Six Months and the Life Beyond Them
A setback that made me examine wounded pride, the power of will, and the life still ahead.
MY YOUNG ADULTHOOD
Six Months and the Life Beyond Them
Losing six months of seniority felt significant in a world where seniority mattered greatly. The setback also touched my pride and my sense of fairness.
Looking back, I began to understand something of ego through that experience. How much of my distress came from the consequence itself, and how much from what I felt it said about me?
At the time, those questions were not easy to separate.
But I came to recognise that my life was too precious to be lost because of what circumstances had thrown in my way. Six months could affect my progress. They did not have to determine the worth or direction of the life ahead.
I also discovered something of the power of will. I could choose how to proceed. I could apply myself, understand the rules, and use the room for action that remained available.
Going by the book acquired a practical meaning. Knowing and adhering to the rules gave me a firmer basis from which to act.
I would not claim that I understood ego fully, or that the setback suddenly made everything clear. It gave me an experience I would return to in later years.
Life was larger than that moment. I still had a part to play in what happened next.
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