Pride we didn't even know we carried around. (aka learning not to go it alone!!)

Ok So I know you're intrigued.  

Most people think of pride as looking down 

on others in an uncaring way, 

being judgmental, excluding others and 

other outwardly hurtful attitudes.

One major lesson that we began learning through 

our unemployment is that we are carrying around 

some prideful attitudes, 

not anything hurting those around us.  

Pride that hurt us.

We reflected time and again on what had brought us to Guelph.

How we had been living while we had been employed, 

where our focus was, 

how we spent our time, 

and how those things had changed.

Money had brought us to Guelph.  

Pure and simple, a good paying job for Shane.  

That money was not all bad.

Money meant paying off debt 

(which we have a ton from three university degrees). 

Money meant knowing we could provide the basic 

needs of our family.  Home, Groceries, Gas, Clothing.  

We could even afford some extra's like Dance Lessons.

Money also meant our dreams were getting grander.

Trucks, Fifth Wheels, Exotic Travel, New Homes,

 Cabin's, Family Vacations.

We reflected back to before our move to Guelph. 

Inspecting some of our assumptions was hard 

but important to deal with.

Expectations are a hot topic in our house.

Money fulfilled some of our most dangerous expectations.

Suddenly there were places we would Never live,

 people we would Never be like, 

things we would never do to survive, 

and lowly entrance positions 

we would never take, 

and salaries we would never accept. 

Wow sounding dangerous yet?

Here was our dangerous prideful assumption.

"Get a degree = Get the IT job"

That's right - you finish your degree and you are guaranteed a job.  

Your education qualifies you for $60,000/year

 without work, sacrifice, humility, and determination.

WRONG!

Wow, well we could lay blame on certain people or 

institutions that promote this thinking.

How on earth will that help???

Truth is that even for a trades person

 (this includes Dr., Nurse, Lawyer, Dentist)

getting a degree means nothing. . . .
without vision, determination and
some degree of sacrifice.

I believe it is important to take advantage of
all the education you can. 

Soak it up, research, read, think,
problem solve, learn new skills.

Please finish High School and if it is fitting attend 

a College, University or Tech School.  

Here's what I mean by a degree means nothing.

It doesn't mean anything without the rest of the package.

You work hard for your credentials and you
should be proud of them. 

But credentials do not guarantee dollar signs.  

This is the pride we were carrying around with us -
both of us were neck deep in it.

Letting go of some of this pride was awfully hard,
we're still going through the process.

But being aware of it made things a lot easier to face.

As we moved forward it became easier to make decisions
  because our perspective and our goals had shifted dramatically.

Instead of looking for dollar signs Shane started looking
for a job with different requirements.
Things like steady working hours, benefits packages,
commute times, and low stress accumulation.

The dream job may come along and someday
we may be earning that six figure income. 
(MAYBE)
But chances are we'll muddle through for a while on a base salary,
and be grateful for more family time and lower stress.

Because instead of expecting Money from our University Degrees.
We started Expecting knowledge, decision making,
problem solving, and networking skills.