Note: This article is based on the work of the author Ruth Joy Connell, in which she tells us about the difficulties she faced on her path to success.
I made the decision to attend medical school, become a surgeon, earn a lot of money, and enjoy the rest of my life with my husband and kids free from debt because I thought that my life would be wonderful.
Dispelled aspirations
However, my dreams did not come true, and all of my plans for my first year of college came to nothing. The idea of paying off debt seemed difficult to accomplish, especially since I was still asking for money to cover my needs and I was late with my rent payments. Additionally, my academic situation got worse as I went from being an outstanding student to a level close to failing, and I started to reconsider my desire to specialize in surgery.
What made it worse was that I had always talked during the previous years in front of family and friends about my intention and determination to become a surgeon to the extent that everyone was certain that it would come true. I didn't really understand why my desire to study medicine faded away, and I wasn't sure if I really didn't want it anymore, or because of my decline in my academic level.
Switch tracks
However, I changed my mind about the Faculty of Medicine and decided to change my goal to psychology. This caused great anger in all of my loved ones, family, and friends, in addition to their confusion and questions about the cause of the change that occurred with me and what if someone diverted me from what I wanted. Now, I successfully completed this year in all of my subjects.
I didn't know the answers to any of these queries because I was disoriented and unsure of my location, my estimated time of arrival, and the viability of my new career path. I was completely unaware that when studying psychology, everyone would inquire about your work in the future.
What made it worse was that I thought my weight gain and gradual energy decline were related to the stress of studying and my lack of exercise at the time, not realizing that they were actually early symptoms of depression and anxiety. Two years passed full of changes and failed experiences, and that's when I realized that what I was feeling was more than just school anxiety.
I waited for that overwhelming sense of exhaustion to pass because I was finding it very difficult to carry out even the most basic daily tasks, like cooking, playing sports, or even just meeting up with friends.
But I was unable to because I was always late for events, unable to complete my assignments on time, avoided making small talk, and constantly ate fast food because I lacked the energy to prepare my own meals.
I used to always be an achiever and a motivator for everyone who wanted to achieve a goal. When everything suddenly changed and I could no longer perform even the most basic tasks, I realized that I was experiencing symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, and that the exhaustion I was feeling was a symptom of depression.
My experience with depression
The semester ended and I was still exhausted. I rejected the idea that I had an anxiety disorder out of concern for how people will see me. I felt like I had lost the motivation to lose weight, succeed at work, or even prepare food like I used to; it was like a defeat for me. I even refused to talk about my depression in public. I had thought that I would de-stress once school was over, and everything would go back to normal, but that did not happen.
I didn't want to give up, but in order to overcome my suffering, I had to acknowledge it, accept it, and deal with it. In order to feel accomplished every day, I started setting some goals for the day. For example, I decided to accomplish something every day even though I only had 15 minutes to exercise each day. I made a commitment to myself to go out with my friends once a week, even though it took me a while to get there.
I needed to work on being dependable and to develop a fresh understanding of what motivates people and the drive to persevere even in the face of setbacks. I define commitment as doing something I don't want to, which is how I felt the majority of the time. I learned to be kind to myself and appreciate the little things I did, like preparing food or doing laundry, and I made time so I could commit to 15 minutes of exercise.
This experience has taught me to be persistent and consistent even when I haven't accomplished anything, have nothing to offer or do, or can't seem to get what I want. I've learned and am still learning how to divide tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks so that I can advance toward my goals every day.
To sum up
We all face challenges in life, whether they be material or psychological, such as the loss of a loved one, anxiety, or depression. Your lofty goals and unrealistic expectations of others or yourself may also weigh you down and keep you from moving forward, but I hope that my story will give you the confidence to keep trying and not give up.
I'm still learning and making progress to this day, and you can do the same. There is nothing wrong with going through difficult times in your life that prevent you from moving forward quickly and force you to slow down and be patient; the inspiration is to keep working toward your goal, even if it comes to you slowly.
I'm currently in my second year of college, and I still need to pass four subjects. Despite the difficulty of the journey, I have made progress toward my objective.
I believe we are capable of achieving anything. We might not be able to accomplish all of our goals at once, but if we keep trying, we will succeed. Dream big, and use your journey to inspire others, just as I have done in this article with my experience.
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