A few weeks ago, Zelda came home with something weighing on her mind, so she talked to her dad. This, in case you didn't know, is what her dad lives for.
Another branch of the store where she works has an opening for a shift leader, and her manager encouraged her to apply. A 'shift leader' is a step up in responsibility from a 'bookseller', the position at which she was hired about a year ago. She is thinking of applying, but she isn't sure for a number of reasons:
Is the retail bookstore business what she really wants to be doing "for the rest of her life"?
Would a job with more responsibility keep her in this line of work longer, and therefore keep her from doing what she eventually wants to do?
Will she like the new job, the new store environment, and the new people as much as she likes the job, the store, and the people where she is now?
Since most of these questions cannot be answered with certainty, should fear of the unknown keep her from a potentially good opportunity?
I didn't tell her anything she didn't already know, but I think we both benefited from unpacking some of the issues involved. At least I did, mainly by getting to witness the clear, methodical, Nordic thinking that was going on.
It's another one of many small steps forward in living an examined life, realistically assessing the situation, honestly evaluating your own abilities, attitudes, and motives in order to make informed choices. Beyond that point, other factors will determine what we don't ourselves control. I think I'm making progress toward graduation.
She decided to go for it.
Zelda turned 24 later that week, completing her second tour of the heavens and returning to the Year of the Rat, in which she was born under the constellation Taurus. Tough cookie.
She sent me a text message last night. She got the promotion.
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