Sometimes Life Says “Not Yet”

Last June, I was sitting in a beautiful restaurant in Oregon wine country with Jenn and close friends when I looked down at my phone and saw an email from the University of Pennsylvania. I had not been admitted into the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program.

I was genuinely shocked. Disappointed. Humbled.

Not because I thought I deserved to get in, but because I wanted it so badly. I had spent years thinking about that program and imagining how it connected to this next chapter of my life, the work I’m doing around happiness, positivity, perspective, and helping people live more intentional lives.

For a few moments, all the normal thoughts crept in. Maybe I missed my opportunity. Maybe I was not as qualified as I thought. Maybe I was not ready for the intellectual and academic rigor. Maybe this chapter simply was not going to happen for me.

But very quickly, my mindset shifted.

One of the core Life is Too Short Guy (LITSG) principles is Choose Your Attitude and Own It. I could not control the outcome, but I could control my response to it. Within days, I reached out to the founder and director of the program, asked for honest feedback, and made the decision that I was going to come back stronger and apply again. I was going to get in.

What I did not expect was how much that rejection would ultimately change me.

Over the following year, I reflected more deeply than I had in a long time. I became more intentional about where I wanted this next stage of life to lead. In many ways, not getting in forced me to slow down and gain clarity that immediate success never would have provided.

I also kept thinking about another LITSG principle: Take a Chance and Get It Done Today. Too many people allow one disappointment to quietly reduce the size of their life. They stop taking chances. They stop putting themselves out there. Over time, they slowly begin convincing themselves that maybe their biggest opportunities are behind them.

I refuse to believe that. Every day is a new beginning. A new opportunity for growth. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t taking enough risks. You aren’t truly living.

I believe there is always another mountain to climb, another lesson to learn, another opportunity to grow if we are willing to stay uncomfortable enough to keep evolving. This is true at 22 years old, 52 years old, and hopefully even 92 years old. I still want to learn. I still want to grow. I still want to challenge myself and my thinking. In many ways, I feel like I am just getting started with so many more chapters to write.

Then, two weeks ago, while sitting at a truly special dinner with my family at Disney World, my phone rang. I looked down and immediately recognized the name. I jumped up from the table and bolted quickly outside to take the call.

It was the Director of the Penn MAPP program offering me admission.

I can still remember standing outside the restaurant that night, hearing the excitement in his voice as he delivered the message and feeling this overwhelming mix of gratitude, relief, perspective, and emotion all at once. Not simply because I had been admitted, but because the journey had become so much bigger than the admission itself. The rejection, the reflection, the growth, the willingness to try again, all of it suddenly meant something.

What impacted me most during that call was hearing how much he truly respected the fact that I came back after the rejection. That I was willing to reflect, improve, and reapply with more clarity, humility, and purpose the second time around. He noted my application the second time was much deeper and more meaningful.

Life is too short to allow one disappointing moment to define the rest of your story.

Sometimes the setback is not there to stop you. Sometimes it is there to sharpen you, prepare you, and force you to become more intentional about the person you are becoming. To help you focus on what is most meaningful to you and why.

Sometimes life is not saying “no.”

Sometimes life is simply saying, “not yet.”

The Happiness Tour Continues

I recently had the privilege to deliver the keynote speech at the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards & Summit. One thing became abundantly clear throughout the event: people are hungry for conversations that go deeper than productivity and performance. We talked about perspective, positivity, gratitude, leadership, culture, and the lens through which we choose to view our lives.

The response and engagement were incredibly meaningful and reinforced something I believe deeply: the way we see the world ultimately shapes the way we experience it.

Reach out if your team, company, conference, or event could benefit from a jolt of positivity and an opportunity for meaningful introspection.

Regards,
Scott
The Life Is Too Short Guy