I’m Not Lucky, I’m Good.

The following is a guest post by Heather Monahan.  Her bio follows.

I found myself thinking about St. Patrick’s day this year and realized that the luck of the Irish struck me differently than it had in years past .  As a good Irish girl, I have always celebrated with friends and made sure to wear my green and consume green beer while listening to Irish music.  Growing up in Boston has a way of making you a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day in the conventional sense.  This year when I realized the luck of the Irish was upon us, I also realized that I have never been particularly lucky.  What is funny is how many times in the past that I have chalked up my success in life to luck and specifically to being a lucky Irish girl.  This was an epiphany moment for me. 

As you gain experience in life and confidence you are able to see things differently, this is why I am writing today.  Years ago when someone would compliment me on how I looked, I would chalk it up to having good genes.  If someone was to tell me how excited they were that I was promoted, I would tell them it was because I was a lucky Irish girl.  Throughout my life, I have realized that I never took credit for what I had done or who I had become or even how I presented myself when others complimented me.  It is almost as if I felt I didn’t deserve the compliment or wasn’t able to accept it because I wasn’t sure how I had actually achieved it.

Now that I am 42 years old, I see things for what they are.  I have worked insanely hard my entire life, while friends vacationed, I worked.  I got married much later than my friends and had a baby in my thirties; these choices were made because I wanted to advance my career and myself first and foremost. 

I realize that I look the way I do because I make myself a priority and I invest in myself.  I get up at the crack of dawn to do a boot camp most people would consider torture.  I put time and effort into getting ready when I am so tired I can barely wake up for my alarm.  As a single mother I have managed a routine in the morning that allows me to get my son ready for school and get myself ready as well.  We can never leave the house later than 7:20am but somehow we make it each day.  We are a team. 

There have been many opportunities that have presented themselves and at times I have let them pass but now I jump on them and take advantage of each one.  I believe in my own unique talents and listen to my intuition as opportunities arise.  I am now empowering myself to be the boss of my life and am standing in my power unapologetically. 

Not much that I do is easy.  My life is a lot of work.  But I finally realize that I am where I am in life because of the work that I put in and good that I put out there for others.  I am happy today to say that while I am Irish and will enjoy a green beverage, I am not particularly lucky but I am really good.

heather snip I'm not lucky, I'm good.

The Author

Heather Monahan, runs Heather Monahan LLC, a mentoring group that advises women on various workplace topics.

Ms. Career Girl

Ms. Career Girl was started in 2008 to help ambitious young professional women figure out who they are, what they want and how to get it.

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