Your character will be tested by success and adversity. Do you have the inner discipline to carry on when the going gets challenging? Are you willing to slog forward although mired in the mud? Can you bite your tongue, look the other way, retreat and start again? When things are not as you want them, can you accept your situation, assess your options and move on?
Yes, you are tough. Even when you are right, without tantrums, defenses or excuses, can you let your ego go? Know when it is important to fight and when to accept the flow.
If you are a chef and a patron wants to put barbecue sauce on your signature pasta dish, smile.
If you are an artist and one critic doesn’t understand your genius, that’s OK. If every review is critical, rethink, adjust or let the critics be damned.
Do it. If your mentor would like you to help paint his house, get a brush. If the admissions director suggests that you write a new essay, rewrite. If your best client loves karaoke, take the microphone. Do it with a smile of appreciation. Pay the price. This is win/win.
