Lessons Learned From A Cafeteria

Ah, the dreaded company and school cafeteria.

Memories of my school days being embarrassed to eat in front of my peers. 

Slop and glop slapped with an old silver serving spoon onto a dull brown tray with its rounded compartments . An effort to make yucky, so called food, look appetizing…not

I think it might be better now for today’s kids, but not that much.

No offense if you look back fondly on your school cafeteria experiences. Most of it was mortifying for me.

In my early twenties, I was desperate for a job so I went through a temp agency and took whatever they gave me. I worked for two days, (I couldn’t take it much longer than that) at the company cafeteria of a major food manufacturer.

I was miserable from the get go and voluntarily left after two days because:

1. I hated wearing the white shirt and black pants uniform.

2. I didn’t like standing all day.

3. I was embarrassed because I didn’t know how to count back change when someone handed me cash payments for the register.

4. I didn’t like commuting.

5. I was depressed because I allowed myself to “settle.”

I was young, naive and my self-confidence was at an all time generic tramadol low. I buried my dream of continuing my dance career in favor of “security.”

Big mistake.

I’ve always wanted to be different and do things outside the norm yet I found myself struggling with who I wanted to be with who society dictated I should be.

So I took any job that I could get.

No valuable mentorship + no clear direction = Confusion & Despair

Looking back at that experience, here are a few lessons that I learned:

1. There’s always something to learn from every experience, good and bad.

2. God doesn’t make junk and He created me for excellence. I needed to believe that.

3. Choose your association carefully.

4. You can choose your attitude as you are going through negative experiences.

5. If something doesn’t feel quite right on the inside, there is a reason why.

6. Always be a student and have the desire to learn and improve yourself.

7. Circumstances are temporary and they are subject to change.

What lessons have you learned from working a job that you didn’t like? Has that job made you a better entrepreneur, parent, etc? I would love to hear your comments!

About the author, Annett

Annett Bone is the creator and host of The DancePreneuring Studio where she guides her listeners on a journey of transformation inspired by dance, life, and business. The podcast is a reflection of her personal adventure overcoming her fears and returning to her passion for dance after a 20+ year hiatus, the lessons that she has learned along the way, and proving that it’s never too late to be great.