When I needed a gratitude intervention
"Write down one thing you are thankful for," said my friend. "Just one."
My first job out of graduate school was at a small Christian college in Santa Barbara, California. It was not a happy experience. Although my credentials and qualifications were strong, the community expected a certain kind of conformity in regard to doctrine and personal piety that discomforted me. For four years, and in the midst of getting divorced, I struggled with the conflicting expectations of who they wanted me to be and who I was—and with a hostile tenure committee.
After a lengthy process of evaluation, the president called me to his office.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m going to have to let you go.”
