A friend recently cried her lungs out because she was given the pink slip. She didn’t step out of the house for days, and suffered a terrible patch of depression because getting fired affected her confidence.

This made me wonder why a forced exit hits so hard. What does it take to overcome the shock and move on? I have been reading up on Maria Sharapova, the quintessential ‘hot’ tennis star who often made headlines for the outfits she wore while at tournaments, as much as her power game. I wondered how she felt when she was banned from a sport she loved, and had aced. The answer came soon enough.

'So what if I’m sitting the next tournament out? I’m going to Harvard!'

Sharapova is set to go back to school soon, at the prestigious Harvard University, and by the looks of her recent social media updates, she seems as excited as a 12th grader looking forward to the first day of college. (source)

Not sure how this happened but Hey Harvard! Can't wait to start the program!

Sharapova, the Russia-born tennis star who is now an American resident, tweeted the news early on June 25, and quickly received a massive 12,000 likes for this update. When she was banned from professional tennis after failing a drug test, the #istandwithmaria tag that went viral showed us how much fan following and admiration she commanded in the world.

What can we learn from this? Take charge, and move forward.

Anyone can feel down, but you have the power to get up and march on. While Sharapova is appealing against the verdict, she hasn’t let her life stop. She’s taken charge of another opportunity and as we all know, education never goes waste.

Find an alternate route to reach your goal.

We can easily find an alternate route if we put our mind to it. External circumstances may not always work in our favour; that’s how it goes. Sometimes, you just need to look for that door. Learn a new skill, upgrade your educational qualification or training. As they say, when one door closes, another opens.  

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