by Jeanette R. Harrison, BA, Sec. Ed., MPH
“ You haven’t used your master’s degree in 30 years.”
That’s what someone told me recently. And for a split second, I let it bother me. I was reeling down the rabbit hole. But then I realized — that comment wasn’t about me. It was about their attempt to make me feel less than. I call it lowest common denominator thinking.
 |
Even before I started a business, I have had “haters.” I was told by peers when I first applied to graduate school that I wouldn’t get in. I was told what made me think I could write a walking book. I heard all kinds of negativity throughout my life. I did all of it anyway. Not to spite them. But to achieve my own goals. |
Here’s the reality: I have used my degree. In powerful, meaningful, and unconventional ways.
* As an Administrative Fellow, learning how healthcare works from the inside out reporting to the CEO and COO of a seven hospital health system.
* As a Senior Quality Data Coordinator, improving patient outcomes and helping an inner city health system obtain grants.
* As an Adjunct Faculty Member, teaching the next generation of leaders at three universities.
* As an entrepreneur, building a business from the ground up that creates programs and resources for health and wellbeing.
* As an author, writing books that inspire and guide people all over the world.
* Through volunteer work, reviewing abstracts for the American Public Health Association and creating a soccer program for a school district.
That’s impact. That’s achievement. That’s using my degree.
But here’s the bigger message: people will always try to rewrite your story when your success doesn’t fit their box. They will try to make you feel unaccomplished so you won’t keep trying to reach your goals and live your dreams.
That’s why achieving your goals matters so much. Not to prove them wrong, but to prove yourself right. To remind yourself that your path is valid. That your dreams are worth the effort. That no amount of negativity can erase what you’ve built.
Every goal you set and accomplish is a declaration: “I am moving forward. I am not stopping. I define what success looks like for me.”
And when the haters come — because they always do — you get to smile and keep going. Because you know the truth: your goals are not for their approval. They’re for your growth, your impact, and your future.
✨ Don’t shrink yourself to fit someone else’s limited vision for you. Keep moving. And show the haters you are unstoppable. ✨
👉 Ready to set your own goals and achieve your dreams? Check out our Goal Setting Guide under the Renew You tab — it’s designed to help you break your dreams into achievable steps and keep moving forward, no matter what other people say.
Comments
Post a Comment