him. How many times have we all been pootling along quite happily in our professional or personal lives, and then suddenly doubt has crept in to sabotage our progress? Isn’t that what happens with imposter syndrome when you’re in a position of responsibility when a little voice inside says, “Are you sure you can do this? What makes you think you should be here?” It’s like in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons when Jerry has a little angel Jerry sat on one shoulder saying good things and a little devil Jerry sat on the other leading him astray. Which one is the more tempting to listen to?
Cosmic aura of omnipotence
I have to confess to you now, and please don’t hold this against me, but I really like reading horoscopes. Not all of them and not to the point I run my life by them, but I’m a big fan of Jonathan Cainer in particular. I remember a few years back there was a series of predictions that said I was going to have an amazing new career opportunity. This didn’t appear likely given my employment situation at the time, so I took it to mean success in a new job. So when a higher status job came up that I wasn’t altogether sure I had sufficient skills for, I went against my nature (and as research suggests, the typical female model of operation) and I went for it anyway. And you know what, on the back of this new found cosmic aura of omnipotence – I got it.
Professional passion and purpose
OK, it was perhaps something to do with the two weeks I took off work in preparation for the second interview too, but hey, Jonathan’s confidence inducing words gave me that extra boost I needed without any shadow of a doubt. It was partly because of a series of positive horoscopes last year and this that I’m sat here writing now. They said something about an incredible creative project that would change my life. I think I must have needed a bit of a boost at the time so I thought, “I’m going to go with this.” And you know what? My life has changed for the better since I’ve been working on Womanthology. Everybody needs a professional passion and purpose and I have found mine. At last.
When I think of all the amazing people I’ve met and all the wonderful new experiences I’ve had, does it actually matter if the horoscope that led me here was a big steaming pile of bull? Not one little bit. Whatever works for you, floats your boat, paddles your canoe. Maybe in the absence of other strong belief systems, it’s OK to borrow from something else that’s a little frivolous or wacky from time to time? If it gets you to where you need to be, then who cares?
The ultimate belief system?
Or maybe the trick is to build your own belief system? It’s not things I believe in, or luck, it’s people. When the people around us hurt our feelings and let us down, that’s when things seem at their darkest, but the flip side of this is that other people have the power to lift you up, so if you’re fortunate enough in life to be able to allow yourself the luxury of believing that the majority of other people are out there to bring positive things, then you’re in a good place.
So I would say that it is indeed possible to make your own luck through the choices you make about the people you surround yourself with in your life. If you pick the right team, what can’t you achieve? Keep your standards high. Those who genuinely have your best interests at heart with always be there for you. That’s the kind of belief system I can believe in.
